test-drb December 2000

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

192 participants
490 discussions

World's Crappiest Drives (was Re: A&J Microdrive)

by Glenatacme＠aol.com

In a message dated 12/06/2000 4:47:39 PM Eastern Standard Time, ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk writes: > > Aw, come on Tony -- you mean your ZX81 doesn't have a printer? You can get > Yes, of course it does. Problem is, finding the metalised paper for it :-) Ah -- here in the states we use the Alphacom 32, which uses any white thermal (fax) paper which has the same width as the ZX81 printer. > > one at any car boot for a couple of pounds, you know ;>) Of course, you > > still have to type it back in, unless you splurge and buy a cassette > recorder > > . . . > > You mean that's more reliable and faster than writing down the program > and retyping it? That's news to me :-) :-) Well that just proves you can learn something new every day ;>) I went through four tape players before I found one which worked error-free with my home-built ZX81. It has been 95 percent reliable over a two-year period. Additionally I use a fast-data-transfer program (FASTLOADER) which increases the speed of SAVEs and LOADs by 16 times. What's cool about this software is that it merges with the program I'm working with, so I don't have to pre-load the FASTLOADER. I pretty much just SAVE and LOAD as usual. I don't know about your penmanship, but I can't write down 16 KB of BASIC instructions in 30 seconds ;>) Glen 0/0

25 years

Flourescents (was: What tools do you carry, always

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 04:20 PM 12/7/00 -0800, you wrote: >Could somebody please explain to me how flourescent lamps work? >They put out a LOT of UV light. >So much so, that I thought that the name implied that they operated by a >coating that flouresced under UV. Yes, of course that's how flourescent lamps work. I think they even still have mercury vapor in them. However, I questioned whether the dinky little lamp in a scanner would zap a windowed (and presumably stickered) EEPROM. - John

25 years

CD's as parabolic mirrors?

by mbg＠world.std.com

>I remeber reading that a hologram of a lens would refract light in the >same was as a real lens would. This concept has formed the basis for >the flight-of-fancy holodeck/holosuite concept from Star Trek. <ot> The holodeck supposedly uses both hologram projectors and transporter technology... I suspect it should also use shield technology, too... </ot> Megan Gentry Former RT-11 Developer +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+ | Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | Internet (work): gentry!zk3.dec.com | | Unix Support Engineering Group | (home): mbg!world.std.com | | Compaq Computer Corporation | addresses need '@' in place of '!' | | 110 Spitbrook Rd. ZK03-2/T43 | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ | | Nashua, NH 03062 | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler | | (603) 884 1055 | required." - mbg KB1FCA | +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+ "Why yes, I do have a life...thanks for asking..." :-)

25 years

RML380Z and exploding sun psus [long and boring]

by kebabthesheep＠yahoo.com

--- Tony Duell <ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote: > > > > > > --- Tony Duell <ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote: > > > screw holding the lid on was made of purest cheesium alloy, and just > > Argh!!. > > For some odd reason many manufacturers use at least one tamperproof screw > in their PSU housings. You'll find a PCB held down by half a dozen normal > Phillips screws and _one_ tamperproof Torx, for example. That's one > reason for buying a set of tamperproof drivers... > I've never come across that - but i'm still always careful to make sure i've got the correct fitting screw-driver, and that i'm holding it correctly. Munching up screws, especially countersunk ones like these, is _really_ anoying. I learned my lesson the hard way - I bought a japanese motorcycle. The fasters, and in general all metal on it, are made of the softest of the soft crappy steel/alloy. You have to be so carefull with everything, or you bank manager will be laughing all the way to wherever he keeps his money ! Like I said - need to drill it out - then I can have a looksie, and figure out what failed. I'll get back to the list on that one. Dave. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/

25 years

Why is it that ...

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

I think I still have the disks somewhere.... I just don't have an Apple-II to use to verify their readability. It wasn't bad, I rather enjoyed using it (my last semester in college, Spring '83). -dq > -----Original Message----- > From: healyzh(a)aracnet.com [mailto:healyzh@aracnet.com] > Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2000 11:50 PM > To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: Why is it that ... > > > > Yes the lack of JAVA, frames, no cookies and Activex stuff > does limits > > sites available and more every day. I'd think JAVA would > not be that > > bad on a smaller CPU tough it may be slow. After all it's > not that much > > different than running UCSD PASCAL (P-system) P-code on z80 or > > 6502! > > > > Allison > > One of these days I'd really like to play with a UCSD PASCAL > system, largely > to get a feel of how well it worked. From what I've heard > getting any kind > of Java running on a 68k based system is a problem (have we > got anyone still > active with Amiga's around, they'd have a better idea). That > tells me that > a 486 or lower won't really be able to cut it when it comes to JAVA. > > It does make you wonder what Sun's minimum requirements for > Java is on thier > machines. > > Wait a minute.... I think I had Java running on my PowerBook > 520c back in > '95 or '96, and it's a 68LC040 based system, so I guess at > least a 68040 or > 486 based system probably can do Java. At least on a > supported OS (which is > the real problem). > > Zane >

25 years

Professors worry that engineering students don't tinker enoug h...

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> Douglas Quebbeman wrote: > > > False. In most states of the U.S., if you represent yourself as an engineer > > of any kind, and you are not a licensed engineer, you are committing a crime, > > albeit a misdemeanor. > > Not in California, unless it's one of a handful of engineering disciplines > specifically identified by statute. You'd pretty much have to sign > "P.E." after your name to get in trouble here. > > This isn't to imply that California is particularly progressive in this > area (for some value of "progressive"), but rather that nobody has > bothered revising the statutes since being an "engineer" automatically > implied civil, geological or the sort that operates trains... Well, in contrast with how regressive other states are, I'd indeed call that progressive. -dq

25 years

CD's as parabolic mirrors?

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> I just noticed that sunlight reflecting off the top side of a CD focuses > somewhat, maybe with a focal length of about 20 feet. Off of the data side, it > spreads. I've tried it with several different types, and so far they all show > the same effect. Would anyone care to explain why? I remeber reading that a hologram of a lens would refract light in the same was as a real lens would. This concept has formed the basis for the flight-of-fancy holodeck/holosuite concept from Star Trek. My guess is that (unintentionally) the spiral pattern sets up the same interference pattern as a hologram of a parabolic mirror. Regards, -dq

25 years

MO question

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> >For a portable (i.e. 12-volt car accessory) power supply? In order > >to use it with a portable/notebook/laptop? > > The Quadra 950 must be the largest box Apple ever made, so > I don't think that was portable. :-) It hadn't occurred to > me that the power would be coming in - that's an interesting > possibility. What does a conventional power supply do when > it is off and power comes in the wrong way? I don't know the answer to your last question, but I wouldn't assume that just because it came with a pile of desktop equipment that it (the MO) was designed soley for use with desktop eq. regards, -dq

25 years

CDC Sabre information

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Dec 7, 12:51, John Honniball wrote: > Anybody know what the interface on the Cifer tape drive is? > The drive came with two huge, rubber-sleeved 50-way ribbon > cables. I think both cables are required for the > interface, so it doesn't look like SCSI... All the Cifers I've seen are Pertec interface, which consists of two 50-way cables. I have the pin assignment list somewhere, if that's any help. -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager Dept. of Computer Science University of York

25 years

MO question

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 08:20 AM 12/8/00 -0500, Douglas Quebbeman wrote: >That's an odd-sized capacity... are these 5.25 inch carts, or >3.25 inch carts? If the latter, are you sure they aren't 640MB >capacity? The company's drive case label says 600 although I've seen similar units that claim 640. One 5 1/4 cart was included. >> On the back of the external SCSI box, there was a DIN-5 connector, >> like a keyboard connector, that piqued my curiousity. Inside, >> I saw that it was simply an external connector for 5 volt power. >> What might have this been used for? > >For a portable (i.e. 12-volt car accessory) power supply? In order >to use it with a portable/notebook/laptop? The Quadra 950 must be the largest box Apple ever made, so I don't think that was portable. :-) It hadn't occurred to me that the power would be coming in - that's an interesting possibility. What does a conventional power supply do when it is off and power comes in the wrong way? - John

25 years

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test-drb December 2000