test-drb August 2001

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

295 participants
726 discussions

by bills＠adrenaline.com

Since this tactic seems to have worked for Kent Borg in Boston... I'd really like to get an ASR-33 myself, as that was my first encounter with a computer. I've tried a number of hamfests etc. ... no dice. I have a fair collection of "vintage" hardware... I might even consider parting with a few bits of OSI gear. Thanks, Bill Sudbrink

22 years, 11 months

an odd question

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 09:15 AM 8/9/01 -0500, Messick, Gary wrote: >I know some of the older software such as MBASIC for CP/M, and maybe even >earlier stuff, used to OUTPUT a ^C when the user type a Ctrl-C. I sent a note to Tom Jennings about this. Perhaps he has an answer. For his delightfully detailed history of character sets, visit http://www.wps.com/texts/codes/index.html . - John

22 years, 11 months

DOS for S-100?

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> At 01:10 PM 8/7/01 -0700, you wrote: > >On Tue, 7 Aug 2001, joe wrote: > > > FWIW You could get MS-DOS versions 1.25, 2.1(something) and 3.1 for > > > the Zenith Z-100. There's also a guy out there that wrote a program to > > > patch PC-DOS 4.0 to run on the Z-100. > > > >Is there a 3.31 available for it? > > > Not that I know of. MS-DOS 3.1 was the highest version that Zenith > released for it. The PC-DOs 4 is a private effort by John Beyers > <http://members.home.net/johnbeyers/hz100.htm>. > There was a Zenith MS-DOS 3.31+ that ran on the Z-150/Z-151; I can probably scare it up... -dq

22 years, 11 months

Now *this* is cool

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> On Mon, 6 Aug 2001, Gunther Schadow wrote: > > > > Re-implementations of PDPs, VAXen or other computers are one thing, > > also new IO modules for old computers are another > interesting use are > > conceivable. > > That's right. For each part, there will come a time when there are no > more original, functioning instances. Our ability to continue the > tradition will then lie in our ability to put something else in their > place. Right, Jeff. And this was a conversation I meant to finish with Tony Duell. I made a remark about the speed I was seeing in a particular simulator of old iron as run on a 233MHz Pentium-1 PC. Tony remarked that he didn't have a machine of the host class (the Pentium-1 PC), so the simulator was therefore not available to him, but that it didn't matter much to him because he prefers the *real* original iron anyway. And that's fine... I too, would love to own a Cyber 172, but even if I ever find one (doubtfull), I wouldn't be able to afford to turn it on even one time. So I wouldn't be able to enjoy it as a *computer*, but rather as an *object* (d'art or whatever). I suppose for someone who didn't have a history with a particular machine, that is, an old beast like a CDC 6600 or similar, that being able to recreate the *software* environment by having a simulator just doesn't mean much. But for mean, it means everything. The operating system and the language translators and utilities were my points of familiarity as a programmer; again, had I been an engineer on one of these systems, having something I could bootstrap might be less important. Now, the FPGA route is even better than a simulator, of course, because it's faster. Also, getting real old peripherals to work with a re- implemented CPU is also promising- in many cases, the FPGA board could be set in open space in old iron and the system be made to appear operational even if not! Oops, time for more coffee... -dq

22 years, 11 months

an odd question

by Gary.Messick＠itt.com

I think Wordstar pre-dates MS-DOS by more than a few years ;) Gary > -----Original Message----- > From: Master of all that Sucks [mailto:vance@ikickass.org] > Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2001 9:56 AM > To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: an odd question > > > > Well, MS-DOS 1.0 was doing it long before WordStar. > > Peace... Sridhar > > On Thu, 9 Aug 2001, Jeff Hellige wrote: > > > on 8/9/01 9:47 AM, Dan Wright at dtwright(a)uiuc.edu wrote: > > > not sure if this is exactly on-topic, but I figure if > anyone would know, it > > > would be this bunch... where did the convention of using > "^x" to represent > > > "Ctrl-x" come from? I wonder because you see that > convention everywhere, but > > > it's totally non-intuitave -- i.e. why does the carat > symbol mean "hold > > > control > > > while pressing the following key"? I think this came up > because someone > > > pointed out that using pine the first time was really > hard until they figured > > > out what "^" meant. so, anyone know where that > convention came from? > > > > I believe Wordstar used to display the control > sequences for cut and > > pasting and other block move type commands in that format > in it's menus. > > I'm almost positive that versions of Worstar I was using on > XT-clones in the > > mid-80's were like that. At the time, quite a large number > of text editors, > > including those included with programs such as TurboBasic, > used the Wordstar > > commands and conventions as well. > > > > Jeff > > >

22 years, 11 months

HP 9000/226

by optimus＠canit.se

Went to the junkyard with a mate today and found (well, stepped on) an ugly HP something. It's a HP 9000 (Yay!) 226 (?h?), which is a clumsy box with a small CRT and a 5?" floppy as well as an integrated keyboard. This unit had been retired from the telemonopoly (well, all the stickers date back to that time), which ad apparently modified it into some kind of luggable workstation by putting a biug brass handle which seems to have come off a door on one side of the unit. Apart from the handle, it has been equipped with an RS-232 interface and additional memory cards, adding up to roughly 1,7 MB. The unit powers up fine, the screen looks nice, but the keyboard has been massacred, with five or six keys missing. But now what? The system is looking for a system. What system does it run, and is software obtainable anywhere? -- En ligne avec Thor 2.6a. Computer programmers know how to use their hardware.

22 years, 11 months

NS32000 & PC532 (was: Re: What's your coolest ISA card?)

by ken＠seefried.com

Very educational thread. Didn't know that BBC had a 32000 coprocessor. I mildly collect old 32000 gear, so if you want to see them go to a good home, let me know. Especially an MG-1 (:-)), although I'd really like to find a Ceres-2 or Ceres-3 (built at ETH Switzerland, used by Niklaus Wirth for a lot of the development of Oberon). Oh, yeah...and another Heurikon VME532 or parts of same would *really* help out a bunch! From: Jeff L Kaneko <jeff.kaneko(a)juno.com> >> (along with my unbuilt PC532 kit...sigh). > AHHHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! You aren't kindding. It only took me a decade to replace that box (only a few months ago). I'd like to find another one. From: Bill Gunshannon <bill(a)cs.scranton.edu> > I still have one of these Opus cards. What's it worth?? Do you still have the software? From: Sellam Ismail <foo(a)siconic.com> > No, but I've got an 32016 S-100 CPU board :) Ouch! That fired a long dormant brain cell. I remember that board. From: "Iggy Drougge" <optimus(a)canit.se> > All right, let's educate the ignorant; what exactly is a PC532? It's a completely public domain computer design done by two NS engineers, George Scolaro and Dave Rand, in the late '80s. 25MHz 32532 processor (MMU built in), 32381 FPU, 8 serial ports, 2 scsi busses, expansion bus. They published the complete hardware & software specs, and put together a few hundred kits and sold them to folks to build (a la Heathkit). I saved a bunch of pennies to buy mine. It orignally ran a port of Minix, but many of the survivors now run NetBSD. A Google search will turn up what little info survives. Ken

22 years, 11 months

Central Florida Computer Junk Fest !

by steven_j_robertson＠hotmail.com

Load 'em up. I've probably got a whole truckload of stuff looking for an new home and I don't expect to haul ANY of it home. Once I get it sorted out, I'll send a list of what's available. Let us know what kinda stuff your interested in and you might get lucky. I'm primarily interested in HP minicomputers, STD BUS systems, and Z80 development thingys. We haven't decided on a place or time yet. Obviously, we'd like to accomodate as many local collectors as possible. SteveRob >From: "Mike" <dogas(a)bellsouth.net> >Reply-To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org >To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> >Subject: Re: Central Florida Computer Junk Fest ! >Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 10:59:08 -0400 > > > From Joe: > > Steve Robertson said "Why don't you send out an invitation to the > > "Central Florida Computer Junk Fest". > > > >Hey, this is close enough for me to pack up a carload of 8-bitters too if >anyone wants some... > >;) >- Mike: dogas(a)bellsouth.net > _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

22 years, 11 months

an odd question

by Gary.Messick＠itt.com

I know some of the older software such as MBASIC for CP/M, and maybe even earlier stuff, used to OUTPUT a ^C when the user type a Ctrl-C. Gary > -----Original Message----- > From: Dan Wright [mailto:dtwright@uiuc.edu] > Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2001 8:47 AM > To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: an odd question > > > not sure if this is exactly on-topic, but I figure if anyone > would know, it > would be this bunch... where did the convention of using > "^x" to represent > "Ctrl-x" come from? I wonder because you see that convention > everywhere, but > it's totally non-intuitave -- i.e. why does the carat symbol > mean "hold control > while pressing the following key"? I think this came up > because someone > pointed out that using pine the first time was really hard > until they figured > out what "^" meant. so, anyone know where that convention came from? > > - Dan Wright > (dtwright(a)uiuc.edu) > (http://www.uiuc.edu/~dtwright) > > -] ------------------------------ [-] > -------------------------------- [- > ``Weave a circle round him thrice, / And close your eyes with > holy dread, > For he on honeydew hath fed, / and drunk the milk of Paradise.'' > Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Kubla Khan >

22 years, 11 months

an odd question

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 09:15 AM 8/9/01 -0500, Messick, Gary wrote: >I know some of the older software such as MBASIC for CP/M, and maybe even >earlier stuff, used to OUTPUT a ^C when the user type a Ctrl-C. I remember RSTS timesharing systems doing that even before CP/M. - John

22 years, 11 months

← Newer
1
...
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
...
73
Older →

Jump to page:

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

test-drb August 2001