test-drb July 2009

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

181 participants
245 discussions

Telnet access to classic mainframe/timesharing systems

by bqt＠softjar.se

Michael Kerpan <mjkerpan at kerpan.com> wrote: > I'd be interested to know what's out there vis a vis classic systems > that are on the Internet offering public access. Currently, I know of > twenex.org (emulated KL-10B DECSYSTEM-20 with Panda TOPS-20), > pdpplanet.com (a TOAD-1 with TOPS-20, a DECSYSTEM-10 2065 and a VAX > 780) and cray-cyber.org (an emulated CDC Cyber plus a rotating > selection of historic super computers on weekends), but is there > anything else? Is anybody running classic versions of UNIX (UCB-era > BSD, AT&T-era System III/V, V6/V7, etc) Is anybody running a public > IBM system? What about various lesser-known systems? Given that most > people used these systems through remote terminals to begin with, a > public access system would seem to be an ideal way to experience them, > but how many of them are available in such a way? A little surprised that people don't seem to know this, since it's been online for about fifteen years now (and I have made public announcements now and then all the time)... Update, in Sweden, have a PDP-11/70, which runs RSX, and have guest access. The machine is Magica.Update.UU.SE. Because a budget limit, along with a problematic cooling system a few years ago, we've had to restrict how much we can have that machine running, so we migrated all accounts to an emulated PDP-11/74 instead, called Mim.Update.UU.SE. So, just telnet to Mim.Update.UU.SE, and login with guest/guest, and you can play with RSX. Oh, and yes, Magica is still around as well. It just takes a turn of the key to get it online. Johnny -- Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus || on a psychedelic trip email: bqt at softjar.se || Reading murder books pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol

15 years, 5 months

Old Unix system IDRIS

by dj.taylor4＠verizon.net

I tinker with old laboratory equipment and got a Bio-Rad 3200 computer the other day that runs a spectrometer. It is a 68030 based system that runs a version of Whitesmiths unix. It came with a bunch of floppys dated 1992. It runs just fine and I would like to get advice on how to preserve the contents of the small SCSI disk inside the computer and the floppys. As an aside, I didn't know any passwords to get me into the system. My first try to log on as root using the password 'password' worked, I had to laugh. Doug

15 years, 5 months

Pr1me tape drive at re-pc seattle

by derschjo＠mail.msu.edu

It's large and dirty and $25. Can't get to the back to find a model. Took a couple pics w my phone that I can share if anyone is interested... Josh

15 years, 5 months

Nova 4/C Questions

by david_comley＠yahoo.com

I'm assessing a pair of Nova 4/C chassis that I have had for a few months. One of the units has a CPU but no memory; the other has a MOS memory board but no battery backup unit. Can anyone tell me whether older Nova core memory is compatible with the 4/C processor (I suspect not), and whether the battery backup unit is required for the memory to operate, or whether it was just sold as an option ? I think the wiring is there for it in the chassis. My notes and some photographs are online at http://comley.us/browse.php?&action=show&artefactID=1054 Thanks, -Dave

15 years, 5 months

S-100 prototyping boards available

by lynchaj＠yahoo.com

Hi!? Some people have asked for more information about the S-100 prototyping boards. They are available on VCGM, eBay (#270407288057) or from me directly. http://marketplace.vintage-computer.com/auction_details.php?name=N8VEM-S100- Prototyping-Board-PCB&auction_id=103791 My goal is to just recover the cost of the PCB manufacturing run -- not a commercial "for profit" venture. There has proven to be significantly less interest in S-100 home brew projects than I anticipated which is why I still have these boards available. If anyone would like to buy some please contact me by email. Thanks and have a nice day! Andrew Lynch

15 years, 5 months

Altos 686 and Xenix 3.2f help

by spedraja＠ono.com

Well, big problem. The /xenix kernel of one Altos 686 with Xenix 3.2f is corrupted, and the security copy (as usual) don't recover. Someone can provide me one bootable floppy or tape for this machine and OS ? I shall try to recover the kernel, but in the worst case I should need to install again from this backup. But my impression is that I should need one floppy in all cases. Thanks Sergio

15 years, 5 months

Telnet access to moderately old UNIX boxes

by tmanos＠concursive.com

I'm running a couple of AT&T SVR4 machines and am thinking of doing an SVR3. These are running on old Intel hardware, in text-only mode, etc. Unfortunately I'm really worried about opening these to the public net because they obviously have a ton of security holes. For instance, it's really hard to get a modern ssh running on them, so I have to use telnet. I have them set up on a private network with a modern linux machine on both the public and private networks that I can ssh into and telnet out of. It also acts as a mail relay for them. SVR4 is not that old, so I'm not sure how many might be interested in it, but if you really are, let me know, and I can set you up an account and tell you how to get in. The machine has a bunch of the old text mode software we used to use in those days: games, email clients, and very soon, USENET. Even a curses-based menu system. It's basically a rebuild of an old public access UNIX system I used to run. I'm also interested to know if anyone out there with old systems is interested in building a dark network for retro computing folks using UUCP over tcp. I have this perverse urge to get pathalias running again and build a little UUCP mapping project. Because my SVR4 box is on a private network, I'll need to bounce through the linux box. I'd like to implement a set of private USENET groups, and file transfer. I am also considering completely blowing off net access for these boxes and just using dialup. I was thinking of buying one of those MagicJack thingies that give you a local number and unlimited voip calling for $20 a year and setting up a modem on it. The downside is that most folks don't have modems any more. Ideas? Am I just nuts for even considering something like this? -Tom

15 years, 5 months

OT Names was Re: chiclassiccomp.org was Re: Mysterious website

by dm561＠torfree.net

Message: 25 Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:08:20 -0700 (PDT) From: David Griffith <dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu> On Mon, 29 Jun 2009, Marvin Johnston wrote: >>> > Happens more often than you'd think. ?Long ago, a friend decided to >>> > call his company "Tripas" (a variant spelling of "Tri-pass"). ?After >>> > the corporate name had been registered, the janitorial crew informed >>> > him that they thought it was funny--apparently it's Spanish ?for >>> > entriails ?(tripe). >> >> Up here in Canada, the Reform party briefly renamed itself the >> "Conservative Reform Alliance" Party: CRAP >> >> That lasted all of two days, IIRC. > > Anyone remember the eBay marketing promotion, "Do It eBay"? I still love it > ... Do It eBay, short for DIE! Some years ago a shoe company came out with a shoe they named "The Incubus". Said shoes were in the stores before management realized what an incubus is. Now for something more modern, have any of you noticed the rash of suggestive fast food adverts? -- David Griffith dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu ---------------Reply: And of course there was a small problem with Commodore's VIC 20 in Germany which led to its being renamed the "VC20 VolksComputer". (hint: the V is pronounced F in German, and they use an 'I' where we use a 'U')

15 years, 5 months

Kaypro System disks?

by ian_primus＠yahoo.com

--- On Thu, 7/2/09, Tom Manos <tmanos at concursive.com> wrote: > Will a Kaypro really play nice with a > 3.5" floppy drive? It never occurred to me to try it. I > thought the floppy drivers under CP/M only knew about DD > drives, and the bios on the boot disk was different between > the various Kaypro models among other things to support the > different floppies they had (SS/SD, SS/DD, DS/DD). A couple of tricks. For one, you won't be able to use high density drives - the controller can't handle the higher data rate without some hacking. But a 720k floppy drive is almost the same as a DS/DD 5 1/4" floppy drive. It just has 80 tracks instead of 40. So, if you use it without any special drivers, it will work, and the system won't know the difference - it will only use the first 40 tracks, and you'll get 360k of storage. I don't know about the Kaypro, but on the TRS-80, it's possible, with OS support, to use 720k f3 1/2" drives on unmodified hardware, and use the full capacity. -Ian

15 years, 5 months

Apple Airport w/ Adapters on CL

by oldcpu＠rogerwilco.org

Who was it that needed an Airport card for an iMac a couple of weeks ago? A seller (no connection) in my area appears to have three for sale, with iMac adapters: http://provo.craigslist.org/sys/1238519912.html

15 years, 5 months

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test-drb July 2009