All is OK! Even the power supply is quiet now. I think it may have been
squealing only when the full load wasn't being drawn (I had both drives
disconnected) and only for a few seconds after power-up.
Anyway, the problem with the LCD panel was really nothing. The new
connector simply needed to mate with longer pins to make proper contact.
The pins at the back of the LCD panel were long enough, but the ones
inside the machine were not. I ground down the connector a little bit and
it works now.
I also fully disassembled the casing to get at the variable resistor that
controls the "contrast", because it was so dirty that I couldn't get a
stable picture at all. I used an aerosol contact cleaner on it.
I did find a loose paperclip during the disassembly. Hopefully it didn't
do any damage while it was in there.
The picture is now stable and clear. I used to get corrupted characters
and strange lines on the display at seemingly random times, but I used the
machine for at least six hours straight tonight and it never came back.
The screen also used to be sensitive to movement and its position, and now
it doesn't care if I grab it and flip it up while I'm using it. I'm
guessing that several other wires were in the process of working loose.
The screen is just naturally hard to read, but not nearly as hard as it
was. The contrast has to be adjusted according to the user's viewpoint,
and it's not always possible to clearly see the whole screen at once
(especially up close).
At some contrast settings, dark patches appear on the screen. Also, areas
of the screen react to what is being displayed on other areas with a kind
of ghosting, which can be a little distracting when the contents of the
screen are busy. I'm guessing that this is normal for this technology.
One really cool thing is that the characters appear to "float" on the
screen.
I think I can confirm a 1988 date for both construction and purchase.
Most of the parts with identifiable date stamps that I looked at had date
stamps of late '87 or the first few weeks of '88. Also, the contents of
the hard drive which I never inspected very thoroughly (because of the
screen) included personal and business (including many local businesses
that I know) tax records from 1987 through to 1991.
And yes, I did delete files of that nature as I found them. There were
approximately 16MB worth of accounting files, and only software that would
be useful in accounting, so clearly this was an accountant's machine.
I'm a bit disturbed by the implications of finding such information at a
garage sale.
There is something strange about the display, BTW. It has
externally-accessible dip switches. Four of them. And there's a note
taped inside the panel that certain pieces of software require a certain
switch setting.
I attempted to install GeoWorks 1.00 and found that its installation
program is one of the programs that needs that switch setting. :/
And no, I didn't get GeoWorks running, because I don't have a
PC-compatible mouse. :/ (I picked up GeoWorks at the Goodwill this week.)
Anyway, I'm still up because I've been watching the news all night.
<shudder> Had it not been for that, I probably would have reported back
with my success a lot sooner.
Doug Spence
ds_spenc(a)alcor.concordia.ca
http://alcor.concordia.ca/~ds_spenc/
>> In terms of copyright there is no thing like
>> 'lost ownership' Copyright (and other intelectual
>> property) is always originated by natural persons,
>> And if any kind of licencee (company, temopral owner)
>> is closed and no legal successor is available the rights
>> return to the original Author/Inventor.
> What happens if the author/inventor dies?
It comes to inheritance.
In fact, even copyright vanishes, but not before at least
50 Years.
Gruss
H.
--
Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK
>>>if an author is proud of his book, he won't trash the manuscripts.
>>Such grave pronouncements. You might as well argue that they
>>shouldn't throw away their drafts. Fact is, they do. Once the
>>book is in print, they've got a real copy. What compelling
>>reason did he have to save the old floppy version? It's not
>>as if he thought there was any demand for a second edition.
>>Computer books come and go in six weeks these days.
> These days, but I think 1983 is a little different. And if a book is
> successfull, why wouldn't they think about a second edition. The
> compelling reason to save a floppy version is that they might want
> to go back and edit something.
First, not everybody is collecting everything :)
Second, for a sequent edition you will use the
medias from the publisher, or jur write the
changes in one copy and give it to the publisher
(And if you're very successful, you just tell him
via phone wat to change :).
Gruss
H.
--
Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK
Dave Hick's fantastic HP calculator museum has an interesting page and
images of design studies and prototypes of a few HP desktop calculators
which illustrate how realistic some prototyping methods can be.
http://www.teleport.com/~dgh/designs/designs.htm
>
>As for computer cases, early models were probably handmade; it's not that
>hard. Take a run to your local Tap Plastics store. You can pick up all
>kinds/sizes of plastics that can then be made into just about anything.
>Also, model car/plane/boat shops probably have stuff to let you work with
>plastics.
>
>Even metal cases aren't that hard; I have a friend who built, as one of his
>first projects, an amazing set of cabinets/shelves for his Land Rover out
>of aluminum. Some simple tools are required, but nothing earth-shattering.
>
>I was talking to someone recently (Rax?) about building a custom
>wood-glass-and-brass case for a computer. Not that hard to build your
>first one in a plywood case, then worry about the production cases once
>you've got financing. (Of course, just make sure that cable going to the
>vax behind the curtain doesn't show! 8^)
>
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
>
>Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
>roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know."
>Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
>San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/
>
>
>
At 02:31 PM 8/26/98 PDT, you wrote:
>Curious. Same goes for people who aren't in a large company and
>invent various other things. How did he 'invent' a gun without
>owning the necessary tools (at least I doubt a magazine writer would
>own this stuff) to process metal? Also, how did Woz make a case for
>the Apple ][, etc? Are there companies that take single orders
>like this?
Well, reloading is a popular sport -- you take used cartridges, cast your
own bullets (heat metal, pour into molds), and combine them with as much
gunpowder as you like. Modifying the casing wouldn't be too hard, I
imagine for anyone with any basic metalworking skills, nor would altering
the bullet mold.
As for computer cases, early models were probably handmade; it's not that
hard. Take a run to your local Tap Plastics store. You can pick up all
kinds/sizes of plastics that can then be made into just about anything.
Also, model car/plane/boat shops probably have stuff to let you work with
plastics.
Even metal cases aren't that hard; I have a friend who built, as one of his
first projects, an amazing set of cabinets/shelves for his Land Rover out
of aluminum. Some simple tools are required, but nothing earth-shattering.
I was talking to someone recently (Rax?) about building a custom
wood-glass-and-brass case for a computer. Not that hard to build your
first one in a plywood case, then worry about the production cases once
you've got financing. (Of course, just make sure that cable going to the
vax behind the curtain doesn't show! 8^)
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/
So what is it? Any model number on the machine?
Francois
-------------------------------------------------------------
Visit the desperately in need of update
Sanctuary at: http://www.pclink.com/fauradon
-----Original Message-----
From: Max Eskin <maxeskin(a)hotmail.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Wednesday, September 02, 1998 3:05 PM
Subject: Re: TI Compact Computer 40
>
>
>
>
>I said it was _like_ a model 100, not an actual 100. It's very
>different, but the idea is similar.
I remember some laptop that had a special key combination to switch from LCD
to external monitor. You could not have both at the same time. Look for
extra feature keys (usually accessed by pressing a special FN key).
Francois
-------------------------------------------------------------
Visit the desperately in need of update
Sanctuary at: http://www.pclink.com/fauradon
-----Original Message-----
From: Shawn Rutledge <ecloud(a)goodnet.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Wednesday, September 02, 1998 7:00 PM
Subject: Re: LCD woes
>> Anyway, the machine has a special card in it for driving the LCD panel.
>> It is labeled "LCD & HGC CARD". What is "HGC"? It has an external 9-pin
>
>Probably "Hercules Graphics Card" - Hercules made the original
>mono graphics card that was cloned a lot and most cards for driving
>mono monitors are that variety. It gives you 720 x 4?? dots
>with each pixel being on or off. As well as being compatible
>with the original IBM PC mono video card (which had only text mode).
>It does use a 9-pin connector.
>
>> port on it and I tried plugging the monochrome display into it, but the
>> picture was all distorted so I figured it was using a different frequency
>> or something. The cursor comes out about an inch wide, and none of the
>> craracters are recognizable, possibly just from overwritten numerous
times
>> in the same scanline.
>
>Hmmm are you sure the monitor is OK?
>>
>> Oh, and BTW, I electrocuted myself last night when I touched some exposed
>> wiring going to the LCD panel. It surprised me that there was that much
>
>Is it backlit? Fluorescent backlights use relatively high voltage.
>
>--
> _______ KB7PWD @ KC7Y.AZ.US.NOAM
ecloud(a)goodnet.com
> (_ | |_) Shawn T. Rutledge on the web:
http://www.goodnet.com/~ecloud
> __) | |
\__________________________________________________________________
>* X window * virtual reality * knowledge base * ham radio * electronics *
>
I see another rocket has blown up.
Looks like it's time to break out those
desk top analog computers that got us
into space the first time.
=========================================
Doug Coward dcoward(a)pressstart.com
Curator
Museum of Personal Computing Machinery
Sunnyvale,CA
http://www.best.com/~dcoward/museum
"This instrument can teach, it can illuminate;
Yes,and it can even inspire. But it can do so
only to the extent that humans are determined
to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is
merely lights and wires in a box."
- Micro68 computer User's Manual,EPA Inc. 1976
=========================================
FREE (yup, just shipping is all) to a good home....temrinals! One, two
or all.
1 - DEC model VT100, no keyboard but great shape and working. About
32 lbs shipping weight
2 - Visual model 102 complete with keyboard, great shape and
working. About 35 lbs shipping
3 - Texas Instruments model 911VDT, no keyboard. Great shape and
working. About 28 lbs shipping
NOTE....They go to that terrible place that many other unwanted
machines go soon - the DUMPSTER OF
DEATH if I don't get a firm response before long. I've held back
>from dumping them as I know someone out
there has a use for one or all of them. Shipping will be calculated
by USPS parcel post rates from me in zip 40144
to you and prepayment by money order or cashier's check is
required. I will ship the same or next day as I
recieve payment. If you want any of these contact me by direct
email SOON.
___________________________________________________
Russ Blakeman
Rt. 1 Box 62E / Harned, KY USA 40144
Phone: (502) 756-1749 Data/Fax:(502) 756-6991
Email: rhblake(a)bbtel.com or rhblake(a)bigfoot.com
Website: http://members.tripod.com/~RHBLAKE/
ICQ UIN #1714857
___________________________________________________
>> In terms of copyright there is no thing like
>> 'lost ownership' Copyright (and other intelectual
>> property) is always originated by natural persons,
>> And if any kind of licencee (company, temopral owner)
>> is closed and no legal successor is available the rights
>> return to the original Author/Inventor.
>
>What happens if the author/inventor dies?
I just went through a huge ordeal similiar to this in trying to get
Resnova's NovaServer (BBS server) put into the public domain.
The following, of course, does not constitute legal advice. ;-)
To quote Peter E. Converse:
---Start Quote---
When you say that ResNova "no longer exists in any way shape or form",
that
may mean several different things. It may mean that ResNova has gone
through a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation, that its corporate charter has
been allowed to lapse, or merely that its operations have been abandoned.
Each of these possibilities leads to several different outcomes.
First, if ResNova is bankrupt, any intellectual property (like NovaServer)
would pass temporarily through the hands of a bankruptcy trustee, receiver
or debtor-in-possession. Then, this person probably would have attempted
to sell this intellectual property to satisfy the debts of the company.
If
ResNova is still going through a bankruptcy, you could contact the trustee
or receiver by checking federal Bankruptcy records.
Second, if ResNova's corporate charter has been allowed to lapse (which is
what I think you mean, if I had to bet), that corporation still owns the
intellectual property in question, even though it no longer exists under
the laws of the state of incorporation (subject to my comments about
abandonment below). You might be able to arrange to purchase or license
the IP by contacting the officers of the company. To find out who they
are, you could contact the Secretary of State of the state in which
Resnova
was originally incorporated. This would probably be the State of its
primary operations, or, alternatively, Delaware, NY or Calif. Any
Secretary of State will tell you, over the phone, the name of the
registered agent (prob an attorney or officer of the company) who could
help you arrange a purchase or license.
Third, if ResNova's shareholders, officers, directors and creditors have
all disappeared, you might be able to treat this intellectual property as
having been "abandoned." Unfortunately, if you do so, you may be
subjecting yourself to legal liability for unlicensed use of the IP in the
event that any of these folks turn up later. The burden in court would be
placed on you to prove that you made a rigorous effort to find the owners
and that they really had abandoned the asset. I would suggest making
thorough investigations as described in the above two paragraphs before
simply assuming that the asset has been abandoned.
Of course, you should understand that this information is merely general
and is not legal advice rendered as to specific facts. You should
probably
consult an attorney before taking any actions in this matter.
Let me know if I can be of any further assistance. I represent a number
of
software developers, consultants, consumer product marketers and IT
professionals.
Good Luck.
Peter E. Converse
The Law Offices of Peter E. Converse
8 South Michigan Avenue
Suite 2600
Chicago, Illinois 60603
(312) 214-0661
(312) 332-0600 Fax
convers(a)interaccess.com
---End Quote---
--
Sysop of Caesarville Online
Client software at: <http://home.earthlink.net/~tomowad/>
