test-drb

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

101090 discussions

by cctech＠retro.co.za

Hi all >Does anyone have a copy, or preferably a scan, of the Byte article c. >1976 entitled "WADUZITDO"? I have, but it's in storage. Bug me if you don't come right elsewhere. >Is it this? > > http://www.geocities.com/connorbd/tarpit/waduzitdo/wdzref.html Yes. W

19 years, 7 months

Vintage Computer Festival 9.0 News

by sellam＠vintagetech.com

Vintage Computer Festival 9.0 Saturday, November 4 through Sunday, November 5 Computer History Museum Mountain View, California http://www.vintage.org/2006/main/ Howdy Folks! Just a few more days of meaningless toil and then you'll be in vintage computing heaven at VCF 9.0! Here are some new developments of which you might want to be aware... Workshop Schedule Correction The correct date for Vince Briel's Replica 1 SE Workshop is Saturday, November 4 at 10:00am. The workshop was previously listed as being on Sunday, November 5 on the workshop description page. We apologize if the misleading time has caused you any inconvenience. The reason we have the Replica 1 SE Workshop scheduled for Saturday at 10:00am is so that workshop attendees can have their completed Replica 1 SE ready to get signed by Woz after the Apple 30 Year Anniversary Celebration at 1:00pm on Saturday. The following workshop slots are still available: XGS Pico Edition Workshop - 5 COSMAC Elf 2000 Workshop - 6 Replica 1 SE Workhop - FULL Don't delay, sign up today! Slots are filling fast! http://www.vintage.org/2006/main/workshop.php Vintage Computer Film Festival This year we are launching the Vintage Computer Film Festival at the VCF. The VCFF is a showcase of films with a vintage computing or retro-technology theme. The screening schedule has been posted on the VCF 9.0 website: http://www.vintage.org/2006/main/film.php The Vintage Computer Film Festival is available to all VCF attendees as part of your regular admission. Sponsored by Oddball Film+Video: http://www.oddballfilm.com APL "1 CLEANSPACE" Anniversary Talk Added The APL BUG (APL Bay Area User's Group) in conjunction with the VCF is presenting a talk by Larry Breed on the origins of the programming language APL. The talk has been scheduled for 3:00pm on Saturday, November 4. APL BUG members wishing to attend only this session will not be required to pay admission to the VCF, though they are welcome to do so if they wish to enjoy the rest of the VCF festivities. Check the session schedule for complete session times and information: http://www.vintage.org/2006/main/session.php !!! Prizes and Giveaways !!! Processor Technology Sol-20 The Processor Technology Sol-20 "Terminal Computer", designed by Silicon Valley legend Lee Felsenstein, was one of the earliest fully integrated personal computers on the market, featuring the main processor, RAM, ROM, keyboard, video interface, serial and parallel ports, and cassette tape storage interface as standard features. Stan Sieler of Allego Consultants, a regular exhibitor, exhibit judge and VCF volunteer, has kindly donated a Sol-20 to give away at the Sol-20 celebration at 1:00pm on Sunday, November 5. Check the session schedule on the VCF 9.0 web pages for complete information. Located in San Jose, California, Allegro Consultants specializes in software, services, and consulting for clients with Hewlett-Packard PA-RISC based computers, the HP 3000 and HP 9000. http://www.allegro.com/ Briel Computers Replica 1 SE The Replica 1 SE is a functional clone of the original Apple 1 designed by Steve Wozniak. Vince Briel of Briel Computers has donated a Replica 1 SE to be given away at the Apple 30 Year Anniversary Celebration at 1:00pm on Saturday, November 4. Briel Computers offers more build-it-yourself vintage computer replica kits on their website: http://www.brielcomputers.com/ Minds On Toys Digi-Comp 1 (v2.0) Mechanical Computer Kit Tim Walker of Minds On Toys has created a build-it-yourself replica of the classic Digi-Comp 1, a 3-bit mechanical binary computer. The Digi-Comp 1 was originally sold in the 1960s and was made from cast plastic. The updated version sold by Minds On Toys is constructed >from sturdy paper stock. Minds On Toys has donated a Digi-Comp 1 v2.0 to be given away at the VCF. Visit Minds On Toys on the web at: http://www.mindsontoys.com/kits.htm You Can Still Be An Exhibitor! Exhibit registration closes on November 1st. If you wanted to be an exhibitor at this year's VCF, now is the time to register before it's too late: http://www.vintage.org/2006/main/exhibit.php VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! We are in need of several volunteers for Friday evening setup and Sunday evening teardown. Setup on Friday begins at 8pm, and teardown on Sunday begins as soon as the VCF ends. Even if you can provide only fifteen minutes of your time, we can still use you. We've got a lot of work to do in a very short period of time this year so any help we can get would be greatly appreciated. We also need an audio/visual specialist to manage the projectors and recording equipment in the session chambers. This is a very important role so we need someone with experience working data projectors and MP3 players. We'll reward our gallant volunteer with free admission, t-shirts, and other goodies. To volunteer in any of these roles, please contact me directly (and soon) at <sellam at vintage.org>. Thanks! See You There! Complete information about VCF 9.0, including the speaker schedule, exhibit roster, end everything else can be found on the VCF 9.0 web pages: http://www.vintage.org/2006/main/ Best regards, Sellam Ismail Producer Vintage Computer Festival ;) -- Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org [ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ] [ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at http://marketplace.vintage.org ]

19 years, 7 months

PDP11/35 or 40 RK05F and J, etc

by useddec＠gmail.com

I just picked up another full van load this weekend, docs, parts, boards, > options, etc. The 11/35 can be delivered in the midwest, palletized, or > shipped padded van. Please feel free to contact me off list. Thanks, Paul Anderson 217-586-5361

19 years, 7 months

MINC-11 (was Re: Collections of (physically) large computers)

by ethan.dicks＠gmail.com

On 10/30/06, Tony Duell <ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote: > And my PDP11/45 (2 6' racks, 2 free-standing RK07s, and what started out > as a MINC contianing 2 RL01s, with the realtime I/O of the MINC linked to > the PDP11/45 via a DW11-B Unibus-Qbus interface). Niiiice. What I/O modules do you have, and are you using them for anything? I have a MINC-11 (that's just a MINC), but only one or two lab modules. I really can't do much with it in its present configuration except use it as a rather ordinary RT-11 box. I've always wanted to find some of the modules and do something "interesting" but I can't imagine what that might be without a pile of boards staring me in the face imploring me to find a use. -ethan

19 years, 7 months

Discussion of large systems

by wacarder＠earthlink.net

> Al Kossow said: >There are VERY VERY few people that have such systems. I only know of at >most a dozen in the US, and most of them do not participate in on-line >discussions. A few rarely use email. .... >Surviving systems from before 1975 are very rare animals, esp mainframes, >since so many of them have been scrapped for precious metals. Sadly, there >is even less software that has survived. CHM didn't start seriously >collecting documentation nor software prior to the move to the West Coast in >the 90's. While they have an impressive collection of hardware, and a pretty >decent collection of US computer documentation now, the software holdings >pre 1975 are minimal. > >I will be giving a talk at VCF this Saturday on the CHM software collection. > Al, can you get someone to record your talk and put it on DVD or somewhere that I can see it? As much as I would love to attend the VCF, I am on the other side of the country and busy as hell right now with my job and other things. I own a number of fully functional early-to-mid 1970s blinking light PDP-11 systems and have an 11/40 set up with a replica of my college's 1977-79 era academic computer center, running a timesharing operating system and software of the period, and complete with ASR-33, LA36, LA120, VT52, and VT05 teminals, all fully functional. Other than the operating system, much of the software came from an RK05 disk pack that I had saved since 1978, and from printouts of every program on our system in 1977-78. It has RK05, RL01, RL02, RX01, and RX02 drives. I would very much like to see and hear your presentation. If it is recorded, I would like to get a copy. Hopefully I can make it out to the west coast next year. Ashley Carder Leesville, SC

19 years, 7 months

Discussion of large systems

by aek＠bitsavers.org

" Al, can you get someone to record your talk and put it on DVD or somewhere that I can see it?" I don't know. Check with Sellam. Since two people have asked now, what I'll be talking about will be extracted from material I presented at the CHM's "Attic and Parlor" workshop last spring, with a bunch of updates based on my last 6 months of work at CHM, and on some things that we've added to the collection since then. I'll try to get a paper version up somewhere (probably on bitsavers) after the talk.

19 years, 7 months

Collections of (physically) large computers

by roger.holmes＠microspot.co.uk

On 29 Oct, 2006, at 09:07, cctech-request at classiccmp.org wrote: > Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2006 17:37:01 -0400 > From: "William Donzelli" <wdonzelli at gmail.com> > Subject: Re: Collections of (physically) large computers > >> OK, so how much floor space does his largest computer use? > > I am not sure, but from some pictures I have seen, he has a LOT of > stuff for his two IBM 709s. And then there is the 7094 system. And the > S/370 system. Each system may take up 500 square feet. I am impressed, the very first computer I wrote a program for was a 7094 installed at Imperial College, London. Later on I got to see it and they had a disc drive hooked up to it. There was a story about a disk platter shattering and the computer room being blasted with shrapnel. I remember it being unavailable for several months whilst they replaced every electrolytic capacitor in it. We got to use the CDC 6600 at the ULCC (University of London Computer Centre) whilst it was being repaired. We used the small Fortran compiler PUFFT (Purdue University Fast Fortran Translator) on the 7094. The size was certainly comparable with Flossie. Keeping one machine of this size running is a lot of work, the thought of keeping three running is daunting. > > For that matter, if I were to get all the stuff together for my > Hitachi AS/6 (A Japanese 3032 clone), it would probably not fit in 500 > square feet either. The processor is 21 feet long by three feet wide, > and does not contain any RAM or the channel I/O hardware. The six > spindle 3330 DASD string is 15 feet long by 4 feet wide. Then the > three tapes with controller is another 12 by 3 feet, then the card > reader and punch take up two more three by six footprints, then the > network box, then the 1403N printer, then the comm controller at five > by four, then the other comm controller at 3 by 3, then some more junk > I could hang off it if I wanted to. When you add this all up, then > figure in the space needed to open the doors and gates for servicing - > well, it is a large plot of land. Yes with access space it adds up. So I'm not the only nutter! > I think Sridhar is in the same boat. For that matter. that 4381 system > that sold on Ebay six months or so back would also fits (and sinks) in > that boat, having a couple good DASD strings. Ok so you do know different. Why is there so little discussion of these on the list? Is there a more appropriate list? Maybe as we all have different manufacturer's kit we have little to talk about, but we still face similar problems, thing like tracking down media, repairing peripherals, fault finding logic, keeping the machine clean and stopping them rusting, keeping the offline support stuff working - keypunches, Flexowriters, Teletypes etc, though maybe that is not a problem for you as your machine has a comms controller. > >> Flossie has well over 4,000 printed circuit >> boards and weighs about five tons. > > Pictures please! I don't think I'm supposed to post pictures to the list and I don't have a web site so the best I can do is to refer you to a picture someone else has made available. It is also very difficult to get a picture of all of Flossie as it is so very cramped in the barn. Here is an old picture of a very similar machine to mine, except it has four one inch tape decks whereas Flossie has six half inch decks. Also Flossie has paper tape I/O and three drums instead of one in the machine pictured. http://www.mikecurley-worked.netfirms.com/P3-2.jpg > > I am actually trying to buy a building so I can get all this junk > in one place. I am trying to extend my building so I can reassemble the second machine which will also give Flossie more space. No plans yet to get the second machine actually running, but maybe one day.

19 years, 7 months

Collections of (physically) large computers

by roger.holmes＠microspot.co.uk

On 28 Oct, 2006, at 06:51, cctech-request at classiccmp.org wrote: > From: "William Donzelli" <wdonzelli at gmail.com> > >> (Who has at home what might be a collection of the largest >> computers in private ownership - unless you know different >> as Esther Rantzen used to say on "That's Life"). > > That is a dangerous claim to make. But hopefully start an interesting discussion. > > Paul Pierce would be laughing. > > -- > Will OK, so how much floor space does his largest computer use? > From: "Evan Koblentz" <evan at snarc.net> > > If he meant physically largest, Indeed. > then I know a guy here in New Jersey who has > a Burroughs mainframe which requires an 18-wheeler truck (or two) > to move. When I moved Flossie we used one articulated lorry (I did not count the wheels) and one rigid truck with a tail lift. > And let's not forget Indiana's Jim Curry who has a vast collect of > Cray > supercomputers. The pictures of Cray computers I've seen have no peripherals, just a CPU, which is smaller than the fixed part of Flossie. Much more powerful of course than my Germanium giant which is about the power of a 6502, though it is slightly better handling big numbers. The installation requirements say it needs 700 square feet, though I have one squeezed into 500 square feet. The other (Arthur) is disassembled, some packed around Flossie and some in another part of the barn. > I have an impressive collection of the * smallest * computers. :) Very good, the list as a whole covers most machine types. I lost interest in my mainframes for a few years and moved onto a UK101 then I changed job and programmed the Apple ][, //e, ///, Lisa then just about every Mac, and I'm writing this on an Intel core duo Mac laptop. > > From: "Witchy" <witchy at binarydinosaurs.co.uk> > On Fri, October 27, 2006 6:34 pm, Roger Holmes said: >> >> (Who has at home what might be a collection of the largest >> computers in private ownership - unless you know different >> as Esther Rantzen used to say on "That's Life"). > > I used to think I did (in the UK), but that's only based on no web > evidence found to prove otherwise :) I know there's far bigger > collections > than mine in Europe and the US..... > > -- > adrian/witchy > Binary Dinosaurs creator/curator > www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk - the UKs biggest home computer collection? I do not have the largest number of computers, I am asking are the computers at my home the largest in a private collection? My machines are not even home computers, they cost 247,000 pounds new, though I paid 200 pounds for one and 150 for the slightly smaller one which included loads of spare parts (almost another computer). They contain almost no gold, just some platinum in some relays (which are not part of the logic), hence the scrap price being so low (they cost much less than the cost of transporting them, not counting dismantling which took a week and reassembly which took several months back when I was in my twenties and had more energy and more spare time). Flossie has well over 4,000 printed circuit boards and weighs about five tons. She does not require air conditioning, though the seven Ampex TM4 mag tape drives officially do need it. She uses 13kVA three phase electricity. I showed some of the documentation to a young chap recently and he what he found surprising that the computer comes with a floor plan in the installation instructions. I did not show him the details of the floor loading, nor the requirement for a separate one inch copper braid wired back to the building's mains power inlet earth connection. Roger Holmes.

19 years, 7 months

Resistor-protected-fuses

by cclist＠sydex.com

While repairing a floppy drive with a shorted a bypass cap, I noticed that the manufacturer had very thoughtfully inserted a picofuse in the DC supply line. Predictably, it was the 10 ohm resistor in series with the voltage regulator that turned to toast. The fuse is none the worse for wear. This brought to mind an old friend who earned her living as a field engineer for DEC. At one point, she mentioned that resistor- and transistor-protected fuses were a regular pattern for DEC equipment. This would be back in the early 70's, BTW. Did her observation reflect reality? Are there any other manufacturers that routinely engaged in this practice? Cheers, Chuck

19 years, 7 months

cctech Digest, Vol 38, Issue 44

by roger.holmes＠microspot.co.uk

On 29 Oct, 2006, at 09:07, cctech-request at classiccmp.org wrote: > Message: 25 > Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2006 00:48:52 +0100 (BST) > From: "Witchy" <witchy at binarydinosaurs.co.uk> > Subject: Re: ict1301.co.uk > To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" > <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > Message-ID: <1189.192.168.0.4.1162079332.squirrel at vorbis.demon.co.uk> > Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1 > > > On Sun, October 29, 2006 12:03 am, Al Kossow said: >> >> >> http://ict1301.co.uk/13012006.htm >> >> A bit more up to date than the previous url > > Hm, I'm driving through Kent later on today, I wonder if I could > call in > and have a visit? :) > > > -- > adrian/witchy > Binary Dinosaurs creator/curator > www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk - the UKs biggest home computer collection? I wish I'd seen your e-mail yesterday, you would have been very welcome to come. Sorry. I'm about eight miles from M20 junction 9 (Ashford West). If you come my way again, or anyone else on the list is in my neck of the woods and would like a look, could you e-mail me directly to save the delay of getting the digest, and try to give me a little advanced warning. I do not power Flossie up when the temperature is below about 13 degrees C as Germanium transistors are only rated down to 10 C and they are all now very old. Getting new GET872 transistors is almost impossible and even OA5 diodes are getting rare, the last I saw in the RadioSpares catalogue were a pound ($1.60 approx) each, and the machine has them by the thousand. Every word in the core store has two, so thats 4000 in each machine even before even thinking about the logic. If it wasn't for the price dropping when the supply rises I could be close to being a millionaire on the value of components alone! By the way, the above URL does have pictures of Flossie but it is very difficult to get a good picture at the moment - just not enough room around the machine. To access some parts is a major problem moving things around to make space so you can open the covers and get a scope and your body close to the machine. By the way, the storage scope probably has more processing power than the computer!

19 years, 7 months

ict1301.co.uk

by aek＠bitsavers.org

http://ict1301.co.uk/13012006.htm A bit more up to date than the previous url

19 years, 7 months

Cleaning out the garage.

by sdc695＠yahoo.com

On Sat, 28 Oct 2006 Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> Wrote: > On Sat, 28 Oct 2006, Jim Isbell, W5JAI wrote: > > My wife sais, "you havent used it in 5 years junk it." I agreed. > My ex used to say that (except "SIX MONTHS"!) > I handed her the fire extinguisher. If you want to compete with someone who wants to dispose of your "Stuff" (there is a George Carlin goodie about this), just go to the female clothes closet and do a dated inventory. Those that are clothes conscious want to believe that things eventually will come back in fashion. Typically it takes MORE than five years (by my estimates). Then there are things that don't fit (NEVER respond to "Do I look fat in this?", you will lose!). Just about the only thing that goes obsolete as quickly as computers is high fashion. -- Tom Watson tsw at johana.com ____________________________________________________________________________________ Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail (http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/)

19 years, 7 months

Compaq SLT286 available (south-east UK)

by julesrichardsonuk＠yahoo.co.uk

Any interest in a Compaq SLT286 'laptop'? We've been offered one, but as we have enough PC machines of this class I don't think there's any need for us to have it. The current owner's located in Chalfont St. Peter, although it sounds like he may be prepared to deliver within a reasonable distance. (A machine like this was my first exposure to the PC world - IDE disk, mono VGA display, 10MHz CPU I think, floppy drive, detachable keyboard; it was a pretty nice system I seem to recall) cheers Jules -- If you've ever wondered how you get triangles from a cow You need buttermilk and cheese, and an equilateral chainsaw

19 years, 7 months

Collections of (physically) small computers

by evan＠snarc.net

No, wasn't me who wrote that. -Evan

19 years, 7 months

Only a few weeks left to save items

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

Winter is coming fast and the donor in GA will not hold on too much longer. The museum still needs the help of about 145 people to donate $10 each to save the computer collection in GA from going to the scraper. You can learn more about the items we are trying save on our website www.houstoncomputermuseum.org. We are a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit and can send you a tax receipt for your donation. If you do not have $10 send us whatever you can be it one dollar or two, heck we will take your $2 winning lottery ticket. Thanks again to everyone that has helped us in the past in our effort to save classic computers and related items. If you would like to donate hardware, manuals, pictures, or whatever contact us. Thanks John

19 years, 7 months

I'm back! (plus power component questions)

by aliensrcooluk＠yahoo.co.uk

--- Tony Duell <ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote: > > > > > > > > --- Tony Duell <ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote: > > > > The first one is what I have dubbed the "pow er > > > > towers" and they look like vertical batterie s. > > > > Usually come in groups of 5. Can anyone tell > > > > me there name and/or what they do? > > > > > > Sound like electrolytic capacitors. They act a s > > > energy storage devices, > > > > ahhhh. I thought I felt a little electric charge > > when I held my finger on the top of one for > > a few seconds (power was off at the time, > > but it had been on about 10 minutes earlier). > > You want to be careful here. A common tyoe of powe r > supply, called a > switch-mode power supply starts out by rectifying > (using diodes) and > smoothing (using electrolytic capacitors) the main s, > producing about 350V > DC. When the power supply is connected to the main s, > that voltage can > easily kill you. Even when the machine is unplugge d, > the stored charge in > those capacitors can be unpleasant, and may cause > injury/damage. > > People who know mw know I have little time for daf t > safety rules, but I > do treat the mains side of a switch-mode power > supply with great respect. > > -tony > Yeah, after touching it the first time I thought that that should be the last time. How would you go about replacing them, if you needed to? Would it be safe after a week of no power, or would the risk of electricution be just as bad? Regards, Andrew B aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk

19 years, 7 months

I'm back! (plus power component questions)

by aliensrcooluk＠yahoo.co.uk

--- Tony Duell <ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote: > > The first one is what I have dubbed the "power > > towers" and they look like vertical batteries. > > Usually come in groups of 5. Can anyone tell > > me there name and/or what they do? > > Sound like electrolytic capacitors. They act as > energy storage devices, ahhhh. I thought I felt a little electric charge when I held my finger on the top of one for a few seconds (power was off at the time, but it had been on about 10 minutes earlier). > to smooth out fluctuations in voltage (for example > the output of a > rectifier cricuit is pulsating DC, a capacitor wil l > smooth that out). An > electrolytic capacitor has a high value of > capacitance for its size, but > it also has other characteristics (for esample, it 's > 'polarised', one > side must be positive wrt the other or the capacit or > will be damaged. And > a eelatively high self-inductance) that make it le ss > suitable for some > other applications. > > > > > The second thing is the erm... plastic(?) "polo > > I owuld think that's actually ferrite (a magnetic > material) > > > mint" that has what appears to be copper > > wire wrapped around it. Can anyone give me > > (or send me in the right direction to find) > > any information on it. > > Sounds like a torroidal inductor. Used for filteri ng > DC power lines, as > the energy storage device in switching regulators, > etc. > > I recomend you read a book called 'The Art of > Electronics' by Horrowitz > and Hill. While it won't specifically answer these > questions, it's a > very good introduction to electronics. The only > downside is that it's not > cheap. > > -tony > Thanks for that Tony. I have been making a list of books (and recommended bookselling websites) that people have mentioned on here. I'll try and track some of them down soon ;) Regards, Andrew B aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk

19 years, 7 months

The Origins of DOS

by charlesmorris＠hughes.net

On Sun, 29 Oct 2006 12:01:01 -0600 (CST), you wrote: >Well, I had similar experience with a doctor that I consulted for, not >about RS vs >CPM, but just in general in that doctors will not take direction. >They have been trained that they are Gods and therefore must make all >their own decisions. Just in general you're full of crap. It's nice to see that you conclude that all 570,000 of us won't take direction from programmers or anyone else, based on your large, well-designed trial with 1 physician. Admittedly there are indeed some doctors who think that because they can make life and death decisions that they are good at making other decisions too. Unfortunately I must have missed the class where they taught us how to be "Gods". Incidentally that attitude is not, of course, limited to doctors. Maybe some programmers think they're the only ones who know how to write code that works, too. Charles Morris, MD WB3JOK

19 years, 7 months

Collections of (physically) large computers

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: Re: Collections of (physically) large computers > From: Jules Richardson <julesrichardsonuk at yahoo.co.uk> > Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2006 05:46:33 -0600 > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org> >The question of who has the smallest computer might be an interesting one. >Whilst in later years the technology allowed machines to pack a lot more >electronics into the case, the physical size didn't really decrease much - and >in a lot of cases got bigger (quite often due to built-ins like disk drives >that didn't *need* to be part of the main system). > >I suppose my Acorn System One is probably my smallest system - two Eurocards, >about 100 x 160 x 30mm in size, complete with built-in keypad, display, tape, >and expansion interfaces. > >My Sinclair ZX81 is probably next - but of course lacks a display so needs a >TV in order to really be useful... > >cheers > >Jules Embedded ELF with serial/RTC/disk(128mb CF), Video(80x24), GPIO (PS2keyboard and 8255) in a stack filling a cube less than 5x5x4". Biggest comment is there is NO surface mount parts. The 5" crt monitor is fully three times the volume!! Second to that is my Z80 minimax. Z80, 64k ram, 128k romdisk, 128k ramdisk 2 serial ports running CP/M. All CMOS and very low power use. Both are way smaller than the PDP-11/73 with RL02, RX02 and 3 RD53in a 50" rack. Allison

19 years, 7 months

Large machines in private hands

by aek＠bitsavers.org

>> I've been pondering the fact there is so little communications with the UK >> old iron folks recently. > > By and large they're a quiet bunch :) I'm keeping tabs on quite a few big > systems in private hands at the moment - they're out there and being looked > after, but the owners aren't interested in the publicity. -- The same appears to be true over here. I know of very few big iron collectors here. I thought I'd here about more working at CHM, but if they're out there, they don't have any contacts with the Museum either. I keep hoping someone has some private stash of mainframe software, but it hasn't surfaced yet. It was interesting to talk to Doron while he was here about the relationship between the Science Museum and CCS.

19 years, 7 months

The Origins of DOS

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

> >Subject: RE: The Origins of DOS > From: "Chandra Bajpai" <cbajpai at comcast.net> > Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2006 11:10:20 -0400 > To: "'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts'" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> > > >How big was the TRS-80 Market to support all thoses DOSes? In the first year of sales the total was over 250,000 units. I'd suspect that by in year three (1981) there were at least 25-50,000 of those capable of supporting a disk and possibly more. The big three of disk based systems were: CP/M (multiple platforms) Apple (appledos) TRS-80 (TRSDOS, Newdos, LDOS) NS* Horizon (s100) NS*DOS (also cp/m) Not in any order. There wer others but volumes were generally far lower. >I remember when NewDOS/80 and I just remember it being fast. Any idea who >wrote that? That was the Apparat version if memory serves. Allison >-Chandra > > >-----Original Message----- >From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] >On Behalf Of Fred Cisin >Sent: Friday, October 27, 2006 10:24 PM >To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts >Subject: Re: The Origins of DOS > >On Fri, 27 Oct 2006, Warren Wolfe wrote: >> [TRS-DOS] >> It was its own universe, Jim. The links and questionable parentage >> of the original version of DOS are tied directly to CP/M, which was the >> first O/S for personal computers that any significant number of >> businesses embraced. And, Windows came out of the DOS world, and now >> dominates as few products have dominated before. (Note: I am NOT >> claiming this is a GOOD thing.) >> >> From what I can tell, TRSDOS was not a rip-off of anyone's software, >> and nobody bothered to rip it off, so it's pretty much out of the world >> of O/S scandal. > >There WERE several imitators of TRS-DOS (although still for TRS-80), >including NEWDOS, DOSPLUS, and the semi-legitimate offspring LDOS. > >> It actually was pretty decent, and had a few ideas of >> merit that didn't make it into the mainstream world for a while. It was >> just totally tied to Radio Shack computing, and suffered a mortal wound >> when IBM came out with their PC. No fault of its own. > >Rasio Shack AVOIDED expanding TRS-DOS into other semi-related hardware >platforms. > >-- >Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com

19 years, 7 months

Roger Holmes mystery machine (Flossie) is..

by aek＠bitsavers.org

http://web.onetel.com/~rodritab/open_day.htm ICT 1301 Nice pics of the Ampex drives at the bottom. I've been pondering the fact there is so little communications with the UK old iron folks recently. It is nice that the CCS archives are on line http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/CCS/

19 years, 7 months

Coincidence or not?

by evan＠snarc.net

I was just watching "Building the Ultimate" on the Science Channel. They were explaining how truckers use high-tech communications systems. They showed a portable terminal that drivers use inside the cab and .... it looked quite similar to a Convergent Workslate! Anyone else see that?

19 years, 7 months

H960 question, and part available

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

One of my H960's actually came to me with a fan already installed in the top. I have a few loose fans, and my other H960 has no fan so I'm getting ready to install one of those condor fans in my H960. I am wondering if the H960 fans at the top are supposed to pull air in, or push air out? I'm more interested in how DEC actually shipped them rather than "it'll work either way". I checked my H960 and it's set to pull air in from the outside downward into the rack. Of course I have no way of knowing if that's how it originally was, or if some collector/scrap person put it in backwards themselves. Anyone set me straight on this? I suspect that's how it's supposed to be given the channel on top for an air filter of some type. Also, I'm working on the last H960 for my collection, and I have leftover one of the antitip feet that stick out the front. If you're standing in front of the front of the rack facing it - it's the right leg. Anyone wants it - cost = shipping. Jay West

19 years, 7 months

CCS newsletters

by aek＠bitsavers.org

Argh.. The top link is broken http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/CCS/res/ Works for the newsletters.

19 years, 7 months

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