test-drb April 2002

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

280 participants
1162 discussions

by root＠diablonet.net

Hi there! I've been following the thread kind of loosely on the digest, and although I really have no way of knowing how much time you're spending around a soldering iron, I would strongly guess that you have nothing to worry about from even relatively frequent soldering as long as you're not doing something wierd like soldering in a small closet with the door closed for hours on end every day or melting down spools and huffing them... :) Solder's been around for quite a while, and I'm sure if there was some sort of real health risk, it would have been common knowledge by now. I know tons of people including my father, uncles, and old co-workers who have spent, cumulatively, months and months behind soldering irons in labs and shops, and I believe they are all still entirely sane! Kind regards, Sean -- Sean Caron http://www.diablonet.net scaron(a)engin.umich.edu root(a)diablonet.net

22 years, 8 months

Wanted: IBM Mag Card Composer, Electronic Selectric Composer or IBM 5100 or 5110

by gkaplan63＠hotmail.com

I collect the IBM Composer line of typesetting equipment. If anyone has or knows of any IBM Composers, I can provide them with a good home. I'm interested in any Composer related documentation as well. Also looking for: IBM 5100 or 5110 in working condition IBM Mag Card typewriters IBM Memory typewriters IBM Electronic typewriters (model 50 or 95) IBM 3101 terminal Thanks! Gerry

22 years, 8 months

Computers Manufactured in 1986

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

> IBM RS/6000? Kaypro 2000? I think the RS/6000 is much later. As for the Kaypro 2000 you could buy those starting in '85 I believe, I got mine in '87. Zane

22 years, 8 months

Laser computers

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

This is just a heads-up, but i'm looking for a replacement for the first PC I owned. It was a Laser XTSL, a 10mhz XT with dual 720k drives, 1meg and no hard drive. Bought it from sears along with an RGB monitor back in 1990 or so for around $400 and ran prodigy on it with a 1200bps modem! It was a pretty neat XT class machine even if I never did have a hard drive or a 5.25 drive.

22 years, 8 months

What editions of the VAX Hardware Reference are there?

by gunther＠aurora.regenstrief.org

Hi, I am looking for VAX Hardware Reference for the VAX 11/780, 11/785, 86x0, the uVAX-II, and then the VAX 6000s. I suspect that's not all in one book. But, what revisions of the Hardware Reference are there anyway? I think the first edition is the 1978/1979, at least my VAX Architecture Handbook bears this date. I understand that the "Handbooks" were a 3-volume series, with volume 1 Architecture, vol 2 Harware and vol 3 Software (VMS). I assume that they threw out old models in more recent editions, right? Could we reconstruct which topics are described in which edition of the Hardware Handbook? One can't buy those any more, how does that influence the right to compile and share copies? I wonder if one could archive the Hardware handbooks by subject and that way compile a single volume with complete coverage of all VAXen. Besides, there is a mystical "Perepherial Handbook" to which I have seen reference once, but never any copy in bookstores, catalogues or on eBay. Did it ever exist? Was it volume 4 of the series? What items were covered over the years in there? regards, -Gunther -- Gunther Schadow, M.D., Ph.D. gschadow(a)regenstrief.org Medical Information Scientist Regenstrief Institute for Health Care Adjunct Assistant Professor Indiana University School of Medicine tel:1(317)630-7960 http://aurora.regenstrief.org

22 years, 8 months

The Future End of Classic Computing

by csmith＠amdocs.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: Doc [mailto:doc@mdrconsult.com] > Please, please don't assume that the idiocy, the long-term impact on > innovation and economy, or even the legality of this bill have ANY > bearing on its likelihood of passing. Yep. > These puppet politicians really don't have a clue or a care what > they're sponsoring, and a lot of basically honest legislators are not > only absolutely illiterate concerning, but completely unaware > of, non-MS > computing and digital media technology in general. They can You're much more kind to them than I. I would have simply said they're treasonous, and have never heard of the US constitution. Regards, Chris Christopher Smith, Perl Developer Amdocs - Champaign, IL /usr/bin/perl -e ' print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n"); '

22 years, 8 months

"Re: The Future End of Classic Computing

by dquebbeman＠acm.org

> On Mon, 1 Apr 2002, Douglas H. Quebbeman wrote: > > > Doc's response seems to be typical- it sounds so outrageous > > that there's no way it could happen. > > Excuse me? My response was that if we don't mobilize en masse, and > quickly, it _will_ happen. Doc, I have a fever, and the unsend key isn't working. Sorry! It was Joe Rigdon's comment to which I was replying... > The Digital Millenium Copyright Act was no less ridiculous, and is now > Federal law. In the many times that law has been invoked, not one case > has involved the mass distribution pirates its proponents claimed to > target. Most have been people like Dmitri Slyarov, who simply dared to > speak out, and to demonstrate that ownership of an idea is moot. Agreed... now if they'd grabbed Martha Stewart, there'd be some action. > The Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act - UCITA bill - is > even more ludicrous, and is now law in two states. A roaring > grass-roots campaign against UCITA was credited with stopping it in > Texas. Whew! > All three bills, proposed or passed, have in common that they are > unenforceable, that they target and penalize the consumer in favor of > specialized corporate interests, that they are blatantly > unconstitutional in spirit if not in their letters, and that most of > their opponents do not take them seriously enough to act. > > The other thing these bills all have in common is that the special > interest groups who buy their introduction into our legislative system > will continue to pay for their reintroduction until their puppets are > censured in a way that matters. In cash, and in criminal prosecution. Around here, we'd tar, feather, then run them out of town on a rail. > Douglas, I expect that the mis-attribution was a benign mistake, so I > want to make it clear that I'm not jumping down your throat. Ok! But I wasn't putting Joe down, either... only pointing out that we're preachin' to the choir here, folks... > But I WILL NOT be misunderstood in this. The very possibility of a > travesty like the CBDTPA becoming the law of the land is my worst > nightmare come to life. It has nothing to do with my computers, > my music recordings, or my movies. It has everything to do with the > idea that any coalition with enough cash and lawyers can today buy > any oppression of the people that they desire, with impunity, and > without any need to even disguise their actions. This is the Tyranny of the Majority that Publius warned us of. Again, sorry, I spent too much time in the mold den this weekend recovering old moldy Prime manuals. That deadly black mold you hear about... -dq

22 years, 8 months

IBM 1620

by geoff＠pkworks.com

-----Original Message----- From: Marvin Johnston <marvin(a)rain.org> To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> Date: Monday, April 01, 2002 5:38 PM Subject: IBM 1620 > >Take a look at Yahoo vintage auctions to find the "IBM 1620 CENTRAL >PROCESSING UNIT, MANUAL 1964" at >http://page.auctions.shopping.yahoo.com/auction/63778516?aucview=0x10 > >The current price with no bidders is $3.50. Gee, thanks for the spam. Save your money and download it for free from: http://www.spies.com/~aek/pdf/ibm/A26-4500-2_1620ref_Jul61.pdf

22 years, 8 months

Soldering and other skills

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On April 1, Sean Caron wrote: > I've been following the thread kind of loosely on the digest, and > although I really have no way of knowing how much time you're > spending around a soldering iron, I would strongly guess that you > have nothing to worry about from even relatively frequent soldering > as long as you're not doing something wierd like soldering in a > small closet with the door closed for hours on end every day or > melting down spools and huffing them... :) You mean that's not safe? Uh-oh. -Dave -- Dave McGuire "...it's leaving me this unpleasant, St. Petersburg, FL damp feeling on my shorts..." -Sridhar

22 years, 8 months

The Future End of Classic Computing

by dougq＠iglou.com

The End of Classic Computing, and in fact, the end of Computing as a hobby for almost all of us, is on the table in the U.S. Congress in the form of The Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act (CBDTPA). This insidious bill would strike at the very heart of this community, the software that keeps our ClassicComputers running, unless we or someone incorporates anti-pirating measures. Now, if that sounded inflammatory, it should. It's not quite accurate either. The bill will cover only software created from the time of the bill's passage and on into the future. The stuff we play with now would therefore be exempt. There appears to be a loophole for stuff you do that you never distribute. There also appears to be a loophole for computers that do not contain microprocessors. But there would be a horizon coming soon. If the bill is passed, computers and software being developed now, once 10 years old, might be on-topic, but you'd be breaking federal law to share software. Sponsored by someone who must surely be certifiably insane, one Senator Fritz Hollings of South Carolina, if you want more information, see: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,51274,00.html This will require lots of work to defeat, I think, as the politicians have bought into the fantasy that a pirated copy of something conctitutes a lost sale. A true emperor's fine new clothes scneario... Regards, -dq -- -Douglas Hurst Quebbeman (dougq(a)iglou.com) [Call me "Doug"] "The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away." -Tom Waits

22 years, 8 months

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test-drb April 2002