test-drb October 2010

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

175 participants
274 discussions

by charlesmorris800＠centurytel.net

I uncovered some "vintage" Tandy DeskMate software on five 3.5" floppies. Labeled (Radio Shack?) Catalog No. 25-3551, (C) 1984, 1990. Anyone want them for $5.00 plus Media Mail postage from 65775... please contact me offlist. thanks.

14 years, 2 months

IP Fragments - Worth doing, testing strategies?

by mbbrutman-cctalk＠brutman.com

I have been working on my TCP/IP stack for DOS, adding IP fragmentation support. There are not too many more features that I want to add to make it 'complete' before I open source the code and IP fragment support was a big one. I am having a terrible time testing it though. It seems that IP fragments out in the wild are pretty rare. I tried connecting to a slew of remote FTP sites hoping to find one that was behind a really bad network, and thus would have fragments coming from it. No joy. It seems that there are a lot of tricks out there to prevent fragments >from being created, especially when using TCP. The only way I can test the code is to send myself oversized UDP packets. If it works for UDP then it should work for TCP too, but I'd really like to test the TCP path explicitly. Combine the tricks with modern broadband and getting fragments is really difficult. Even on the home network I am having a hard time getting fragments. I put a Linux box between the DOS PC and a Windows machine, and set one of the Ethernet MTUs to 576. Well, that didn't force fragments because the Windows box is too clever. I could start turning everything off in the registry, but I really don't want to get that involved. Off the top of my head I think I am going to have to get another Linux box and dumb that down, if it is possible. Dumbing Linux down to turn off the features and then restoring it to a good state is probably safer/easier than doing it with Windows. Does anybody have a good technique for setting up a simple network that will result in IP fragments of TCP? On a related note, is this even worth it? I don't know of anything that needs to send fragments except for NFS over UDP. There might be other applications that send big packets over UDP but those would be the only class of applications that absolutely require fragment support. With TCP it is nice, but a user should be able to get around any problem by setting the local MTU to 576. Mike

14 years, 2 months

iPad? Really? (was RE: Voice recognition will never kill the keyboard was: Re: Evolution)

by IanK＠vulcan.com

Please, I just ate.... The iPad is another Apple marketing success, but it isn't "defining" in any sense. Just because the bleating masses bought a bunch of them doesn't mean it's a meaningful step in any direction except profit. It just means that the marketeers at Apple are without peer. That's not a compliment. Keep in mind that I'm typing this on a PowerBook - I'm not anti-Mac. I own and really enjoy a 7" Android tablet device - I'm not anti-tablet. (I also own a Fujitsu Stylistic Tablet PC that I bought a long time ago, and if you want to sit down over a couple of beers I'd be happy to talk about its strengths and weaknesses and why the "Tablet PC" was ultimately doomed.) I'm not anti-"device", as I've been saying for some time that the "Personal Computer" has had its day and will be supplanted by "devices" that are not recognizable as computers - and it's happening, with the proliferation of mobile devices as the primary mechanism for consumption of information technology for millions of people around the world. (Why does Microsoft do so poorly in this market? Because it's in their DNA to tie it to the Personal Computer.) But the iPad? Yuppie status symbol. Yet another expression of Steve Jobs' control freak personality. Dead end. IMHO -- Ian ________________________________________ From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Liam Proven [lproven at gmail.com] Sent: Sunday, October 03, 2010 9:15 AM To: General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only Subject: Re: Voice recognition will never kill the keyboard was: Re: Evolution On 2 October 2010 19:59, Tony Duell <ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote: >> For the existing apps that are mouse-centric, I see touchscreens >> replacing them, but for things that are text-centric I don't see that >> as a good transition. > > TOuchscreens have been tried in the past (the most obviosu example is the > HP150 'Touchscreen PC') and I think they were always found to be less > convenient to use than a mouse or trackball. You have to move your hand > further (keyboard to screen rather than keyboard to mouse on desk near > keybaord), and you arm/hand is not supported (e.g. by resting it on the > desk) when you are doing the pointing. Well, yes, in 1983 they quite definitely weren't viable yet. :?) The iPad is the defining device of this technology, at least so far. It isn't a desktop computer and doesn't try to be. It's not a Mac, it's not Mac-compatible. It has no windows, no desktop, no menu bar, no Dock or trashcan. No keyboard, no screen, no system unit, no removable media, no hard disk or floppy drive. It is a *device*, not a "computer". (Even though it runs Unix.) It sits in cradled in your lap or held in your hands as you operate it with your thumbs. The screen /is/ the computer. It weighs under a kilo and the battery lasts a day of use. And despite it being nothing like anything anyone is used to, it sold about three million devices in its first month or so. -- Liam Proven ? Info & profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/lproven Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? GMail/GoogleTalk/Orkut: lproven at gmail.com Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 ? Cell: +44 7939-087884 ? Fax: + 44 870-9151419 AIM/Yahoo/Skype: liamproven ? MSN: lproven at hotmail.com ? ICQ: 73187508

14 years, 2 months

Janus programming language for CP/M-86

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

I came across a set of disks labeled "Janus CP/M-86 Compiler", "Janus CP/M-86 Linker" and "Janus CP/M-86 Support" from RR Software. I presume these have nothing to do with the Janus lanuage created in 1990[1], but instead has something to do with reversible computing, if Wikipedia is accurate on this. How rare is this find? [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janus_(programming_language) -- David Griffith dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

14 years, 2 months

1981 Xitan S-100 system for sale - Norwalk, CA

by tosteve＠yahoo.com

I am posting this on behalf of Todd - see below: ------------------------------------- I have a Xitan XOR-100, which is an S-100 bus system with 8-inch floppy drives running CP/M. Along with that is a Televideo TVI-950 terminal. I have most of the manuals and other documentation. I also have a non-booting Apple Macintosh SE (10MB internal disk) with a third-party external 20MB SCSI drive. toddlitwin at charter.net -------------------------------------

14 years, 2 months

Another 935 shot...

by mdavidson1963＠gmail.com

Ok, can't resist. I'm just so happy to have this machine! Mark http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5153811&l=e3d7fbce9f&id=734972117 http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5153808&l=e4aaef5843&id=734972117

14 years, 2 months

anyone coming up through MD towards (or to, or beyond) MA sometime this year ?

by rescue＠hawkmountain.net

Have a BA23 pedestal enclosure I'd like to get from Rockville MD area.... and the local UPS store down there wan'ts $60ish for packing materials/packing charge (the $30+ to ship). So, thought I'd see if anyone was making a run through that area up this way per chance. Probably not, but thought I'd check anyway. Let me know if you are. Thanks, -- Curt

14 years, 2 months

TI calculator battery packs cont'd

by charlesmorris800＠centurytel.net

I just found another great site in Germany: http://www.stschmid.de/calculators/ in which he redesigned the dc-dc converter board inside the BP-8 with surface-mount components, and even sells them... for $25 plus $12 postage :( Guess I'll be using 9V batteries, or perhaps tuck a rechargeable one (which is really only 8.4 volts) inside the plastic case with a suitable diode and resistor for charging from the wall-wart.

14 years, 2 months

Another 935 shot...

by jonas＠otter.se

On Fri Oct 1 16:39:32 CDT 2010, Tony Duell (ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk) submitted the following words of wisdom: >> >> Ok, can't resist. I'm just so happy to have this machine! >> >> Mark >> >> http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5153811&l=e3d7fbce9f&id=734972117 >> http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5153808&l=e4aaef5843&id=734972117 > > What is it with classic computer people and cats :-) > > -tony Have you played the card game called "Chez Geek"? If you have, and you didn't know it before, you would have learned that cats are an essential companion to any geek who is really serious about his or her geekhood. /Jonas

14 years, 2 months

Latest eBay seller BS

by aek＠bitsavers.org

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230532269086 I don't know how he does this, but the auction starting price went up $10 as soon as I started watching the auction. It has happened TWICE now on relists of the same item.

14 years, 2 months

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test-drb October 2010