test-drb January 2018

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

177 participants
213 discussions

Convergent AWS machines (formerly Sold on eBay: Convergent Technologies S/50 a.k.a. Unix PC, AT&T 3B1 Unix Workstation)

by microtechdart＠gmail.com

Alan, my apologies for the confusion here. The email subject still said S/50, but I believe we had switched topics mid-thread. On Mon, Jan 15, 2018 at 6:16 AM, dwight <dkelvey at hotmail.com> wrote: > Years ago, we used one of the Convergent machines. I recall playing rats > on it. It had a green screen. It was a 8086 processor and had some > Multibus slots in it. > I was replying to Dwight with a link to my AWS machine when Dominique chipped in with the Burrows comment. I believe that Dominique was referring to my AWS that I show at http://mightyframe.blogspot.com/2017/03/convergent-technolog ies-workstation.html And I agree with you wholeheartedly on your points. They look nothing alike, and are based on totally different processors. |Alan Perry via cctech <cctech at classiccmp.org> | |As I mentioned elsewhere, I worked on software for them at Burroughs ('86-'89). I |picked up a bunch of B25 stuff in '03, but I could never find any software for |them. In retrospect, I wish that I has stashed away B25 (and B1000 (I was one |of the last people in the office supporting software onthe B1000)) stuff, rather |than return everything, when I left the company. | |alan That's very cool that you worked on the software. And, yes, Alan, agreed about wishing to keep a few of them around...But, I may be able to get the one that I have running soon. I'll be working on it on and off this year. I plan on trying trying to restore the Convergent CTOS on this, rather than the Burroughs BTOS, at least at first anyway... I'll keep you posted here on my progress on that. Thanks, all! Best, -AJ On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 11:02 AM, Alan Perry via cctech < cctech at classiccmp.org> wrote: > Are you sure? > > The B20, B21, B22 looked like this - http://www.computerhistory.org > /collections/catalog/102662660 - and nothing like the 3B1 or the S/50. > The B25 and subsequent models (which are often referred to as B20s) are > modular systems that are box-shaped and got wider as "slices" were added. > The B20s were x86-based and the 3B1 (and presumably the CT S/50) was > 68k-based. > > alan > > > On 1/17/18 2:41 AM, Dominique Carlier via cctech wrote: > >> It's interesting, I had exactly the same machine a long time ago, but >> with a different label. It was a Burroughs B20 distributed by Unisys >> >> Dominique >> >> On 17/01/2018 06:45, AJ Palmgren via cctalk wrote: >> >>> Did it happen to be one of these older-style Convergent AWS machines? >>> >>> http://mightyframe.blogspot.com/2017/03/convergent-technolog >>> ies-workstation.html >>> >>> >>> > -

6 years, 11 months

Sold on eBay: Convergent Technologies S/50 a.k.a. Unix PC, AT&T 3B1 Unix Workstation

by microtechdart＠gmail.com

I'm just wondering if anybody here did (or knows who) bought this one. http://ebay.to/2DaRr13 Even though these were all manufactured by Convergent Technologies, this one is actually BRANDED by Convergent, as their model S/50. And there's software included here. I tried to buy myself, but just missed it. I'd really like to connect with the buyer here, to see if we can do a more expansive documentation project on this machine, as well as an archival of the software that was included. As far as I know, this is the only Convergent S/50 I've ever seen that has survived, especially with all the CONVERGENT software and manuals (vs the AT&T ones)! Thanks! -AJ http://MightyFrame.com

6 years, 11 months

Malware history was: Spectre & Meltdown

by rlloken＠telus.net

On Tue, 16 Jan 2018, David C. Jenner via cctalk wrote: > This isn't malware, but back in 1962 when I was taking a college class in > assembly language programming for the IBM 709, my innocence led to the > following. We might as well all contribute. Back in college in 1969 we would submit our Fortran IV assignments on punched card of course. One day I got back junk and discovered that it was not my card deck under the account ID card so I went through the pile of returned decks and printouts and found that another student had swiped my deck and put his name on top so I took back the deck and shuffled his deck well before returning his ID card to the top and resubmitting it. I never heard a thing about that episode but I sometimes wonder what his next output looked like. -- Richard Loken VE6BSV : "...underneath those tuques we wear, Athabasca, Alberta Canada : our heads are naked!" ** rlloken at telus.net ** : - Arthur Black

6 years, 11 months

Passing of a valued member

by toby＠telegraphics.com.au

To the list: It is with deep personal sadness that I write that young list member Marc Grenville-Cleave, of Dorset UK, has passed away. He was known personally to several list members. I did not have the pleasure of meeting him in person but as he was a longtime friend I wanted to write a brief celebration of his life and interests. Most relevant to this list, Marc was an avid DEC collector and PDP-11 enthusiast and rescuer: http://marc.cleave.me.uk//pdp11/index.htm He was also the proud owner of a VAX-11/750, among other computers: http://marc.cleave.me.uk/collection.htm He was self-taught in many skills, including electronics, and had natural gifts as an engineer. Around the age of 14 he designed an 8-bit TTL CPU, which he called "Titan". You can read more here: http://marc.cleave.me.uk/cpu/ & https://github.com/bootnecklad/Titan-Specifications The machine was wire-wrapped and soldered with his trademark meticulous care, as you can see from the photos on the first site linked. Here is a picture of Marc with some of his favourite machines (Titan in the background): http://i.imgur.com/CCinlCS.jpeg Many people knew him on irc, as "bootnecklad" or "bnl", in the #classiccmp Freenode channel and elsewhere. His sense of humour was unique, sparkling and irreverent. Aside from his electronics and retrocomputing interests, he restored his beloved Range Rover Classic over a long period and finally got it roadworthy in 2016. He was a perfectionist in this project as in everything else. Most recently Marc was a Electronic and Computer Engineering student at the University of Nottingham. He will be painfully missed by very many people. --Toby

6 years, 11 months

Weird thing ID (core stack?)

by toby＠telegraphics.com.au

Hi, An acquiantance was wondering about more details on this part: https://imgur.com/a/p1GQ2 It seems to be a core memory stack? But of what type? CDC? Any info appreciated. --Toby

6 years, 11 months

Reviving ARPAnet

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Charles Anthony > it was shipped has an "unbundled" product. Ah. I assumed that what had happened was that the set of source files at MIT was just what was in the 'last release', and the NCP code had been discarded by then. I wonder if it's on a backup tape that MIT retained, somewhere? So now I'm curious - weren't many other pieces of important software similarly "unbundled", and if so, were those missing too? Noel

6 years, 11 months

AT&T UNIX PC 7300 (3b1) disassembly video

by microtechdart＠gmail.com

While I'm thinking about it, for any/all who might be interested, just last week, I created a step-by-step video for disassembling a UNIX PC 7300 (with a few comments/comparisons for the 3b1) https://youtu.be/vYKS-jOdcsQ I've always found them tricky to work on with the way they are packed together, so I hope this could help others who might want to take a crack at a repair/restoration (or, heaven forbid...a "part-out") -- Thanks, AJ http://MightyFrame.com http://QICreader.com http://UnixPC.blogspot.com

6 years, 11 months

Reviving ARPAnet

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Phil Budne > I asked around for v6 Unix with "NCP" code when the IMP code was > resurected, but never found it.... Yeah, that one was retrieved only recently, when Chuck managed to read an old dump tape I had of the MIT-CSR PWB1 Unix PDP-11. We didn't run NCP on that machine, but I had squirreled away that code (and the BBN code) on it (in case we ever had any use for it). Noel

6 years, 11 months

HP 2108A key

by Tim＠Rikers.org

On 09/21/2017 08:52 AM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > On Thu, 21 Sep 2017, Mike Loewen via cctalk wrote: >> ? Mike Thompson at the RICM is going to look for a number on the key >> for their 2108A, this weekend. > > Ask if he can snap a few good close-up pictures of it.? While > measurement from a picture isn't reliable, it doesn't have to be, if the > picture is clear enough to decide whether a given cut is a 2 cut or a 3 > cut. > Did this get resolved? I have an HP-2108A with key as pictured here: https://rikers.org/gallery/hardware-hp2108a/20050415_132446

6 years, 11 months

Reviving ARPAnet

by lars＠nocrew.org

Hello, What software, hardware, simulators, emulators, etc are there that could run ARPAnet today? - ITS has support for NCP, but I don't know if it works. - There's source code for the IMP. - TENEX seems ok at a quick glance. - WAITS, likewise. - Multics NCP has not been located. - Unix? - IBM mainframes? - NOS? - VMS? Does anyone have any host tables between 1975 and 1981? Classic regards, Lars Brinkhoff

6 years, 11 months

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test-drb January 2018