test-drb

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101090 discussions

by Philip.Belben＠powertech.co.uk

[Manchester SSEM] > That's pretty neat. Let me know if all the lights in town dim when they > turn it back on! > > Any idea how many of those were sold and what they cost? Um. Yes. AFAIK, none were sold, and they (it) cost a lot. :-) But they probably didn't track the cost accurately, since the machine was continually being extended - it (i.e. the physical hardware, not just the design) was used as a basis for the next couple of Manchester machines (including the mark 1, I think). Philip.

28 years, 2 months

What is the first computer?

by bobstek＠ix13.ix.netcom.com

BTW, disgruntled French factory weavers who realized the threat of automated Jacquard looms to their skilled jobs were known to throw their wooden shoes, sabots, into the mechanical workings in order to express their displeasure at being replaced by a machine. Hence the the coining of a new word - sabotage.

28 years, 2 months

What is the first computer?

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

At 09:41 AM 6/17/98 -0400, you wrote: >I think there was an automated loom that was invented in the 17th century >that wove a pattern based on a template, but I don't recall if this was a IIRC, this is where our modern-day punched cards came from. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/

28 years, 2 months

What is the first computer?

by photze＠batelco.com.bh

Hi. Just wanted to check... What's the: 1) First calculating device (fingers and mind) 2) First human made computer (program given for input, so abbacus doesn't count, output given) 3) Computer capible of storing programs 4) Computer capible of doing more than direct math (IE run programs for AI's, etc.) 5) First digital computer 6) First microchip based computer (probably based on the 4004) 7) First computer to sell more than 1,000 8) " " " " " " 10,000 9) First computer to use a floppy disk (any kind of floppy) Thanks, Tim D. Hotze

28 years, 2 months

old mac cards

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

At 12:59 AM 6/17/98 -0700, you wrote: >Apple Macintosh IIci Cache Card (nubus) >Duh. I can make a good guess at this one. I'll offer $5 for this... When I run across 'em, I stick 'em in the IIci's in Rachel's classroom. Dunno if it does anything, but it sounds cool. >Unknown nubus board >Has markings DRO1 DEMO PC 10-184464- SER. NO. AA on component side. >Has several unmarked chips and empty sockets. There is also a good >deal of loose blue wire running hither and yon. On the end is a female >37 pin connector. Obviously this is a prototype. Is there any way >to find out for what? Well, Dx-37F is an external floppy connector for PC's. Coupled with the "PC" in "DEMO PC", I'd guess a hardware PC emulator. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/

28 years, 2 months

PDP model line / rarity?

by JRichardson＠softwright.co.uk

>> Hire the handicapped. They don't get much work done, but they're fun >> to watch. Hmm, I'll take that as a joke - in the way that it was (hopefully) intended. A word of advice though; think twice about what you say on this list - or anywhere else for that matter - as some people could take offence to that comment (and justifiably so!) J. >

28 years, 2 months

PDP model line / rarity?

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

At 12:11 AM 6/17/98 -0400, you wrote: >Hire the handicapped. They don't get much work done, but they're fun >to watch. Call me a pissing-liberal, but I have to reply... (and yes, I understand it was most likely a joke, but for them what don't understand that...) (And keep in mind that especially on the internet, there is a very high probability that someone who reads your message may be physically challenged. (I know for a fact that at least one person on this list is.)) The "handicapped" are often more productive than the rest of society. Hawking is a good example. I can cite more if you want. So call me hyper-sensitive, but as one who drives around with a crip-card in the car most of the time... Actually, it is the people who seem physically fine that are often the most handicapped. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/

28 years, 2 months

What is the first computer?

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Jun 18, 1:44, Tony Duell wrote: > You've never had a marginal timing problem, or a pattern-related data > problem? I am suprised. > > Put it this way. I had a 1793 that, when it was warm, would not gerenrate > a data request bit if (I think) the last 2 bytes loaded were both FF. > Something totally crazy like that. Took a long time (and a lot of > corrupted disks) to track that one down. > > Ditto for marginal timing that fixes itself when the machine is cold, or > hot, or when you wave your hands over the CPU board, or whatever. My two favourites are both from BBC Micros: 1) a manufacturing fault: a particular machine would work from cold, but fail after about half a minute. It turned out that the IC used to select bank-switched ROMs had been inserted with one pin bent under the chip. It actually looked like it was properly soldered from the top side of the board, and impossible to tell from the underside, because the manufacturing process had skimmed all the protruding pins virtually flush with the board (onme particular subcontractor sometimes skimmed too close and damaged the tracks, but that's another story). Anyway, when it was cold, the bent pin touched the solder in the hole. When it warmed up even slightly, the other pins apparently expanded just enough to raise the IC and the bent pin lost contact. 2) a design fault: the original BBC used a ULA for video timing, and once it was in production, it was quickly found that many would start to give timing errors (manifested as twinkling characters) when they got warm. ULAs do run fairly warm, but they aren't supposed to need heatsinks, so this was a bit puzzling. It turned out that some gates in a chain had been set up as open-collector when they should have had pullups; when cold, the characteristics were such that the output got to a reasonable level quickly enough for the input it was driving, but when the IC was hot the level changed too slowly. As John Coll (who ran the original training courses) put it, if you could drill a hole in the top of the IC, and connect a pullup resistor to the correct gate with a microprobe, you wouldn't need the heatsink. Later versions of the custom chip were indeed provided as "heatsinkless". -- Pete Peter Turnbull Dept. of Computer Science University of York

28 years, 2 months

What is the first computer? (OT: HTML Rendering/Omniweb

by gim＠hitec-uk.com

First off, sorry is this comes through as unreadable garbage, I'm @ work, so I've got to use Lotus notes.... :( Wasn't Omniweb the Web browsers for NeXT machines? Was it ever released on other platforms? If my memory serves me correctly, when MS/NS were having they're best viewed on icon war, Omniweb had an icon with the slogan, "Not to shabby when viewed with OmniWeb". Anyway, I digress, if you import your file into a newer version of word, then save as,with the file type HTML Alternately, there was a plug in released by MS called internet assistant. I'm not sure which versions of word it runs on, check their website for info. Sorry for wandering OT. Grant. "R. Stricklin (kjaeros)" <red(a)bears.org> on 06/18/98 08:28:05 AM Please respond to classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu To: "Discussion re-collecting of classic computers" <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> cc: Subject: Re: What is the first computer? On Thu, 18 Jun 1998, Rax wrote: > HTML table (the timeline runs about 10,000 words and I can't face the > thought of re-typing it), I'll post it on my Web site for list members' > general edification and enlightenment, as well as criticisms, corrections, > and nit-picking. HTML.. table? HTML table? Do you have any idea how long it would take render a table of that size in Omniweb? Ugh. Why not use the list tags, like a sensible person? Using tables as a method of formatting HTML is unforgivable. (: ok r.

28 years, 2 months

old mac cards

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

My thoughts exactly. Look at the card. Is there an intel or cyrix microprocessor on the board? Another hint is four identical square chips (the chipset). >>Duh. I can make a good guess at this one. > >I'll offer $5 for this... When I run across 'em, I stick 'em in the IIci's >in Rachel's classroom. Dunno if it does anything, but it sounds cool. > >>Unknown nubus board >>Has markings DRO1 DEMO PC 10-184464- SER. NO. AA on component side. >>Has several unmarked chips and empty sockets. There is also a good >>deal of loose blue wire running hither and yon. On the end is a female >>37 pin connector. Obviously this is a prototype. Is there any way >>to find out for what? > >Well, Dx-37F is an external floppy connector for PC's. Coupled with the >"PC" in "DEMO PC", I'd guess a hardware PC emulator. > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/ > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 2 months

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