- test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org - classiccmp.org

by manney＠nwohio.com

Ya wanna get rid of it? manney(a)nwohio.com > possibly the TI-2500. i have one from the old college days - vintage early > 70's; definitely preceded the SR models. it is tan and has the label > "Datamath" next to the TI logo. 4-banger, no memory. perhaps most > recognizable by the orange "=" key in the lower right. So did the TI SR-10, IIRC

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Past Computer Manufacturers (fwd from mailbase)

by chemif＠mbox.queen.it

At 08:16 12/02/98 -0600, you wrote: >> EXATRON Stringy floppy (used tiny carts with 1/8" wide tape) > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >I remember those. They were about the only mass storage you could >get for the ZX-81 IIRC. Didn't know they were continuous loop. SINCLAIR made endless tape "MICRODRIVE" for the ZX Spectrum >> There are at least two that used modified 8track drives. Forgot their >> names. I tried 8tr for data, it was ok but the wait even for a 3minutes >> loop was painful. > >They wouldn't seem practical for on-line storage; I was thinking more >for archival applications. Of course, the $600+ pricetags for the >FDD's available at the time were painful in of themselves. TRUE was a small upgrade comparing to the tape speed. Riccardo ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ? Riccardo Romagnoli,collector of:CLASSIC COMPUTERS,TELETYPE UNITS,PHONE ? ? AND PHONECARDS I-47100 Forli'/Emilia-Romagna/Food Valley/ITALY ? ? Pager:DTMF PHONES=+39/16888(hear msg.and BEEP then 5130274*YOUR TEL.No.* ? ? where*=asterisk key | help visit http://www.tim.it/tldrin_eg/tlde03.html ? ? e-mail=chemif(a)mbox.queen.it ? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

System/34 once again

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

It now looks like I might at least get the manuals and so on for the thing, I don't know about actually running it. What I am wondering is if it's actually worth it. If I go ahead, it will be my first experience with a non-microcomputer. Is using this thing something I could learn from and be interested in, or is it something you would roll your eyes and groan over? Could someone who has used the thing tell me what it's like? Is its OS very system-level or does it have some degree of ease of use? ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

Are We Not Men? (& Women?) [OT^2] (Was Re: PDP-8/Es available [NOT!]) (fwd)

by wirehead＠retrocomputing.com

I think the following says all that need be said about this debate. I received it from Mr. Ismail this evening. Anthony Clifton - Wirehead ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 17:12:53 -0800 (PST) From: Sam Ismail <dastar(a)wco.com> To: Wirehead Prime <wirehead(a)www.retrocomputing.com> Subject: Re: Are We Not Men? (& Women?) [OT^2] (Was Re: PDP-8/Es available [NOT!]) On Sun, 25 Jan 1998, Wirehead Prime wrote: > My mail server must have been down the day you were put in charge. I, > for one, would like to hear Mr Whitson's comments on this matter. Mr. Whitson doesn't have to comment on the matter as he already has, IN THE MANNER OF A FAQ WHICH CLEARLY EXPLAINS WHAT IS AND IS NOT ACCEPTABLE DISCUSSION FOR THIS GROUP. Any drug addled moron can determine from the FAQ that the last five days of you blowing your wad over yourself is not what is considered on-topic for a discussion group on CLASSIC COMPUTERS. > Clearly there is a question of interpretation here and, seeing as how I've > received no warnings or chastisements directly from Bill or from anyone > else for that matter, I'll assume > that your opinion is either that of the minority or differs from his to > such a degree that it isn't worth the bits wasted in its transmission. No, its really just that Bill is too busy to police the discussion. Otherwise, I'm sure he'd be objecting. Your "interpretation" of what belongs in this discussion must be based on the "This-is-my-life" FAQ, because nowhere in the FAQ does it say that what you've been discussing in acceptable. It is my interpretation that anyone who would violate the rules of the FAQ so blatantly as you have is a total ass. > I suspect that you would do well to discard your copy of _Roberts Rules of > Order_ and procure a copy of _When Anger Hurts_. A (wo)man's > maturity is > defined not so much by his principles and unwavering rigidity in the face > of that which offends him as it is by the depth of his patience and his > tolerance for others in spite of his dissatisfaction with their behavior. My god, what is your problem? Don't quote any passages from some fucken self-help book to me. Please. I'd suspect that you'd do much better to read the ClassicCmp FAQ over and over until it registers with you. > As I've said, I am not only confident but resolute that the > aforementioned discussion WAS, indeed, within the parameters set forth > for the group...IE the discussion of computer collecting, which is driven > by various motivations which are worthy of discussion in and of > themselves inasmuch as they reveal why one may wish to collect one sort > of computer over another or collect computers at all and recognizing that > we all need some reassurance, from time to time, that computer collecting > is not merely a deviance or eccentricity. Yeah, that would be all fine and dandy if that is what you were discussing, but the fact is, you were telling us all about how you never went to college, you started an ISP, you became relatively successful with it, you make twice the median income of your state, you married a beautiful woman, you think drugs are bad, blah blah blah. So what!? What does THAT have to do with collecting computers? You claim to be making some point about the motivation for collecting computers, but where was it? I think your point was more to brag about your accomplishment, which I really couldn't care less about, considering: a) I don't know you, and thus don't care and b) this is not a discussion group for talking about how good we feel about ourselves. > You reveal yourself in your words and the manner in which you convey > them. Should chastisement rain down upon me by the TRUE powers that be, > then I will accept such knowing that I did so as a mature adult and not as a > sniveling whiner. I will know that however just or unjust such If you were a "mature adult" you'd realize you are out of order and would police yourself. Think about it...only a child need be chastised for breaking rules. Why not act your physical, rather than mental, age. > judgement may be, many will recognize my sincerity and respect me for > my forthright and honest nature and my respect for others. But I will NOT Blah blah blah. There you go blowing yourself again. Thus proving my point that all you are interested in is promoting yourself. Go put up a web page about yourself if you think you're such a fantastic guy. I think the only thing people will realize in this case is that you are obscenely off-topic. > accept condescension or judgement from YOU so descend from your horse and > stand amongst men (and women) as an equal rather than a self-appointed > proclaimer of what is worthy and what is unworthy of discussion. How dramatic. Are you for real? > As for your threat of spamming, it carries little weight here as it will > result in the implementation of various hacks which function to deny > incoming mail from specific mail servers or from specific addresses. How impressive. Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass Coming Soon...Vintage Computer Festival 2.0 See http://www.siconic.com/vcf for details!

28 years, 6 months

6
7
0 0

disk equals license

by jfoust＠threedee.com

John Higginbotham <higginbo(a)netpath.net> wrote: >If I then came across a higher version for that >product and it was cheaper if you already owned a previous version (say it >takes the older version disk to upgrade to newer, then I'd expect to pay >the cheaper price, because it is upgrading the program found on my original >set of install disks, that I rightfully own. You might hope to pay the lower upgrade price, but Autodesk will surely tell you that you have someone else's copy, and without a letter of transfer, they won't sell you an upgrade. Or if the copy had already been upgraded, they'll transfer you to their anti-piracy department. >I look at it this way: If someone throws away the disks, they are giving up >their license to use the product. Not if they upgraded. It may seem ridiculous of me to pretend for the sake of argument that these disks came from a dumpster, but that's in fact the way a lot of us collectors get our stuff. :-) >I'm sure any cold blooded lawyer worth his salt could tear down my logic >and send me to the big house for having those disks and running them, but >how many would take the time, effort and money to try? That doesn't sit right with me. I don't think I should be able to reproduce someone else's software just because they can't catch me. If you have that lawyer's phone number, ask about if there are any conditions under which copyright can expire apart from the mandated number of years of protection. To help keep this on-topic, I have tried to persuade the UCSD licensing department to allow me to reproduce the Terak version of the P-System. They did once grant a right to a TI-99 user group to reproduce a P-System cartridge. I didn't have much luck because they didn't want to offend the current sole non-exclusive license holder, who is trying to sell the P-System as an alternative to Java in set-top boxes. Good luck, guys. :-) - John Jefferson Computer Museum <http://www.threedee.com/jcm>

28 years, 6 months

5
4
0 0

first bug was a myth

by manney＠nwohio.com

> I seem to remember a certain species of cockroach that was quite fond of > wire insulation... I really doubt that, sincd cockroaches eat human food. (Termites, maybe?) My brother usta work in an abandoned building. His screen went funny, and he looked down -- a rat large enough to require a driver's license was gnawing on the cable. (This was over 10 years ago, just to _pretend_ to keep this on topic).

28 years, 6 months

4
3
0 0

Apricot F1 - help, please!

by adavie＠mad.scientist.com

Having just obtained a 1984 Apricot F1 computer (and a lovely looking machine they are!) I find I can only get to the ROM boot stage. Onscreen, I have Aprictot F1, a floppy icon, a chip icon, a hand pointing down, an arrow pointing up, and thats about it. The arrow and hand are flashing. When I place disks in the drive, it spins for a bit and places an X and a number on the screen. Numbers I've seen are 4, 8 and 99. So... any proud Apricot owners out there who can help me out? I'd love to see this one go. The keyboard, by the way, is infra red - and working just fine. The mouse (I don't have one - its shown in the manuals) is actually a handheld trackball - that is, you spin it with your fingers - and its the size of mmmh.... well I guess a bread roll is a good approximation. Neat. I'll do an image of it if there is any interest. Any help appreciated. Cheers Andrew

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

disk equals license

by photze＠batelco.com.bh

OK, what if people simply called up the maker of the software, told them how they got it, etc. and gave them info that they have. Chances are, that they'll either tell you to do whatever, or they'll be too busy with other things to care, and just tell you to keep it, etc. Or, they could tell you just to put it back where you found it, but you've given it your best. Tim D. Hotze -----Original Message----- From: John Foust <jfoust(a)threedee.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Thursday, February 12, 1998 6:56 PM Subject: Re: disk equals license >John Higginbotham <higginbo(a)netpath.net> wrote: >>If I then came across a higher version for that >>product and it was cheaper if you already owned a previous version (say it >>takes the older version disk to upgrade to newer, then I'd expect to pay >>the cheaper price, because it is upgrading the program found on my original >>set of install disks, that I rightfully own. > >You might hope to pay the lower upgrade price, but Autodesk will surely >tell you that you have someone else's copy, and without a letter of transfer, >they won't sell you an upgrade. Or if the copy had already been upgraded, >they'll transfer you to their anti-piracy department. > >>I look at it this way: If someone throws away the disks, they are giving up >>their license to use the product. > >Not if they upgraded. It may seem ridiculous of me to pretend for the sake >of argument that these disks came from a dumpster, but that's in fact the >way a lot of us collectors get our stuff. :-) > >>I'm sure any cold blooded lawyer worth his salt could tear down my logic >>and send me to the big house for having those disks and running them, but >>how many would take the time, effort and money to try? > >That doesn't sit right with me. I don't think I should be able to >reproduce someone else's software just because they can't catch me. >If you have that lawyer's phone number, ask about if there are >any conditions under which copyright can expire apart from the >mandated number of years of protection. > >To help keep this on-topic, I have tried to persuade the UCSD licensing >department to allow me to reproduce the Terak version of the P-System. >They did once grant a right to a TI-99 user group to reproduce a >P-System cartridge. I didn't have much luck because they didn't >want to offend the current sole non-exclusive license holder, who >is trying to sell the P-System as an alternative to Java in set-top >boxes. Good luck, guys. :-) > >- John >Jefferson Computer Museum <http://www.threedee.com/jcm> >

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

The Vintage Computer Library grows...

by jfoust＠threedee.com

Sam Ismail <dastar(a)wco.com> wrote: >I found a California Access "Bodega Bay". It's an Amiga 500 >expansion chassis! >Does anyone have any solid technical information on this? Unfortunately >in all the books and manuals I brought home not one was for this thing. Sure, I've got all the Amiga developer conference notes and developer packets from Commodore in the basement, including the rare Janus (Bridgeboard) programming guide, if you find a Bridgeboard. Circa 1987, I was technical editor of an Amiga magazine and was once known as "the father of Amiga journalism." :-) I stopped paying close attention around 1991, though. There's plenty of info on the web - just start entering keywords into www.hotbot.com and www.dejanews.com and you'll find more than you want to know. >I remember last >year picking up a California Access 3.5" floppy drive with a DB-25 >connector, and now I know what it went to! They sold external Amiga floppies that could be used on any model of Amiga - but its floppy port has 23 pins, not 25. - John Jefferson Computer Museum <http://www.threedee.com/jcm>

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

first bug was a myth

by adavie＠mad.scientist.com

>The programmer was Grace Hopper (later to become Admiral). Rear-Admiral, I think.

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

Past Computer Manufacturers (fwd from mailbase)

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<8-Track was such a corporate 'Soap Opera'. I'm a little bit <surprised that endless loop recording wasn't used much for computer <data back then. You missed something then. EXATRON Stringy floppy (used tiny carts with 1/8" wide tape) There are at least two that used modified 8track drives. Forgot their names. I tried 8tr for data, it was ok but the wait even for a 3minutes loop was painful. Allison

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

No Subject

by Marty＠itgonline.com

Re: Early PC kit mfgr? If I'm not mistaken this sounds like the MITS (Altair 8800) story. An excellent source of information relating to early pc history can be found in the book 'Hackers' by Steven Levy, published in 1984. It was available in paperback (mine is falling apart). Marty Mintzell

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

No Subject

by Marty＠itgonline.com

Re: Possible source for parts Now that the Psychic Hotline so fervently pitched by Dionne Warwick has filed for bankruptcy (go figure > these were the REAL PSYCHICS, not those other phony ones) I suppose we should expect to see infomercials for 'The Gold Recovery Expert' on late night cable. I can't wait. Anyway, I don't think this guy is a crook, just another gold digger. I agree with Zane, don't expect to get any spare parts from this guy unless you want to pay by the Troy ounce. For a reputable scrap dealer look under scrap/salvage in your local yellow pages. Marty Mintzell

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Disk problems/questions.

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<Yes, the head widths are different, but I have always been under the <impression that using the /f or /f:360 switch with format changes the wri <current on the drive to adjust for the different coercitivity (sp?) of th Assuming the drive/controller are correctly configured. My FD55Gs have three different jumpers for write current, speed and a dual function one. Of course the media must match the write current/speeds. The narrower head is a big factor as it is optimized for a narrower track and the gap dimensions are tuned a bit for that. When I first encounterd it I could not understand it and then I O'scoped a pair of drives and the read on a 360k(48tpi) drive data from a track written on a 96tpi and the data waveforms were terrible. Too much noise from the periphery of the adjacent track and effectively less than half the magnetic strength imparted on the read head. Having played seriously with magnetics the media and head do have to be matched. This however does not solve the posters question. My cut on that is if the media was created on a know good 360k drive and it doesn't read right on a unknown drive, one of them is broken. ;) Allison

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

Disk problems/questions.

by bmpete＠swbell.net

I have encountered a puzzling problem and hope for some insight; I've been trying to verify my box of DSDD floppy drives (On-topically >10 years old) so I set up a 386DX-33 (Consider it a perpiperal to my older systems) After configuring B: to 360KB, I can format/verify a diskette. When I run Norton DD, (Ver. 6.01, IIRC) it says the disk, and I assume the drive, is/are fine. When I run Scandisk (MSDOS 6.22) it says the Media Descriptor Byte is wrong and warns of dire consequences. It also says the FAT copy is wrong! I check the Media Descriptor byte, before and after Scandisk fixes it, and it's always $FD. Does Scandisk have a bug WRT 360KB disks? I'm tempted to ignore it, but... _______________ Barry Peterson bmpete(a)swbell.net Husband to Diane, Father to Doug, Grandfather to Zoe and Tegan.

28 years, 6 months

3
4
0 0

Real hackers

by photze＠batelco.com.bh

><From CLASSICCMP-owner(a)u.washington.edu Wed Feb 11 17:59:22 1998 > ><People try, but the age of hacking is gone. Right now, there is just ><nothing exciting in the computing industry. Wait till holographic ><memory, and so on. As for people who think that they are "hackers" and > >You got to be kidding. Just look around the edges at things like >autonomus robots and navagation to suggest a few. Theres plenty to be >done. Yes, and one of the most evedeint (to me) is Artificial Intelligence. If they're programmers that can do it, they'll probably be hackers. And, you can tie that in with robotics, etc. to make a true human-computer interface, something which could completely revolutionize what we're doing, or, better yet, trying to do.

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

disk equals license

by higginbo＠netpath.net

At 09:23 PM 2/11/98 -0600, you wrote: >It really depends upon the company, I imagine, but I support the notion >that if your dumpster set is the last version purchased for that license, >(i.e., the former owner hasn't upgraded and is no longer using the program) >then sure, you can upgrade it. If, however, that's not the last version, >then it is not a valid version. But if you don't know if it is the latest version on that license, is it really hurting the company? If I'm dumpster diving for this stuff, it stands to reason that I wouldn't normally buy that same product in the store. >eliminate any of those, you can reduce the price. Downloading software >with on-line manuals eliminates the media and packaging cost, so that is >often cheaper. That's one thing that gets me: Software coming out today with no manuals still cost the same ammount when first released as earlier manual included packages. >The SPA has done that -- to set examples. But realistically, I wouldn't >worry about it. I never do. :) -John Higginbotham- -limbo.netpath.net-

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

disk equals license

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

At 12:24 PM 2/11/98 -0500, you wrote: >Sounds legit to me. If I found a disk set of Autodesk 3d Studio in the >dumpster, just the disks, no manuals, I'd sure as heck use it, but wouldn't >expect any company support. If I then came across a higher version for that >product and it was cheaper if you already owned a previous version (say it >takes the older version disk to upgrade to newer, then I'd expect to pay >the cheaper price, because it is upgrading the program found on my original It really depends upon the company, I imagine, but I support the notion that if your dumpster set is the last version purchased for that license, (i.e., the former owner hasn't upgraded and is no longer using the program) then sure, you can upgrade it. If, however, that's not the last version, then it is not a valid version. As I see it, there is a reason for offering an upgrade discount. The cost of a piece of software is made up of several things: development costs, media/packaging costs, support costs, and (of course) profit. If you can eliminate any of those, you can reduce the price. Downloading software with on-line manuals eliminates the media and packaging cost, so that is often cheaper. If you sell a piece of software to someone who already knows how to use it, you can budget a lower support cost, hence the upgrade price. Fishing a set of disks out of the dumpster does not necessarily reduce your expected support needs; in some cases it may (hey, if you're dumpster diving for software, you're probably not a newbie) and in some cases, it might increase your need for support ("I installed this software, but it won't run" [three hours later] "oh, you're missing the frobnitzer disk. I'll send it to you."). (Note that making your software compatible with XYZ, the most popular program can reduce support needs as well, hence the competitive upgrade idea.) >I'm sure any cold blooded lawyer worth his salt could tear down my logic >and send me to the big house for having those disks and running them, but >how many would take the time, effort and money to try? The SPA has done that -- to set examples. But realistically, I wouldn't worry about it. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.crl.com/~sinasohn/

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Slipsticks and calculators and a clock

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<At 16:37 2/4/98 -0500, Allison wrote: <><>My first one was the SR-10...the <><>"wedge". $110, IIRC....Was that TI's first? <> <>Not by a long shot. The first was in late '71 and went for about $140 <>(8digit 4banger). I had one going into EE school. < <But that WAS the SR-10. No it was not. the sr-10 was two years later and wedge shaped. This was barely pocket sized and not wedge shaped. the sr10 has a few things this one didn't like constant. I also have an SR11. Allison

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

Early PC kit mfgr?

by wpe＠interserv.com

Someone related a story to me about a company (now defunct, and he couldn't remember the name) in the Southwest, that manufactured calculators... Supposedly, in an effort to obtain a loan (and thus, stave off bankruptcy), they told a lending institution that they wanted to "manufacture computers for the home hobbyist market, in kit form"... Supposedly, word got out, and they received copious orders (which I presume (never got the details)) they couldn't fill... Anybody know the "story behind the story", or was this guy "snowing" me? Will

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Real hackers

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<From CLASSICCMP-owner(a)u.washington.edu Wed Feb 11 17:59:22 1998 <People try, but the age of hacking is gone. Right now, there is just <nothing exciting in the computing industry. Wait till holographic <memory, and so on. As for people who think that they are "hackers" and You got to be kidding. Just look around the edges at things like autonomus robots and navagation to suggest a few. Theres plenty to be done. Allison

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Past Computer Manufacturers (fwd from mailbase)

by engine＠chac.org

>Organization: The University of Huddersfield HEC >Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 17:08:31 +0100 >Subject: Past Computer Manufacturers >From: "P.ATKINSON" <sdespa(a)pegasus.hud.ac.uk> > >I am currently working on a paper looking at the development of the >designed form of the office computer, and to that end am trying to >find out if certain computer manufacturers still exist or if not, what >happened to them. If anyone has any idea I would be grateful, as I >have to try to contact them in order to obtain copyright clearance. > >The companies concerned are: > >Muldivo >Sanders >Lear Siegler (Data Dynamics) >Kienzle >Mael >Torch > >Hope someone can help [and if anybody can, we can.... ;-) -- kc] >Paul Atkinson __________________________________________ Kip Crosby engine(a)chac.org http://www.chac.org/index.html Computer History Association of California

28 years, 6 months

4
5
0 0

Real hackers

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

>I always thought it was a desire to _attain_ knowledge and apply it. > ^^^^^^ > Technology = applied knowledge, therefore a desire to attain knowledge and use technology. Now, unfortunately, people know that there is no reason to make a good product because a) Noone makes good products b) They won't be proud of it anyway because the product won't be noticed in the face of estabilished stuff. People try, but the age of hacking is gone. Right now, there is just nothing exciting in the computing industry. Wait till holographic memory, and so on. As for people who think that they are "hackers" and all they can do is use a Wardialer, I think they just need to feel proud of something they do. These are mainly people who have no other way of supporting themselves morally/emotionally. As the Unabomber would say, "They have a disruption in their power process". What really doesn't help is the "Hackers Manifesto", which pretends to imply that the hackers are "fighting for a cause" of "freedom of information". If you ask me, these "modern", "new age" ideas of freedom and community will invariably lead to either something like the USSR or the USA. The USSR is unquestionably a disaster in so many ways, and the USA is, in my opinion, getting there. Ok, kiddies, back on topic now... :) ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Off topic, but a decent question...

by manney＠nwohio.com

Check that the partition is active (use FDISK). Have you checked it for a virus? manney(a)nwohio.com

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

first bug was a myth

by manney＠nwohio.com

This is not the origin of the term "bug". My source sez that it was in use at least as far back as Edison's time. > Can anyone confirm this is the origin of the term "bug"?

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Off topic, but a decent question

by Marty＠itgonline.com

When you do a dir C: can you read what was originally on the hdd prior to the upgrade attempt? If so, try booting with a DOS 5.0 boot diskette which contains sys.com in A:, then copy command.com to C: and do a SYS C: from A: as well. This might get this system bootable again. On the other hand, if you can access your original data, now would be a good time to back it up. Good Luck. Marty Mintzell

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Off topic, but a decent question...

by DSEAGRAV＠toad.xkl.com

We just gave a teacher a Magnavox Headstart 486SX PC. It has a large yellow sticker on the back that reads "DO NOT FORMAT THE HARDDISK". So what do you think he did? :-) Tried upgrading DOS. (5.0 > 6.2) Dos says, "Wanna format the harddisk?" User says "OK, Whatever..." Now we have a dead PC. It will boot off the floppy, it will do dir C:, but it refuses to boot from the harddisk. I'm thinking they hid something proprietary in the bootsector. Anyone else know anything? We have no docs for it, but there's another PC like it in the building somewhere, I have to go find it... Would it fix my problem if I were to get the partition table off the other (good) machine and write it to this one, would that fix it? We already laplinked it to another Magnavox Headstart and tried transferring everything back, that finished OK but still won't boot. I'm getting ready to hand the guy a bootdisk and say "Here, you have to boot from that..." -------

28 years, 6 months

3
2
0 0

Apple II info ?

by fmc＠reanimators.org

Sam Ismail <dastar(a)wco.com> wrote: > The Grappler was without RAM buffer. The Grappler+ had the 64K RAM. I > should know...Power Demon I (my souped-up //e with 3.3Mhz accelerator, 1MB > RAM, 20MB HD...) had one. The Grappler/Grappler+ thing came to mind, but I came across a Grappler+ a couple of months ago, had the presence of mind to note it as such in my inventory, and don't remember there being any obvious RAM on it. That probably says more about my memory than about any on the card though, and I can't remember whether the Grappler I had in my old ][+ was a + or not, just that it didn't have RAM. Whatever it is, it's a parallel printer interface. > > > > CableTV kludge to a "SUP 'R' MOD CH.33 TV Interface Unit ?? > But there was a necessity for Apple to ship one with every Apple ][ as > Kip's message alluded to. Right around the time was when the FCC started > laying down the law with regards to computer emissions. I'll have to > look-up the specific why's but I know that's the basic gist of it. Huh? The necessity was that there be some way to hook a ][ up to a TV set, because not having to buy a monitor kept the overall cost of the ][ down for the many people who were willing to do that. But designing an RF modulator in meant more work, time, money (and hence a later, more expensive product) to get the sort of FCC certification required for devices that are expected to produce RF. Read what Kip wrote again: K>The Sup'r Mod was the RF demodulator that one of the Steves talked Marty K>Spergel into making as a third-party product, because then the Apple II K>could be marketed under a much less stringent FCC restriction. As you might K>imagine, Marty got passably rich. What Apple did was to get someone else to make and sell the RF modulator. They didn't make it, they didn't sell it, and the ][ worked fine without it (using a monitor with composite video input) so when they went for FCC type acceptance they didn't have to include it. Of course, something needed to happen to make sure that all those prospective ][ buyers knew what they needed to get to hook the ][ up to the TV, and that it was readily available to them. Kip? Care to shed any light on how this was accomplished? Anyway, I installed a brand-new Sup'R'Mod in my then brand-new ][+ before I turned it on for the first time, and I expect I wasn't the only one who did, so you can't take the presence of a Sup'R'Mod as an indication that what's in front of you is a ][ as opposed to a ][+. -Frank McConnell

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

BYTE Magazine

by Marty＠itgonline.com

I am in search of BYTE Magazine from Issue #1 until December 1977. Does anyone know where I might find these for sale and what a reasonable price would be to pay? Thanks- Marty Mintzell email: marty(a)itgonline.com

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Apple CMS SCSI jumper info

by rcini＠email.msn.com

I just got a CMS SCSI card for my Apple // computer, but it came without a manual. Does anyone have info on the jumper settings? TIA! ------------------------------------------------- Rich Cini/WUGNET <nospam_rcini(a)msn.com> (remove nospam_ to use) - ClubWin Charter Member (6) - MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

VMS distribution?

by jfoust＠threedee.com

Joe <rigdonj(a)intellistar.net> wrote: >>OK, let's say I pull an old PC and some boxes out of a dumpster, and >>there's a set of original AutoCAD Release 9 disks. By your rule, how >>can I tell if I own a legit copy or not? > > Real simple. It they're original disks then it's a legit copy! Doesn't >matter if it came from a dumpster or not. No, it's not necessarily a legit copy. Autodesk sold one license of the software, not one for each upgrade. You can't give away your old disks if you upgrade. Licenses do not multiply when you upgrade. >But unless you specificly agreed to that BEFORE you bought the software >they can't hold you to it. The shrink-wrapped "agreements" are completely >worthless. The US federal courts have made that ruling several times. Leaving aside your quick dismissal of swaths of software precedent, how exactly do you define "separate, licensed copies of software"? Your "disk equals license" rule seems far too wishy-washy to me. What's special about a disk? Are you saying that every copy a company sends you is a separate "copy" that can be given away? - John Jefferson Computer Museum <http://www.threedee.com/jcm>

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

first bug was a myth

by IVIE＠cc.usu.edu

> Or maybe a moth. > One of my favourite pictures - but is this a myth as WELL as a moth? > http://wwwcsif.cs.ucdavis.edu/~csclub/museum/items/first_bug.html > Can anyone confirm this is the origin of the term "bug"? > Its a nice site for Classic computer collectors, anyway. A few years ago someone wrote a letter to the editor of Scientific American about this moth. The letter quoted a letter from Thomas Edison which uses "bug" in this way and explains the term. The moth can at most claim to be the first time a bug was caused by a _real_ bug. Roger Ivie ivie(a)cc.usu.edu

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Mac hi-res monitor

by A_Finney＠wfi-inc.com

Sorry David, it's taken. It took about 5 minutes.... Cheers, Aaron At 10:56 AM 2/11/98 EST, you wrote: >yes! i need one! glad to pay shipping to nc. is it available? > >david > > >In a message dated 98-02-10 15:25:34 EST, you write: > ><< Does anyone need a Mac mono monitor? Model number MO400, circa 1987. Best > offer takes it, no matter how pathetic. Recipient either pays shipping or > picks it up in the LA area (it's not heavy at all, I can't imagine that ups > ground would be more than a few bucks on this thing). >> > >

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

The Vintage Computer Library grows...

by dastar＠wco.com

I added another 50+ volumes to the Vintage Computer Library today. A very ecclectic bunch of books, manuals, leaflets (no I didn't count the leaflets). I love collecting the books because in the dry times where I don't find much hardware they still can give that "what a find!" thrill, especially when you find a book from the 60's (or sometimes even the 50's!) on data processing or computer science with lots of nice pictures of old data processing gear. However, today's quick trip to the thrift store produced a very cool piece of hardware. I found a California Access "Bodega Bay". It's an Amiga 500 expansion chassis! First of all, Bodega Bay is a cute play on words, since that is also the name of a northern California coastal town, perhaps where this particular piece of hardware was manufactured. I remember last year picking up a California Access 3.5" floppy drive with a DB-25 connector, and now I know what it went to! The chassis is a desktop PC sized case. Inside there is a passive backplane with several slots. There are two cards occupying two of the slots. One is a memory board and the other is a hard disk controller. The chassis also houses an ST-225 hard drive. The 3.5" floppy was removed >from the A500 and re-installed inside the chassis. What is very interesting about the backplane is that it also seems to have 4 PC-style 16-bit slots. I only had an 8-bit card handy to try out but it fit perfectly in the "8-bit" portion of the slot. I am almost sure this unit could allow one to use IBM compatible hardware. Am I wrong about this? The passive backplane extends into a protrusion coming out the front of the chassis and plugs into the side expansion slot of the A500, which connects neatly to the chassis to form one unified computer system. Does anyone have any solid technical information on this? Unfortunately in all the books and manuals I brought home not one was for this thing. Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass Coming Soon...Vintage Computer Festival 2.0 See http://www.siconic.com/vcf for details!

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

TRS 80 model II (fwd)

by siconic＠jasmine.psyber.com

I'm sure someone in the Toronto area would like to help Ennio out. Please respond directly to ennio.cellucci(a)Canada.Sun.COM in you're interested. Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)wco.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass Coming soon...Vintage Computer Festival 2.0! See http://www.siconic.com/vcf for details ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 10:14:33 -0500 From: ENNIO CELLUCCI <ennio.cellucci(a)Canada.Sun.COM> To: vcf(a)siconic.com Subject: TRS 80 model II Hi, I was hoping you could help me. I have an old TRS 80 model II I just don't have room for anymore. It comes with three BIG hard drives (physical size rather than storage capacity). Would you happen to know anyone in the Toronto area willing to give it a home? Thanks...Ennio

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Mac hi-res monitor

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

yes! i need one! glad to pay shipping to nc. is it available? david In a message dated 98-02-10 15:25:34 EST, you write: << Does anyone need a Mac mono monitor? Model number MO400, circa 1987. Best offer takes it, no matter how pathetic. Recipient either pays shipping or picks it up in the LA area (it's not heavy at all, I can't imagine that ups ground would be more than a few bucks on this thing). >>

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

first bug was a myth

by adavie＠mad.scientist.com

Or maybe a moth. One of my favourite pictures - but is this a myth as WELL as a moth? http://wwwcsif.cs.ucdavis.edu/~csclub/museum/items/first_bug.html Can anyone confirm this is the origin of the term "bug"? Its a nice site for Classic computer collectors, anyway. Cheers Andrew

28 years, 6 months

5
5
0 0

first bug was a myth

by higginbo＠netpath.net

At 09:35 AM 2/11/98 -0500, you wrote: >Yes, indeed the term "bug" is older than th earliest electrical computer. >As eveidence, one could check out some of the 1930s issues of QST (a >hamradio magazine), and the term shows up. If I could dig them out, I >could give you exact dates. I seem to remember a certain species of cockroach that was quite fond of wire insulation... - John Higginbotham - limbo.netpath.net

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

VMS distribution?

by jfoust＠threedee.com

Joe <rigdonj(a)intellistar.net> wrote: >If you have the original disk then that is normally considered proof >that you have a legal copy of the software. ... > You're trying to read too much into this. I never said the having one >copy of disks allowed you to have all the upgrades or newer versions. If >you have a set of original disks for XYZ v 1.0, then that is generally >considered proof of ownership of XYZ v 1.0 PERIOD. OK, let's say I pull an old PC and some boxes out of a dumpster, and there's a set of original AutoCAD Release 9 disks. By your rule, how can I tell if I own a legit copy or not? - John Jefferson Computer Museum <http://www.threedee.com/jcm>

28 years, 6 months

4
6
0 0

I did it AGAIN!

by DSEAGRAV＠toad.xkl.com

Is there a command to make TOPS-20 kill something from the mail queue BEFORE it gets sent? That's really aggrivating(sp?) when you see so(a)and.so#Internet -- Queued and you realize that's NOT the intended reciever, and it sits in the queue for awhile before getting sent, and theoretically you COULD stop it but I can't figure out how... Go ahead and (all but Sam) disregard that! -------

28 years, 6 months

2
2
0 0

VMS distribution?

by kroma＠worldnet.att.net

> >That depends on the terms of the license. A few years ago when I took >up an offer from Borland to upgrade Turbo C from version 1.5 to 2.0 I >asked them if I could sell on the old disks and manuals legally and they >said that they fully supported that course of action because it >increased their user base. > Now that would be just too logical, cut out this heresy. Next thing you know MS and Netscape will get along and PC's and Mac's will be compatible. -- Kirk

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

first bug was a myth

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<I saw what was supposed to be the first Bug at the Smithsonian last week <It was indeed a Moth and it was taped to a computer log sheet. < <George The machine was one of the early relay based machines where a "bug" in the contacts would indeed mess up execution. The programmer was Grace Hopper (later to become Admiral). Allison

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Real hackers

by allisonp＠world.std.com

Personal point of view: <I always thought it was a desire and knowledge (and making use of same) I always thought it was a desire to _attain_ knowledge and apply it. ^^^^^^ Allison

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

GRiD Compass and Bubble Memory

by yowza＠yowza.com

I picked up a nice example of an old GRiD Compass 1100, the first, most rugged, and most beautifully rendered clamshell design laptop (1982). For the most part, it works great. But it won't boot. It wants to boot from it's internal bubble memory, a set of three Intel Magnetics 7110s. I queried MemTech, the company that acquired Intel Magnetics, and they'd like $400 a bubble to replace them, or, for $150, they'll try to "reseed" mine and fix the "bootloop". I'm not bubble savvy, and I would like to see this Compass live again. Any suggestions on how I can boot my bubbles? Are there any other 1100 owners out there that have a spare boot bubble bobbing about (sorry, it's late). Thanks, Doug

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Apple II info ?

by fmc＠reanimators.org

Sam Ismail <dastar(a)wco.com> wrote: > On Mon, 9 Feb 1998, Lawrence Walker wrote: > > Grapple+ Printer Interface......... Serial, Parallel ?? > > A very nice parallel printer interface with a 64K buffer. Um, maybe. I'm pretty sure I remember the Grappler+ printer interfaces (like the ones I have) being parallel printer interfaces with no RAM buffer. > > CableTV kludge to a "SUP 'R' MOD CH.33 TV Interface Unit ?? > > This enabled Apple to comply the FCC requirements for a Class ? computing > device. This means you did in fact get an Apple ][ and not a ][+. Very > nice find, especially for a thrift store. No, it doesn't mean that. The Sup'R'Mod was sold separately, there was nothing to stop you putting one in a ][+, and there was no less reason to do so because the ][+ didn't have any more of an RF modulator in it than the ][. -Frank McConnell

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

VMS distribution?

by kroma＠worldnet.att.net

>>OK, let's say I pull an old PC and some boxes out of a dumpster, and >>there's a set of original AutoCAD Release 9 disks. By your rule, how >>can I tell if I own a legit copy or not? > > Real simple. It they're original disks then it's a legit copy! Doesn't >matter if it came from a dumpster or not. > Though some software manufactures would like you to officially transfer the license to a new party. It's usually buried in the fine print of the software agreement. -- Kirk

28 years, 6 months

3
2
0 0

VMS distribution?

by allisonp＠world.std.com

< Actually, if they are an earlier version and the software has been <upgraded they should stay with the upgrade disk(s) and computer. If the <owner throws them out, he no longer has a legit software package. For example with VMS there are two types of kits, install and patch. An install is complete and installs the current version of which you must have a valid license key for. A patch kit is only those pieces upgraded and is tied to a specific version or set or sequential versions. So if some one tosses their V5.4 kit and installed 5.6 or 6.1 those are seperate kits. If they went from 5.4-4c to 5.4-5h then it was patched. The first case where the revlevel changes there is a seperate key(a license). So if you cound a kit for 4.7 in the can it is a distinct copy however without the key it would run only in minimal standalone mode(limited usefulness) and only adaquately so for the purposes of installation and key validation. Keys are either yours (legal) or obtained by other means. Allison

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

manual for Wang 300 series

by adavie＠mad.scientist.com

I have one and will be happy to scan / photocopy for anyone in need of one. Its dated 1967 and has a few piccies. Cheers Andrew

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Thrift Store Find & Quick Cam

by foxnhare＠claim.goldrush.com

From: Sam Ismail <dastar(a)wco.com> Subject: More books added to the library >One finds the best stuff at thrift stores. Check out what I found today: >The Anatomy of the 1541 Disk Drive >By Abacus Software, 1984 >ISBN: 0-916439-01-1 >It contains a full description of the file system, the file structure, the >file commands, and also has a full 6502 assembler listing for the drive's >ROM! Very cool. This book apparently also came with a "Test/Demo" disk >but the programs are printed in the book so they can be duplicated. What >a treasure. If I recall correctly the book also describes tha basics of coding your own fast drive access routines (fast loader, etc.) which is mighty handy. 001010100101110100100011010110100011100101001000010100010111001001010000 Somewhat Classic Computer related was my acquisition of a Color QuickCam for my Mac, I know it isn't even near 10 years old but it is worthy to mention for its almost instant imaging capabilities... The thing has a range of 1" to infinity (you can zoom in on the numbers printed on tops of chips and have them readable!) So now I have to clear the piles of papers away from a corner so I can use the cam to do shots of some of my equipment (like a better picture of the P-500, etc.) To give you an idea of the detail I am extolling, check out this pic I put on-line for you to see for yourself: http://www.goldrush.com/~foxnhare/CLOSEUP.JPG The pictue is of a 12/24 edge connector (.156" spacing), a Commodore monitor connector and the top of a 6510 microprocessor DIP chip. (best I could do in a couple minutes of scrounging. Note this is 'medium size' and the resolution can go up to 640x400. The real bummer to it is I don't think I can get it to work on my Commodores,also it's leash (interface cable) is 6'long... :/ Larry Anderson -- -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Visit our web page at: http://www.goldrush.com/~foxnhare/ Call our Commodore 64 BBS (Silicon Realms 300-2400 baud) at: (209) 754-1363 -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Portables

by manney＠nwohio.com

I just picked up an 8088-based NEC, which reports a bad HDD, but has a 720K Floppy. manney(a)nwohio.com > Does anyone have any portable computers that are 15lb or less that > they could give or sell to me? This includes Z88, Intel stuff, etc. > Not the Mac Portable, since I have that. Preferrably, I would like > something that could run without being plugged in (having replaced > the battery :). Anyone have an IBM Convertible? > > ______________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Real hackers

by photze＠batelco.com.bh

>First, my apologies. I didn't mean for my original message to be sent >public. Sam, this is a big step for you.... ;-) >On Fri, 6 Feb 1998, Daniel A. Seagraves wrote: > >> The name hacker has been dragged through the mud for far too long. >> There's almost no real record of the 1st and 2nd generation hacks. (1st >> were the hacks at MIT. 2nd were those at Berkeley and elsewhere, who >> adjusted the Hacker Ethic to allow for making money. 3rd are the >> present-day warez loosers. [They're here for refrence. Technically, > >Not true. Read _Hackers_ by Steven Levy. It embodies the tale of the >first two generations you mentioned and then also goes into the game >hackers of the early 80s on microcomputers. An excellent book. I've read >it twice (first in 1988) and may bring it on my next trip to read again. Can you please get the ISBN for that? >As far as the warez-loozers, well, they are just that, warez-loozers, and >will be a footnote in some future book. But nothing more. I dispise them. I've got a friend, who's brother claims to know "hackers" who own looser warez sites. I asked them to get into my system. They tried for 2 hours, and they eventually were convinced that I WAS running Windows 2.0. ;-) Now, he knows how to "semi-hack" but hadn't HEARD of C/C++, and thought that Unix was dead. He didn't even know about the "clear" Linux command!!! Hacking into a NT system is... not un-hard. >> they don't count]) All that survives to the actual public is the image >> of some cybernerd on drugs with wild hair maliciously attacking big >> companies just to be a punk. My brother hates computers, and he's >> closer to THAT description than I am. > >Heheh. So true, unfortunately. The other extreme is the >fat-pud-who-eats-while-he's-hacking stereotype and then the >thick-glasses-total-dweeb-high-pitched-voice-hacker stereotype. And then there's the nerdy NASA mission-control type revenge guy. >> Of course, I'm still not as good as the 1st-gen guys. I can't solder >> any good, I have nearly no idea how to wire-wrap or use a slide rule, >> and I can't do number conversion in my head yet. I'm not very good at >> math. (I can do it with a calculator, but I tend to drop numbers left >> and right with big variables) I still have some to go... ------- > >That's all myth, Daniel (except for the number-conversion-in-the-head, >starting working at it :). The fact is, you don't NEED to know how to >wire-wrap or use a slide-rule. They would be impressive skills and might >get you a date some day, but if we still NEEDED to use those tools to this >day then we wouldn't have progressed much in the realm of technology and >that would be very sucky. What are the requirements for being a hacker? ;-) Tim D. Hotze

28 years, 6 months

7
6
0 0

Mac hi-res monitor

by A_Finney＠wfi-inc.com

Does anyone need a Mac mono monitor? Model number MO400, circa 1987. Best offer takes it, no matter how pathetic. Recipient either pays shipping or picks it up in the LA area (it's not heavy at all, I can't imagine that ups ground would be more than a few bucks on this thing). Aaron

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Looking for Codex info/Bookshelf update

by A_Finney＠wfi-inc.com

An exciting thrift day for me; I found a book I've been looking for for a while now - the "Applesoft BASIC Programmer's Reference Manual" for the Apple II. It's a hardcover in perfect condition, even the tear-out reference card is intact! I got that and one from Digital press, "Technical Aspects of Data Communication, 2nd edition" (1982), both for about 2 bucks. I happened along a Motorola/Codex 2131 csu/dsu. Anybody know anything about this little beauty? I couldn't find much on the 'net about it, but it's obviously a 9600b csu/dsu with a nifty design. Cheers, Aaron

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Contex-30 electromechanical calculator

by adavie＠mad.scientist.com

Recent postings about old calculating machines and their operation has prompted me to fire up a web page with some information on my Contex-30 electromechanical calculator. For now I have some images up and have transcribed the operating instructions on the back. I am sure many of you will be stunned by how division is performed on this device; in any case, I welcome comments on the page, the calculator, and the idea of creating a museum for my other calculating devices. Myself, I collect precisely this sort of wierd technology. Boy, they sure don't make them like THAT anymore. Thank goodness :) Please visit Wierd Computing Machines http://www.comcen.com.au/~adavie/wierd/ Cheers Andrew Davie adavie(a)mad.scientist.com PS: You may also like to visit my other two sites.. Museum of Soviet Calculators http://www.comcen.com.au/~adavie/slide/calculator/soviet.html Slide Rule Trading Post http://www.comcen.com.au/~adavie/slide/

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Short Q (NOT!) on thinkpad 700 series.

by SUPRDAVE＠aol.com

thinkpad 700 and 720x are mca thinkpads. had a 3 year warranty and dont share any parts with any other thinkpad. of course, windont95 wont work on them, although linux probably would since it's been coaxed to work on other mca boxes. david

28 years, 6 months

3
3
0 0

More books added to the library

by dastar＠wco.com

One finds the best stuff at thrift stores. Check out what I found today: The Anatomy of the 1541 Disk Drive By Abacus Software, 1984 ISBN: 0-916439-01-1 It contains a full description of the file system, the file structure, the file commands, and also has a full 6502 assembler listing for the drive's ROM! Very cool. This book apparently also came with a "Test/Demo" disk but the programs are printed in the book so they can be duplicated. What a treasure. Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass Coming Soon...Vintage Computer Festival 2.0 See http://www.siconic.com/vcf for details!

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

i86 Development Set

by mallison＠konnections.com

Anyone know where I can acquire an Intel i86 and/or i286 development set with software (asm, link, etc) and docs? Used is fine, of course, but the software must be intact. Thanks, Mike (I'm in Utah, BTW if anyone has one close...) Thanks...

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

3270pc, 5272, 5271 stuff wanted

by Philip.Belben＠powertech.co.uk

I haven't got time to reply in detail, but be warned. 1. The IBM cards that went in the 3270PC range were _not_ the same as those they sold as upgrades - the latter drove ordinary displays, etc. 2. There were many popular 3rd party 3270 (3278/3279) emulator cards available, the best known being IRMA. Philip BTW I was wrong about the 5272 - it is 720 x 350 x 8 resolution. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Tony. I just happened to have my cards out for cleaning. Yours seems a bit different. I wonder if it's earlier or an expansion card for the pc/xt to give it 3270 comm capability. My connection card has: The BNC 2x8435 a BUNCH of gates or st, these 74L??? no memory that I can see (the computer has 640k) a clock/crystal marked 14.1523 mhz (1589449) Some IBM chips 2x 5617135 ???? I dunno... Mike Tony Duell wrote: > I have what I believe to be an interface card from a 3270 PC here. It's a > full-length 8 bit card with PC/3278 on it. The main chips are : > N8X305N (microcontroller) > 3 off ROMs (15527-15529, Copyright 1983) > 4 off 6116 RAM > DP8340 and DP8341 (Some kind of interface chip...) > Assorted TTL glue > Passives, including a reed relay > > There's a single BNC connector on the bracket. There's also an expansion > edge connector at the top front, which seems to be linked to the ROM > pins/the microcontroller. > > -tony

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

More info requested

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

Okay, I'm working on the next batch of computers for my web pages, and am looking for any anecdotes, links, resources, or specs relating to these computers: Compaq Portable 386 HP 75D Iasis Computer-in-a-book (8080) Panasonic Senior Partner Amstrad PC-20 NEC Starlet Panasonic HHC Seequa Chameleon Sharp PC-4 TI Compact Computer 40 Specifically, the data points I list in my specs table are: {mfr} {location} {model} {processor} {speed} {opsys} {bits-int} {bits-data} {ram-min} {ram-max} {rom} {input} {display} {stor-cas} {stor-fdd} {stor-hdd} {ports-ser} {ports-par} {ports-kbd} {ports-joy} {ports-oth} {expansion} {intro} {discon} {cost} {size} {weight} {power-volt} {power-conn} {power-polar} {notes} A lot of these I can pull from the machines themselves myself as I sit down to do each one, and for some I have manuals, but I really appreciate any info anyone can offer. Also, stories of your experiences buying one new, or how you always wanted one, or rumours, or what have are definitely welcome. Thanks! --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.crl.com/~sinasohn/

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

New Amigas, Atari Clones

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

At 08:10 PM 2/7/98 -0800, you wrote: >As for the Atari, the clones are coming out of Germany, and mainly targeted >at the Music industry. The Atari's have built in Midi. I've a couple, and Not only Midi, but also great software and (Falcon (68030) and beyond) a DSP port for right-out-of-the-box direct-to-disk digitial recording. Cubase Audio (about $600 new, I think) gave you 16 channels of digital recording. (included software wasn't serious and only gave you two channels.) All you needed was a lot of diskspace and something to record. When the Falcon came out, it was one of the only affordable D2D solutions available. And now, with CD-Recorders running around left and right... --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.crl.com/~sinasohn/

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Web pages are up (sorta)

by sinasohn＠ricochet.net

Thanks to all who responded to my earlier plea for info about some of the computers I've got in my collection! I've got the pages up (and fixed the "\" <> "/" problem) for a dozen or so computers. Anyway, any info, comments, suggestions, criticism, flames, etc. always welcome. The page is at <http://www.sinasohn.com/clascomp/> for them what's interested. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.crl.com/~sinasohn/

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Lisa 2/10 question

by adam＠merlin.net.au

Hi! I was just offered a Lisa 2/10, which I will happily accept. I do have the 2/5 but the second would be nice, albiet a tad greedy. :) However he wants me to name my own price, and said that it wasn't working. Apparantly the self test and stuff works, but it doesn't boot up - I assume this to be a problem with the hard drive, but imagine that it could be something else. Does the 2/10 have the battery problem found on the 2/5, and is this particular error the sort of thing that can be repaired given that it does start? I had imagined that a serious error would not allow it to start at all. :) If it can't be easily fixed I'll probably buy it anyway, but I don't want to offer too much (as I have almost no money) but I definitly want to save it. Thanks heaps, Adam.

28 years, 6 months

7
6
0 0

Sun 3/50 and Shoebox

by fmc＠reanimators.org

John Ruschmeyer <jruschme(a)exit109.com> wrote: > Actually, you may want to set the disk to ID 3. SunOS does this weird > swapping of ID 0 and ID 3. Somebody posted the historical reason a while > back to comp.sys.sun.hardware, but I believe it had to to with 3 being the > likely address of another sort of device. Y'all are gonna make me pull aphasia out of storage and set it up to look at the generic 4.1.1 config file for the Sun 3, aren't you? My recollection is that this was changed about the time Sun started shipping SPARC workstations that were likely to have internal disks. (Or was it with the 3/80? That could also have internal disks.) I first ran across it when I had to deal with SPARCstation IPCs and found that the kernel config file mapped sd0 to SCSI ID 3 (and that systems shipped with an internal disk tended to come with the internal disk's SCSI ID set to 3). My guess as to the reason for this was that a number of these systems were displacing older Sun 3/50 and 3/60s with external shoeboxes, where the disk in the shoebox was set to SCSI ID 0. The old Sun 3 would go away but its shoebox would stay behind, and the user would get the bright idea to plug it into the new SPARCstation for a little more disk space. The 0<->3 swap made this work a little bit more smoothly by avoiding the need for the user to open up the shoebox and switch the SCSI ID, as well as the service call required to explain this need. -Frank McConnell

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Sun 3/50 and Shoebox

by fmc＠reanimators.org

"Richard A. Cini" <rcini(a)email.msn.com> wrote: > I got a no-name "shoebox" drive for my Sun 3/50M workstation. It has a > Maxtor 300mb SCSI hard drive and what appears to be a 60mb DC600 tape drive. > > After reading the Sun FAQ, I'm left clueless on how to get it to boot > from the hard drive. The workstation that I got appears to have been a > remote-boot type, because it looks for an Internet address at startup. Ayup. > Dirst off, how do I change the default boot device? Second, what are the > appropriate SCSI device IDs for the hard drive and tape drive? Right now, > they are set for tape:6, drive:4 (I remember from somewhere that the Suns > look for a drive on ID=6). Given that this is a Sun 3, I would re-set them for disk ID = 0 and tape ID = 4. At that point, you should be able to get to the monitor prompt by pressing L1-A (hold L1, press A) while it's trying to boot >from the network (or before) and typing "b sd(0,0,0)" to get it to boot from disk, or "b st(0,0,0)" to get it to boot from tape. Oh yeah, you need to press return after that ")", unless you want to pass some arguments to the boot, in which case you should type them before you press return (e.g. "b sd(0,0,0) -s" to boot single-user mode). I don't recall exactly how to set the default boot device. Once you have something bootable on the disk, you want to set the default boot device to "sd(0,0,0)". This setting goes in the EEPROM, only I don't remember exactly what locations to use. If you install SunOS 4.1.1 there will be an "eeprom" command that will help you to not remember too. -Frank McConnell

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

Portables

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

Does anyone have any portable computers that are 15lb or less that they could give or sell to me? This includes Z88, Intel stuff, etc. Not the Mac Portable, since I have that. Preferrably, I would like something that could run without being plugged in (having replaced the battery :). Anyone have an IBM Convertible? ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

>Recent finds

by henrio＠edu.tsai.es

Hello all: Last week I got a toshiba T-100, with two 5.25" disk drives and a monochrome monitor. It starts up with Basic. Anybody knows if this system can run CP/M? Another question: I own an IBM system 36. It has two hard disk drives, 105 MB each, and a tape cartridge drive. Could anybody tell me if these drives are SCSI? Thanks in advance. -- Sergio Izquierdo Garcia mailto:henrio@edu.tsai.es

28 years, 6 months

2
2
0 0

Print Director MS manual

by lwalker＠mail.interlog.com

I picked up a copy of D.P.I. s Print Director MS manual. Looks like a neat peripheral-access controller device. Anyone have any need for this ? No disks. ciao larry lwalkerN0spaM(a)interlog.com

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

VMS distribution?

by jfoust＠threedee.com

allisonp(a)world.std.com (Allison J Parent) wrote: ><If only there was a mechanism to persuade companies to allow such hobby ><use of archaic software. > >OpenVMS archaic? It's a current product and definatly a high end OS >and it includs DECnet networking. Heaven forbid I ever insult anyone's choice of OS. :-) The gist of my comments still stands, and I think it's highly appropriate to this list: without an established mechanism for the preservation of the rights of old software, or some process of stewardship of archaic software, computer collectors are often violating the copyrights of others. Joe <rigdonj(a)intellistar.net> wrote: >If you have the original disk then that is normally considered proof >that you have a legal copy of the software. I can argue with that. What about upgrades? If bought XYZ v1.0, then paid a special price to upgrade to v2.0, I don't have two copies. Technically, the company doesn't allow you to resell v1.0 as its own package. It's true of many of today's packages, and I'm sure it's true of any old mainframe/mini OS license, too. - John Jefferson Computer Museum <http://www.threedee.com/jcm>

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

Altair Auctions

by cgregory＠lrbcg.com

I thought the list might be interested in the feeding frenzy occurring at eBay ( http://www.ebay.com ) over some Altairs and associated hardware/software. This is going to be very interesting to watch. The Altair 8800a is up to almost $500.00 in just twelve hours. Cliff Gregory cgregory(a)lrbcg.com More information on the Altair auction items. They have (finally!) all been posted to www.ebay.com in the Hardware:General section. Most of the items have been posted, but a couple have not. If you are looking for a particular item, check the list below, the URL for each of the items is listed. There have been several requests for copies of some of the items. I don't have a way to copy the disks, can anyone help out with that? If you can, please let me know. Feel free to e-mail me with questions. Thanks again for your patience and support. Joe -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 1 - Altair 8800a -------------------- Altair 8800a - No Serial Number on case Front Panel with LEDs and Toggle Switches S-100 Bus (18 slots) Note on inside: No +8V @ 8VA from terminal strip to motherboard Remove spare BL + WT wire Board 1- Vector 8800V No components, wired to front panel Board 2 - MITS CPU BD Rev 1 Intel 8080 CPU on board Board 3 - Processor Technology Corp (C) 1977 GPM PC210001 Rev C Assy No. 210000 PCA 18-7 Board 4 - IMSAI Mfg. Corp RAM-4A Rev 3 Board 5 - MITS Disk #2 Rev 0-X2 Board 6 - MITS Disk BD 1 Rev 0-X3 Board 7 - Processor Technology Corp (C) 1976 S/No. 124783 3P + S I/O Rev a Board 8 - MITS 88-2 SIO REV 0 Bag of Misc Parts http://komodo.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5857130 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 2 - Altair 8800b #1 ----------------------- Altair 8800b - No Serial Number on case Front Panel with LEDs and Toggle Switches, one switch broken, one switch bent (but still works) S-100 Bus (15 slots installed) Board 1 - MITS (C) 1976 D/C INT Rev 0 Board 2 - MITS 8800B CPU BD Rev 0 Intel 8080 Microprocessor Board 3, 4, 5 - DRC Dallas, TX (C) 1978 Memory Board, 32 chips each of 2114L2PC F 8139 P Board 6 - Processor Technology Corp (C) 1977 GPM PC21001 Rev C Assy No 210000 Board 7 - MITS MITS 8800 PROM Bd Rev 0 MITS 8800 PMC Rev 0 Chips labeled: VMTST V 2.2 BE00 MITS DBL BF00 Board 8 - Processor Technology Corp (C) 1976 VDM 1 Rev D Coaxial Connector attached to back plate Board 9 - Processor Technology Corp (C) 1976 CUTS rev B Serial # 115802 Board 10 - Processor Technology Corp (C) 1976 3P + S I/O Rev A Serial # 124764 Bag of Misc Parts Weight 30 lbs. http://komodo.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5857904 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 3 - Altair 8800b #2 System ------------------------------ Altair 8800b Serial # 5400775K Front Panel with LEDs and Toggle Switches, one switch broken Power supply missing Capacitor, with disconnected cables S-100 Bus (11 slots installed) Board 1 - MITS (C) 1976 D/C INT Rev 0 Board 2 - MITS 8800B CPU BD Rev 0 Intel 8080 Microprocessor Bag of Misc Parts http://komodo.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5858380 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 4 - MITS 8" Disk Drive -------------------------- MITS 8" Floppy Drive in case Serial # DD0217 Pertec FD400 inside case Part #920063-01 Serial # 365507098 MITS Disk Buffer board inside 37-pin connectors (female and male) http://komodo.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5858679 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 5 - PROM Programmer + Card ------------------------------ Altair PROM Programmer Serial # C11405 24-pin ZIF socket on front with handle DB-25 (male) connector on back MITS PPRG-INT Rev 0 S-100 Card DB-25 connected to board http://komodo.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5859054 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 6 - 88-2 Card ----------------- MITS 88-2 SIO Rev 0 S-100 Card http://komodo.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5859609 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 7 - 8800 PMC Card --------------------- MITS 8800 PMC Rev 0 S-100 Card 800Prom BD Rev 0 Populated with seven PROM chips http://komodo.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5859874 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 8 - Disk Controller Card Set -------------------------------- MITS (Set of two S-100 Cards) MITS Disk BD 1 Rev 0-X3 MITS Disk #2 Rev 0-X2 http://komodo.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5860149 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 9 - 88VI(RTC) Card ---------------------- MITS Inc. 88-VI(RTC) Rev 0 S-100 Card Pat Pending (c) 1977 Main Chip labeled Intel C8214 S1260 P4920 http://komodo.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5860422 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 10 - 88-4 Card ------------------ MITS 88-4 PIO Rev 0 S-100 Card Main Chip Motorola MC6820L 76350 http://komodo.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5860662 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 11 - 88SIOB Card -------------------- MITS (88 SIOB) Serial-TTL S-100 Card with daughterboard daughterboard is: MITS MODEM BD http://komodo.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5860943 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 12 - Manual --------------- MITS Manual (only a part, missing several chapters) altair 8800b Section IV Troubleshooting May 1977 Some schematics, missing pages Not for sale Yet -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 13 - Cassette Software -------------------------- MITS SW-EXTM - Cassette Tape Altair Extended BASIC Version 4.1 February 1, 1977 2400/1850 Hz (c) 1976 MITS, Inc. MITS SW-DBLC - Cassette Tape Altair Disk Boot Loader Version 4.1 May 1, 1977 2400/1850HZ Copyright 1977 MITS, Inc. Altair EXT BASIC Rev 3.2 Cassette February 1976 Copyright 1975 Boot Loc 1=256 Boot Loc 2=57 Realistic Cassette with Label (Same label as paper tapes, Original?) Altair Package II Cassette (2 copies, one labeled Cassette Sticks) Rev 3.0 June 76 2400/1850 HZ Copyright MITS 1976 Maxell C46 Cassette (Same label as paper tapes, Original?) Not for sale yet -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 14 - Box of 30+ Cassettes ------------------------- Box of 30+ Cassette Tapes, not original, saved programs Hand labeled or with notes on each cassette tape Including: CROS P A000 2000 - Cassette Tape O-42 Counter Cromemco Resident Operating System Z-80 Not for sale yet -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 15 - Paper Tape Software ---------------------------- Altair Extended BASIC - Paper Tape Rev 4.0 February 25, 1977 Copyright 1976 by MITS, Inc. Assembler/ROS - Paper Tape Order Number ZA-PT Copyright 1977 Cromemco Processor Technology - Paper Tape Software #1 PT80-13 TSC 8080 Reloctor - Paper Tape (c) 1978 By Technical Systems Consultants, Inc. Box 2574 W. Layayette, IN 47906 Cromemco Z-80 Monitor V 1.0 - Paper Tape E000-E3FF (c) 1976 Cromemco ALT-2480 Intelligent Terminal Demonstration - Paper Tape (c) 1978 Vincent C. Jones Processor Technology - Paper Tape 5K BASIC BASIC-VDM Driver - Paper Tape Software Processor Technology - Paper Tape Software VDM Driver http://komodo.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5861229 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 16 - Floppy Disk Software ----------------------------- CP/M on Altair - 8" Floppy Disk (c) 1977, 1978, 1979 Digital Research (c) 1977, 1978, 1979 Lifeboat Associates Version 1.41 S/N 81-2097 with manual - CP/M on MITS DISK User Notes Revision 1.0 April 27, 1979 Altair Disk Operating System - 8" Floppy Disk Version 1.0 May 5, 19777 Copyright 1977 by MITS INC. http://komodo.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5861450 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 17 - Hacked Case -------------------- Altair Case - with power supply, NO Top Cover, no serial number Very hacked up, black faceplate on front, not original reset and power switches on front Openings on front for two 5.25" full height drives Altair S-100 Bus Replaced with Cromemco 8-slot S-100 Blitz Bus Power supply modified to use 5.25" drive power connectors Not for sale Yet ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lot 18 - 8" Drives ------------------ 8" Floppy Drives (2), in Rack Mount cases Pertec Drives inside Model No. FD400 U2 Part No. 920003-01 (2) 37-pin D connectors on back Homebrew(?) Disk buffer board on inside looks similar to MITS disk buffer board. One drive labeled Disk 0 the other is Disk 1 Power switch and Indicator LEDs on front panel Not for sale Yet --------------------------------------------------------------------------

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

VMS distribution?

by jfoust＠threedee.com

"Zane H. Healy" <healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com> wrote: >Not quite, there is still the Amiga, now owned by Gateway 2000. In fact >I'm in the process of upgrading my A3000 (almost a classic) with a HiRes I've got my old Amiga 1000 in the basement, with a serial number in the 30s. Circa 1986, it qualifies, no? - John Jefferson Computer Museum <http://www.threedee.com/jcm>

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Slipping sticks

by adavie＠mad.scientist.com

Circular? Believe me, I gave it strong consideration. Purely to determine the efficiency of image manipulation in Java. Oh yes, to show off as well, I guess. I thought better of it, and went on to write emulators of my Soviet Calculators instead. ;) Cheers Andrew -----Original Message----- From: Joe <rigdonj(a)intellistar.net> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Thursday, February 05, 1998 6:20 AM Subject: Re: Slipping sticks >At 04:20 AM 2/5/98 +1100, you wrote: >>Well, since we're on this subject... how can I resist once more >>mentioning... >> >>Slide Rule Trading Post >>http://www.comcen.com.au/~adavie/slide/ >> >>On my site you will find a link to JavaSlide on the main menu. That's a >>JAVA slide rule I wrote some while back, so you can reminisc even if you >>can't find your old faithful. Its quite good, actually. > > Yes, but when are you going to make a circular version? :-) > > > >

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

Parity error recovery. Was: S/1 How Much?

by go＠ao.com

In fact, there are some useful things you can do to ACTUALLY recover on computer running a reasonable operating system. Back in the late 60s and through 1981, Oregon State University ran an operating system (called humbly OS-3 (short for Oregon State Open Shop Operating System or OSOSOS)) but I digress. OS-3 ran on a Control Data 3300 which had been fixed to actually conform to the Control Data specifications for User/Supervisor operation. The operating system was written to be as reentrant as possible; all OS code (but a very small part pertaining to interrupt dispatch) was PURE (not self modifying.) This is noted, since the standard subroutine call (as was common those days) altered the first instruction of the subroutine to be a JUMP back to the calling code. I.e. there was no "stack" mechanism in hardware. Since the monitor code was not self modifying, the OS could at boot time compute an exclusive-or checksum for itself and save it for the occurrence of a parity error. Parity errors only reported the memory location of the error, not the actual value read. So when a parity error occurred and if it was in the monitor reentrant section, the OS could recompute the value of the bad location by exclusive-oring all the OTHER locations together and then exclusive-oring the computed monitor checksum. This reproduced the contents of the bad location, it was stored back at the address indicated by the parity check hardware and the OS resumed from the parity error interrupt. Of course, for user programs (which were seldom re-entrant) the OS just aborted the program with an error and went on about it's business. Consequently, the parity error interrupt was RARELY fatal (at least to the system at large. Individual users did occasionally complain when we had a memory stack that started to go bad, but didn't get bad enough to find with the overnight diagnostics.) This was all back in a day when ECC did exist, but it was Horribly Expensive (and this was compared to memory that cost about 1 to 2 dollars per byte.) Gary. At 05:24 PM 2/8/98 -0500, you wrote: >> Tis' true if you meant ECC parity but this is really OVERKILL in >> consumer machines that we're using. My machine is happily running >> for years on non-parity as long as the memory are top quality kind >> and cover by life-time warrenty if possible. Mac are doing that for >> years ever since first Apple II all the way to today's Mac PCI's. > >Yes, I would not think of adding full ECC to a home computer. Doing so >would probably add $25 to the cost of producing the machine - something >the marketing types would scream about because it really adds nothing for >them to sell! > >Anyway, it would have been nice if PeeCees were made so a parity error >would tell the BIOS (or DOS) to try to clean up and do a gracefull >shutdown, rather than just reporting the error and halting. Many parity >errors are soft errors, only effecting one bit of the memory, so there is >a chance that the programs (or DOS) could react and do a little damage >control. > >William Donzelli >william(a)ans.net >

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Looking for VS2000 memory

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<So, if someone has a good source for VS2000 memory, I'd love to buy <an extra 4 to 8 MB for it. Keep an eye open as finding another VS2k with more memory than the one you have is more likely. VS2ks are pretty common. Besides you can then use the short memory one for spares. They are also a fun little vax. I have three here, one running VMS, one diskless (mopboot) and one running ultrix. They can hold up to 14mb, with the 4 and 8 mb cards being the most common. FYI: VMS 5.4 will run in 2mb (slowly as it will swap it's brains out). With 4mb and a RD54 it makes a fine single user system with DECwindows support. Allison

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

OpenVMS Hobbiest CD

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<From: "Zane H. Healy" <healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com> <Since you can now add support for the VMS filesystem to Linux, I was hopi <that it would be able to then share the files via NFS to a VMS machine. First the VMS machine would have to support IP networks and VMS default is DECnet. Now if linux would support DECnet that would be nice too. <course I have no idea how full-featured the VMS support under Linux is. It would have to be pretty rich as VMS is a loaded OS. Allison

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

OpenVMS Hobbiest CD

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<You ought to be able to just "dd" from the raw CD to a file, which you <can then write to a hard drive, again using the "raw" device. Then <stick the hard drive on the VAX. (Or, alternatively, ftp the image <of the CD to the VAX, and use one of the virtual disk drivers available <for OpenVMS.) there are several things on that disk including versions 5.4 through 6.1 and a bootable standalone. Most of the files are savesets. Allison

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

OpenVMS Hobbiest CD

by healyzh＠ix.netcom.com

Does anyone know what format this CD is in? Someone I know has been trying to access his copy which he just got with no luck. I've not gotten a copy yet, but I'd been hoping to stick it in one of my Linux machines and NFS mount it on the VAX. Zane | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator | | healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast | | healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | For Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | | see http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ | | For the collecting of Classic Computers with info on them. | | see http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/museum.html |

28 years, 6 months

2
2
0 0

Looking for VS2000 memory

by sethm＠loomcom.com

A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text Size: 440 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctalk/attachments/19980208/25f84a1d/at…

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

PS/1 How Much?

by photze＠batelco.com.bh

Sorry... I don't know about such things. I knew about PS/2 parts (keyboards, mice, etc.) then PS/2 SYSTEMS (last summer), then PS/1 systems (about 2 months ago). So, other than the fact that they DO EXIST, I know nothing about them. I'm guessing Microchannel, but I've never seen such as system myself. I don't know if he was willing to GIVE IT TO ME. Anyway, what's a "garden variety" PS/1? What are un-garden variety PS/1's? >If it's a garden-variety PS/1, strictly he should pay you to take it, but >you can be a nice guy and let him give it to you. After all, that way it's >off his hands. > >__________________________________________ >Kip Crosby engine(a)chac.org > http://www.chac.org/index.html >Computer History Association of California > >

28 years, 6 months

7
13
0 0

OpenVMS Hobbiest CD

by allisonp＠world.std.com

<Does anyone know what format this CD is in? Someone I know has been tryi <to access his copy which he just got with no luck. I've not gotten a cop <yet, but I'd been hoping to stick it in one of my Linux machines and NFS <mount it on the VAX. It's VMS file format, files-11. I doubt it can be read as linux NFS for the same reason though you can read individual blocks. Allison

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Commodore 64GS

by adam＠merlin.net.au

Hi! Someone here has a couple of 64 GS's - I had only heard of them in passing before, and thus don't know their interest. I looked on the web but found almost nothing - are they worth getting hold of? Not saving as such, as the owner isn't threating to destroy them or anything, but simply worth owning. :) It's been a reasonable week for me, computerwise. Other than being offered a mainframe, which was fu, I picked up the Atari 800, 800xl, heaps of software, and (a personal favorite) a Vectrex. Ok, so it is only a games machine - but I have wanted one for 15 years, and I finally have one. And for $15, too. :) Adam.

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

IDE interface for Commies

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

Sorry about the headers, I use Lynx and Hotmail, but I now turned them off, there should be no problem. About souping up Commodores, wouldn't a 20MHZ CPU have a different instruction set than the original CPU and thus require a different ROM? And if it has a changed ROM, then how is it a Commodore? Where can I get info on this? How much RAM would these super-Commies have? What CPU? ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

New Amigas, Atari Clones

by photze＠batelco.com.bh

Who, what where, why? Tell me all. ;-) Tim D. Hotze

28 years, 6 months

3
3
0 0

Anyone need these?

by cgregory＠lrbcg.com

A trip to my local thrift today netted me some IBM technical manuals that I needed. However, I didn't get it all. Still available are the following: 1) Hardware Maintenance and Service 3363 Optical Disk Drive. 2) Technical Reference 3363 Optical Disk Drive 3) Personal System/2 Model 30 286 Technical Reference These are the IBM boxed three ring binders; the first two are still in shrinkwrap. The other is clean and apparently complete. The price on each is $5.00 plus 6% tax and whatever it costs me to ship them from here in Ohio. If anyone wants/needs these, I'll go back and "rescue" them. Also they have an Apple IIc and a dual floppy disk drive there for $50. It looks clean, but there are no guarantees beyond that. There were no manuals/software evident. There is also an Apple monitor there for $15. I don't know if it is/was part of the IIc system. I say that because its been sitting there for about a month, but the IIc just appeared. It's the right color and looks as if it belongs with the IIc, but........... Oh yeah, some time ago I picked up a CP/M Primer for the Epson QX-10. This is a manual that shipped with the QX-10 and a duplicate in my collection. It cost me a dollar, so if anyone has a QX-10 and needs this, contact me and I'll pass it along. Finally, a while back someone was looking for dBase II reference materials. I just acquired eight or ten third party books on dBase II. I think I could fix you up with something, el cheapo. Regards, Cliff Gregory cgregory(a)lrbcg.com

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

Tek 4041 DDU ?

by rigdonj＠intellistar.net

Does anyone have any inforn=mation about a Tektronics 4041 DDU? I is a lon dbox that has a 5 1/4" floppy drive and hard drive mounted in the front. I was told that it is for one of the Tek computers.

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Week's Finds

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

Slow but good this week. picked a PDP 11/73 with two small mini manuals for $15; digital pro 380 not tested; Global teleport/mercury 14.4 modem for free;LaserWriterII for $15;GTCO corp Digi-Pad controller type 5A; something called a Nic Nicolet with 2 3.5 FD's no idea what it is not opened yet $15; HP 1040A HPLC-Detection-System $15; Mettler GA44 printer very small uses paper the size on a handheld calculator free; some Mac items like keyboards and mice all were free; Panasonic RGB interface ET10g rack unit for free;another PC8300 notebook by NEC for free; a Manzana model MDQ 3.5 ext drive for free; Irwin 8-bit controller card free; ESDI card with 4 1-meg simms on it by CompuAdd $5; and lot more items that do not meet the 10 year rule. All in all it was a good week. It three of us my wife, daughter, and myself to get the PDP off the pickup, the place I got it from used a forklift to put in my truck. Out in the snow it was alot of fun. Keep computing John

28 years, 6 months

3
3
0 0

New Amigas, Atari Clones

by photze＠batelco.com.bh

OK... where can I get the Atari clones? It's hard to believe that they're's anyone more emotional than a Mac fanatic... anyway... please give me more info. Also, how much will it cost me? Ciao, Tim D. Hotze -----Original Message----- From: Zane H. Healy <healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Sunday, February 08, 1998 9:34 AM Subject: Re: New Amigas, Atari Clones >> Who, what where, why? Tell me all. ;-) Tim D. Hotze > >Who? Well for the Amiga, Gateway 2000 (I know, no one's heard of them) >owns Amiga, Inc. and Amiga International. Amiga International is located >in Germany and is in charge of marketing. Amiga, Inc is located in South >Dakota IIRC, and is in charge of research (Gateway formed them). There are >several clone manufactures, and I'm anxiously awaiting the BoXeR >motherboards. There are several other clones either currently available or >soon to be. > >As for why, the Amiga is still actively used in the video industry, and >fairly popular in England and Germany. Personally I've got a bunch of them >because I think they are major league cool! You can still buy the A1200 >and A4000 new. > > >As for the Atari, the clones are coming out of Germany, and mainly targeted >at the Music industry. The Atari's have built in Midi. I've a couple, and >while the concept of their OS is very, very cool (it's all in ROM), I find >it cumbersome to use. Probably the most fanatical computer user I've ever >met is an Atari user, makes me look calm :^) > > >Linux and {net|open}BSD run on various models of both the Atari and Amiga. > > Zane > > >| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator | >| healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast | >| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector | >+----------------------------------+----------------------------+ >| For Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | >| see http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ | >| For the collecting of Classic Computers with info on them. | >| see http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/museum.html | > >

28 years, 6 months

4
3
0 0

high school (off topic) was Re: slipping sticks

by manney＠nwohio.com

>Both of my kids have birthdays in late August What were YOU doing on Christmas?

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

More DEC stuff available

by kyrrin2＠wizards.net

Looks like some good prices here. If anyone's interested, please contac the original author directly. -=-=- <snip> -=-=- Path: Supernews70!Supernews73!winternet.com!news.minn.net!skypoint.com!news1.mr.net!news.mr.net!mr.net!Supernews60!supernews.com!news.maxwell.syr.edu!ptdnetP!newsgate.ptd.net!fastnet!news.fast.net!kshuff From: kshuff(a)fast.net (kshuff) Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec Subject: Some older DEC stuff forsale Date: Sat, 07 Feb 98 20:05:51 GMT Organization: Im not organized Lines: 25 Message-ID: <6bieqv$o4_007(a)kshuff.fast.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: max2-43.phl.fast.net X-Newsreader: News Xpress Version 1.0 Beta #4 Xref: Supernews70 comp.sys.dec:60237 I have some older DEC equipment looking to clear out of the basement, everything is in working order... TU-58 DA external dual TU-58 drive $20 OBO DECmate III with monitor $30 OBO External RD52 MFM drive with cable $15 OBO VT 1200 base unit only, 4 meg memory $50 OBO DECstation 3100, no memory or drives. Has color framebuffer and SCSI floppy adaptor, but missing the floppy $35 OBO Prices do not include shipping. -Keith S. Huff kshuff(a)fast.net -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, SysOp, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fido 1:343/272) kyrrin2 {at} wiz<ards> d[o]t n=e=t "...No matter how hard we may wish otherwise, our science can only describe an object, event, or living creature, in our own human terms. It cannot possibly define any of them!..."

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Heads up! Async Panels available

by kyrrin2＠wizards.net

If anyone's using the classic Emulex serial boards in a QBus or Unibus environment, this looks like a good deal... -=-=- <snip> -=-=- Newsgroups: alt.sys.pdp11 Path: Supernews70!Supernews73!supernews.com!news-out.internetmci.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!144.212.95.13!nntprelay.mathworks.com!news.new-york.net!news.decus.org!eisner!bruce From: bruce(a)eisner.decus.org (Barton F. Bruce) Subject: Free Emulex CP34 and CP11/12 panels Lines: 10 Organization: CentNet, Inc. Message-ID: <1998Feb7.120457.1@eisner> X-Trace: news.decus.org 886871143 3642 BRUCE [192.67.173.2] X-Nntp-Posting-Host: eisner.decus.org Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 17:04:57 GMT Xref: Supernews70 alt.sys.pdp11:2993 I have several Emulex CP34 and the older CP11/12 16 port async panels that connected to various controller cards emulating DH11/DHV11/DMF32 (CS11/CS04/?) These were daisychained to 64 (or for the dmf32, 128) ports with a single 34 wire ribbon cable from the controller card. If you have such a controller card and want more ports speak quickly or the dumpster gets them -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, SysOp, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fido 1:343/272) kyrrin2 {at} wiz<ards> d[o]t n=e=t "...No matter how hard we may wish otherwise, our science can only describe an object, event, or living creature, in our own human terms. It cannot possibly define any of them!..."

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Service manual for Tandon/IBM drives?

by rcini＠email.msn.com

Does any one have a copy of a repair manual for the Tandon/IBM 5-1/4" drives in the original IBM PC? The model# is Tandon TM1000-2A. I seem to have a short on one of the power supply lines, so I'm looking tor a diagnostics tree. Thanks! Rich Cini/WUGNET <nospam_rcini(a)msn.com> (remove nospam_ to use) ClubWin! Charter Member (6) MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking ============================================

28 years, 6 months

3
2
0 0

Commodore 64GS

by higginbo＠netpath.net

At 11:26 PM 2/7/98 +0930, you wrote: >Someone here has a couple of 64 GS's - I had only heard of them in >passing before, and thus don't know their interest. I looked on the web Now I've heard of Apple II GS, but no C-64GS. -John Higginbotham- -limbo.netpath.net-

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Commie IDE interface

by higginbo＠netpath.net

At 08:17 PM 2/7/98 -0800, you wrote: >I think it's intended for 64's and 128's that are a lot more advanced than >that. A machine with a drive like that is probably running GEOS, with a >20Mhz CPU, and a lot of RAM. It's pretty amazing how souped up some of >these old "Commies" are! Nope. it'll run on a perfectly stock C-64. -John Higginbotham- -limbo.netpath.net-

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Service manual for Tandon/IBM drives?

by rcini＠email.msn.com

On Sat, 7 Feb 1998 20:13:14 +0000 (GMT), Tony Duell <ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote: >>Why do you think you have a power line short? With the drive connected to a PC power supply, the PS won't give a PwrGood signal; removing the drive's power connector enables the machine to boot. I think that the problem is on the motor control board; it looks like a repair may have been done on it before. Thanks! Rich Cini/WUGNET <nospam_rcini(a)msn.com> (remove nospam_ to use) ClubWin! Charter Member (6) MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking ============================================

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Identification of IBM circuit modules

by hansp＠columbia.digiweb.com

I picked up a couple of IBM circuit cards today for ~$1.50. The first is about 3.5" x 4.5", has 2 24 pin connectors, 5 of the IBM square metal IC cans and many other components. It has id numbers: 75114 4B01536A1590 VCC The other is 7" x 4.5", has four 24 pin connectors, 6 larger metal IC cans , 9 DIP chips and misc components, it is marked 4161595A2828 VCC13607010 Does anyone know what these do and what system they are from and their approcimate age ? They came in nifty plastic "conductive containers" marked IBM with small windows allowing you to see what is inside. If nothing else they are great examples of IBM technology. Regards, -- Hans B. Pufal : <mailto:hansp@digiweb.com> Comprehensive Computer Catalogue : <http://www.digiweb.com/~hansp/ccc/> _-_-__-___--_-____-_--_-_-____--_---_-_---_--__--_--_--____---_--_--__--_

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Sun 3/50 and Shoebox

by rcini＠email.msn.com

On 06 Feb 1998 20:53:16 -0800, Frank McConnell <fmc(a)reanimators.org> wrote: >>Given that this is a Sun 3, I would re-set them for disk ID = 0 and tape ID = 4. At that point, you should be able to get to the monitor prompt by pressing L1-A (hold L1, press A) while it's trying to boot >from the network (or before) and typing "b sd(0,0,0)" to get it to boot from disk, or "b st(0,0,0)" to get it to boot from tape. Oh yeah, you need to press return after that ")", unless you want to pass some arguments to the boot, in which case you should type them before you press return (e.g. "b sd(0,0,0) -s" to boot single-user mode).<< I don't have a Sun keyboard or mouse, so what are the terminal-equivalent keys for L1? I've tried the "b sd(0,0,0)" command from the montior in DIAG mode, but it complains that the device is not present. I don't have a SCSI terminator on the end of the chain, so that may be an issue (the shoebox did not come with one; I ordered one :-)). >>I don't recall exactly how to set the default boot device. Once you have something bootable on the disk, you want to set the default boot device to "sd(0,0,0)". This setting goes in the EEPROM, only I don't remember exactly what locations to use. If you install SunOS 4.1.1 there will be an "eeprom" command that will help you to not remember too.<< I figured this one out. I've set the EEPROM for polling. I don't even know what system is on the hard drive, though. Rich Cini/WUGNET <nospam_rcini(a)msn.com> (remove nospam_ to use) ClubWin! Charter Member (6) MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking ============================================

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

Portland Area VT320's

by healyzh＠ix.netcom.com

Sorry, this is going out to a lot of people that it doesn't apply to, but as was pointed out earlier today a lot of the people on this list seem to be in the Portland area. I know a guy that is currently trying to get rid of quite a few VT320's, and probably a few others (sorry, no VT520's). He's not on the Internet, but if you want I can put you in touch with him. As I said this is for the Portland area. Zane | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator | | healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast | | healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | For Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | | see http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ | | For the collecting of Classic Computers with info on them. | | see http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/museum.html |

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Commie IDE interface

by maxeskin＠hotmail.com

28 years, 6 months

2
1
0 0

Commie IDE interface

by higginbo＠netpath.net

This guy has a working IDE interface for the Commodore-64/128. It will accept up to an 8gb hard drive, and ATAPI CD-ROM support is in the works. Price is $89US plus shipping. Access time is about 60 times faster than the 1541 floppy, about 25k/sec. It would be worth getting just to see it work! Here's the address: http://sgi.felk.cvut.cz/~vorlicek/Ide/c64ide.html -John Higginbotham- -limbo.netpath.net-

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Commodore 64GS

by adam＠merlin.net.au

>> It's been a reasonable week for me, computerwise. Other than being >> offered a mainframe, which was fu > >What kind? And what is "fu" (except what I think it is)? Sorry. Fu was meant to be fun. I was offered a digital camera (or something similar) this week, which included a bonus VAX to run it. Out of my league, though. There is another mainframe I was offered a couple of weeks ago where they didn't know the brand, but I am thinking of going around to see it and work out if I can save it anyway, at least until a more appropriate owner comes along. The third, which I was refering to, was an AWA 5280 (I believe that was the number). I figure it may well be just a mini or something, but I know nothing about this and he did say Mainframe. :) Adam.

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

Commodore 64GS

by adam＠merlin.net.au

>At 11:26 PM 2/7/98 +0930, you wrote: > >>Someone here has a couple of 64 GS's - I had only heard of them in >>passing before, and thus don't know their interest. I looked on the web > >Now I've heard of Apple II GS, but no C-64GS. It's a seriously cut down Commodore, apparantly. Intended as a cartridge-based games machine. From the little I know it had no keyboard and special joysticks with two fire buttons, the second of which replaced the space bar from the keyboard. But I think it could use standard C64 carts. Adam/

28 years, 6 months

1
0
0 0

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

test-drb