> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chris [mailto:mythtech@mac.com]
> If BMW doesn't suit your fancy as an example, replace it with
> any small
> market share high priced vehicle. Like maybe the Lotus, or
> Lambrogini, or
> Ferrari.... or for more mainstream, the Jaguar. People aren't buying
> these cars because they need them, they are buying them
> because they WANT
> them.
I think BMW is a good metaphor for a Mac -- it leaves nicer cars
for the nicer workstations ;) Though, SGI isn't exactly what it
used to be -- maybe they just had some "bad years," the Octane2
shows some promise.
> bought out of desire, NOT out of neccessity. Once you have an
> audience
> that buys from desire, you can safely raise your prices to
> the highest
> point that audience will bear.
They'll like it better, of course, if you don't.
In the computer sense, people who know what they're doing will just
go buy an old Cobra, or that Lamborghini that's setting out in the
dumpster for some reason ;)
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
>The futurebus was short lived... as
>people say "it was in the future"... I never
>saw any REAL options for it...
DECnis used FB+, the DEC 4000-600/700 series
used the FB+ (although apparently a sufficiently
different version that interworking was
not possible) and that was about it,
at least as far as DEC was concerned.
Antonio
> And for the most part... this is perfectly fine with Jobs... he isn't
> interested in ruling the PC world, he is interested in making stuff
> people desire. He WANTS to be the BMW or Jaguar of the computer world.
> MS, Dell, Gateway, et al can be the Ford or Chevy, let them deal with
> having the bulk of the sales churning out the same old tired but reliable
> designs at cut throat prices.
Althought I'm no Jobs fan (hate Apple, love Mac), I must agree.
Well said, Chris.
In a message dated 5/2/02 9:33:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
erd_6502(a)yahoo.com writes:
> You misunderstand the direction I'm going. I have magtape with data
> already on it. I want to extract that data into a file or set of
> files on the disk that I can then burn to CD-R. I can use dd to move
> raw records, but I would like to also know what the block size was
> for a particular file so I could reconsitute the tape later if
> necessary. I'm not so worried about the VMS BACKUP tapes I need to
> spin off - I want one saveset per file. If I want to dup any install
> tapes (non-VAX), the blocking becomes more critical.
>
> Essentially, a physical backup that is primarily for data recovery,
> but secondarily for later restoration.
>
> I do not intend to use magtape as a primary backup media for Linux
> or Solaris. Writing tape is not a concern here, only reading. I
> do know how to operate dump/restore, tar, etc. They are of _no_ use
>
Wouldn't dd make an image preserving the original block sizes?
-Linc.
In The Beginning there was nothing, which exploded - Yeah right...
Calculating in binary code is as easy as 01,10,11.
Just dropped by the Uni Surplus for their grand unveiling... Open one
day a week now, with inventory soon to appear on the web.
Got a PowerMac 7200/90 for $10, just to get cables and accessories
with it (needed a AV adapter for my 6100/60av). Also got a nice
Barco monitor, c. 1989. Will go great with an old Amiga.
The big win, though, was a fully loaded (SCSI drives, 4 x MS440
and TSZ07) VAX 4000-710. I would have thought it was an Alpha
box, but unless the sun was in my eyes, it says "VAX 4000" on one
name plate on one end, and "Model 710" on a name plate on the other
end. It's still in the back of my station wagon, so I haven't even
fired it up. From the stickers on the devices, it's running UNIX
(/dev/whatever on all the disks and tape drives).
I bought it without powering it on because a) I wanted the TSZ07 and
it was cheaper than the shipping alone, and b) they don't have
a 20A plug at the surplus barn (the one with the blades like (- |)
not the usual (| |) for a 15A plug).
I only found a few hits for it while googling. Any good resources for
a box that new? I figure I'll get it home, stick a VT220 on it and
go from there. Yes, I have MMJ cables to plug into the console port.
If I decide to keep it, I'll want to think about OpenVMS on it. There's
nothing magical about modern DEC Unix that makes it special to me. If
I want Unix, I'll go with *BSD or Solaris on beefy hardware. Ultrix
only in special cases.
-ethan
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness
http://health.yahoo.com
> What's always annoyed me with "brand-name" PC's is that the packaging ALWAYS
> deviates from the "norm" established by the DIY market. Consquently, your
> DELL, Gateway, or Compaq was never upgradable, because the CPU or hard disk
> wasn't supported by the BIOS, or some peripheral wouldn't fit in the system
> because of address conflicts. Simple things like the on-board video caused
> problems when they failed because one couldn't disable them, or, if one did,
> the now-broken native video interfered with the replacement. Even printer
> ports posed such problems. Many times the packaging itself was the problem.
> Have you ever tried to replace or upgrade the CDROM drive in an HP PC?
It just depends on the model.
We bought several Dell Precision Workstations, 410s and 420s.
They use non-standard mobos and non-standard PSUs. Everything
else is standard. We also have Dimensions, which have similar
attributes w/r/t peripherals.
-dq
>From: Ethan Dicks <erd_6502(a)yahoo.com>
>Would you have 10-12 DL1416s? That would give me enough for two
>display boards and a spare or two for the future.
---
Hmm.. probably not. I do have about a dozen, but I might need some of
them for my AIMs if & when I finally get around to looking at them.
Also, I doubt that there are even five matching ones; some are Siemens
and some are Litronix/NSL, with different profiles, and they are also
various brightness codes. But if you need a replacement or two I could
probably help out.
But from the other perspective, what were you planning to use? And
do you know of a source for a cheap 1x20 parallel VF or LCD display?
Lots of 2&4x20s; guess one of those would do...
---
>Right now, my "spare" time is all focused on displays anyway - the
>LCDProc project (http://lcdproc.omnipotent.net/) is closing in on
>a new point release and I'm trying to debug a development environment
>to be able to add support for some new display hardware (PD3000 "pole
>displays" like you see attached to cash registers/tills).
---
Looks like there are a few of these display/monitor projects out there;
what's so different about the PD3000? Aren't they all RS-232?
I'll be in touch off-list when I know more.
mike
>It's just that the 250% price premium
>paid for it because it's mainly a single-vendor system is pretty steep. Now,
>I haven't looked at any pricing in over 15 years,
But when you compare a similar package Gateway, Dell, or other "name
brand" PCs, you will find that there is actually very little difference
in price. Certainly not enough to justify the significantly higher TCO of
the PC.
Where the price difference really shines is in the generic branded PCs,
or in the "build your own" PCs.
>What I don't understand is, if the
>supply is lower and the devices are as reliable as those on the PC market,
>where's the demand that drives the prices up coming from?
Because people WANT a Mac. How does BMW get away with charging a price
premium when they only have a 5% market share. People will pay the price
because they want the item.
I have long felt that Apple could make much larger sweeps into the market
if they would stop being "cool" and just make a $400 bare bones iMac.
-chris
<http://www.mythtech.net>
> From: Richard Erlacher <edick(a)idcomm.com>
> I'm also looking for a recommendation for a decent but not too rare or
> expensive 56K dialup modem that's also fax-capable.
Any external 56K modem should work, right? You should be able to get one
for $20 or so.
> I'm sure I can find a
> reasonable MAC for a few dollars, but the real question with the MAC is
the
> peripherals.
No doubt ;>) I don't know about availability where you are, but I get a
couple of calls from PC parts vendors every day, and I have not had one
call from a Mac vendor in 10 years. If I could find a reliable wholesaler
of Mac parts and peripherals I'd start doing Mac repairs.
> I've noticed that there's software out there for doing
> long-distance jibberjabber between computers on the internet. If I equip
one
> of these babies with that and send it to my S.O's sister in Portland,
they can
> yack without running up the long distance bills. That's easily going to
pay
> for an older MAC in a week or so.
Does anyone on this list know of anyone who has gotten "free long distance
telephone calls over the internet" software to work consistently?
Glen
0/0
On Tue, 30 Apr 2002, Ethan Dicks wrote:
>
> --- "Douglas H. Quebbeman" <dquebbeman(a)acm.org> wrote:
> > > ...will "Hercules" talk BISYNC or SNA down a sync serial pipe?
> >
> > I'd think you'd either need a PC serial card that uses a
> > USART instead of a UART, or a convert of some kind... but
> > I don't know how the converter would supply synch...
>
> Naturally. I wouldn't expect a 16550 to sprout clock lines and
> stop being asynchronous. I guess I should have been a little
> clearer on my inqury. I do not know of any off-the-shelf sync
> serial cards for the PC, so I didn't know the best way to phrase
> the question.
There are/were apparently a number of Apple LocalTalk cards made
for PC usage. One of them is the PC MacBridge by Tangent Technologies -
now defunct - which is a short 8-bit card based on the Zilog Z8530APC
chip. A google search will disclose multiple others also.
- don
> > But it wouldn't be too hard to kludge up a design for a
> > single-port 8251a-based serial card...
>
> If I were going to build hardware, I'd probably go with the ZSIO
> because a) I have some and b) I programmed one at the register
> level for a living 10 years ago, and know how to make it tick.
>
> More to the point: does Hercules support any off-the-shelf sync
> cards? I'd rather this be as light on the customization as possible.
>
> -ethan
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness
> http://health.yahoo.com
>
In a message dated 5/1/02 5:51:42 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
doc(a)mdrconsult.com writes:
> Sounds like an Altos. I'm looking for a BIOS file for my 580 with a
> Seagate ST225.....
>
I will keep an eye out for my Altos SW, I too had a 580 at one time. Nice
machine.
I just salvaged an Altos 8000-12 out of my house. More about that later.
The box I am referring to is a small white minitower that used RJ connectors
for terminal connection. I believe it is an 8 bit machine like the Altos 580.
I cannot remember the name, I will have to get it out of storage. Ran 8 bit
MP/M. Cute.
Paxton
Astoria, OR
In a message dated 5/1/02 12:55:08 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
dquebbeman(a)acm.org writes:
>
> MP/M-86: multiuser, multi-terminal version of CP/M. Supports
> more memory than CP/M-86 though...
>
I liked MPM. I am still sitting on a MPM box that supports 4 terminals and
hope to get it running again some time. Hmm. that reminds me, I am going to
need a new (used) 10 meg HD for it. It is nice to see the SW for it on the
Internet.
I should bring it home from the storage locker.
Paxton
Astoria, OR
>Are you certain? If the Mac was running the same network services as
>that Unix box, I'd bet your chances of a problem are even -- if not
>worse on the Mac, due to their popularity among "home users," which
>unix isn't...
The wonderful bonus you have here with the Mac is... AppleTalk isn't
passed by home internet routers or modems. So you can safely have the
default settings of a home file/print sharing turned on on your Macs, and
no one outside of your home network will know it is there.
This changes if you turn on AppleTalk over IP, but since that is off by
default, you must explicitly set it when you turn on your filesharing. At
that point, if you don't know what you are activating, you deserve what
you get.
Also, even if I run servers/services that DO interact with the
internet... I am far less likely to be hacked simply by virtue of there
is almost no one trying to hack the Mac servers. That isn't true with
Windows and Unix where any 13yr old script kiddie can get tools to make
attempts.
I don't pretend that Mac internet servers are unhackable... just that
people aren't making easy tools to try, so the script kiddies ignore them.
Much like Mac users being "immune" to viruses. We are FAR from immune...
we just don't really see them because no one is interested in trying.
There are advantages to being a 5% market... small targets don't get hit
often.
(so how long now until someone hacks my web page to prove a point :-) )
-chris
<http://www.mythtech.net>
> Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 14:49:00 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Ethan Dicks <erd_6502(a)yahoo.com>
> Subject: Googling and "egg-sucking" (was Re: "Toy" computers...)
> To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
> In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.44.0204281433220.29291-100000(a)george.home.org>
>
> --- Doc <doc(a)mdrconsult.com> wrote:
> > On Sun, 28 Apr 2002, Peter C. Wallace wrote:
> >
> > > On Sun, 28 Apr 2002, Doc wrote:
> >
> > > > Dude.
> > > > Fire up your favorite Open Source browser. Go to
> > > > http://www.google.com
> > > > Do a search for this (quotation marks included):
> > > >
> > > > "Teach Grandpa to suck eggs"
> > >
> > > BTW Google doesn't find the quoted string...
>
> I got one hit with this...
> "teaching grandpa to suck eggs"
>
> And a bunch more by using the exact phraseology I heard growing up...
>
> "teach your grandma to suck eggs"
>
> With Google, spelling (and precise word selection) counts.
>
> > Argh.
> > Once again, what I thought was a universal expression turns out to be
> > a Texasism.
>
> I would count it as an American Colloquialism, but I don't think of the
> phrase as uniquely Texan.
Hey, guys. Simplify. A Google search on the phrase "suck eggs" leads
to a clear explanation of the historical use of the phrase, dating
back to the 16th century in English, and older in other languages.
< http://www.quinion.com/words/qa/qa-tea1.htm >
carl
There is someone searching for infos about IMS - hardware.
Can you help ?
Answer only to:
arlen.michaels(a)sympatico.ca
==================BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE==================
>Return-Path: <arlen.michaels(a)sympatico.ca>
Just want to thank you for making the old manuals and image files
available on http://oldcomputers.dyndns.org/public/
I found things here (like the IMS information) I have been hunting for
years. I am still looking for documents etc for some other IMS S-100
boards dating from around 1980-84:
- A862 Z80 CPU
- A930 Floppy Controller
- A821 Winchester Controller
- A1100 Winchester Controller
- A1021 64K RAM
You don't by any chance have files for these, do you? :)
Best wishes,
Arlen Michaels
arlen.michaels(a)sympatico.ca
===================END FORWARDED MESSAGE===================
--
Greetinggs from
Fritz Chwolka
< collecting old computers yust for fun >
> at www.alterechner.de <
I finally hooked up with an old college buddy of mine who works at
OCLC. We had previously arranged to meet today before I filled up
my car with wads o' DEC stuff. Fortunately there was still room
for the three complete Tektronix 4105 terminals. He caught them
on the way to the dumpster a few years ago, but hasn't done much
with them. They all powered up and worked 4 months ago.
Is anyone interested in one? I do not need three. Make offers
off-list, please, to ethan_dicks(a)yahoo.com (if you reply to
this message it will take longer for me to see your message).
Offers exceeding S&H will receive first consideration. Given
their size, I'd prefer pickup or even delivery at Dayton (if you
are going). Packing will be a hassle.
If you act now, you can have a Tek 4695 color printer... I got it at
Dayton because there were Amiga drivers for it. Turns out I wanted a
4696. The 4695 is a messy beast that set back inkjet evolution several
eons. I only mention it because it is specifically mentioned in the
docs as supported as the standard color "Copier" device.
I have offered the printer to the list once. I got no responses. This
time, I will tear it down for interesting tidbits and junk the rest.
It is too cantankerous and the ink is essentially not available, so
as a printer, it's worthless. Its only value is as a decorative
accessory to the terminal in a historical exhibit to show how it would
have been used in period.
Anybody have any interesting data files/software to throw at a Tek
terminal to do cool stuff?
-ethan
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness
http://health.yahoo.com
> I would have thought it was an Alpha
> box, but unless the sun was in my eyes, it says "VAX 4000" on one
> name plate on one end, and "Model 710" on a name plate on the other
> end.
I think the sun was in your eyes (or someone has
been playing with labels). It might be a VAX 4000-700A
or a VAX 4000-705A or it might indeed be an Alpha:
a DEC 4000-710 (this was the Fang, a follow on to
the DEC 4000-610, the Cobra). You can add a
second CPU to obtain a 4000-720 (similarly you can
get a 4000-620).
> It's still in the back of my station wagon, so I haven't even
> fired it up. From the stickers on the devices, it's running UNIX
> (/dev/whatever on all the disks and tape drives).
It's almost certainly a DEC 4000-710 (which is
probably a win: they are rarer than VAX 4000-70x
machines IMHO). I don't think Ultrix ever ran
on the VAX 4000 machines.
> I bought it without powering it on because a) I wanted the TSZ07 and
> it was cheaper than the shipping alone, and b) they don't have
> a 20A plug at the surplus barn (the one with the blades like (- |)
> not the usual (| |) for a 15A plug).
Sounds to me like you won big time here :-)
Antonio
There is someone searching for infos about IMS - hardware.
Can you help ?
Answer only to:
arlen.michaels(a)sympatico.ca
==================BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE==================
>Return-Path: <arlen.michaels(a)sympatico.ca>
Just want to thank you for making the old manuals and image files
available on http://oldcomputers.dyndns.org/public/
I found things here (like the IMS information) I have been hunting for
years. I am still looking for documents etc for some other IMS S-100
boards dating from around 1980-84:
- A862 Z80 CPU
- A930 Floppy Controller
- A821 Winchester Controller
- A1100 Winchester Controller
- A1021 64K RAM
You don't by any chance have files for these, do you? :)
Best wishes,
Arlen Michaels
arlen.michaels(a)sympatico.ca
===================END FORWARDED MESSAGE===================
Greetings from
Fritz Chwolka - Duisburg
/ collecting old computers just for fun at www.alterechner.de \
Eric,
Thank you. pkxarc did the job!
>> I picked up a bunch of CPM archives from CPMUG. The files end with the
>> ARK file extension. I've tried the unark16.exe I picked up from the
>> oak.oakland.edu site but I can't seem to get them to unpack.
>
>ARK should be the same as ARC. You could probably use pkxarc if you can
>still find it. I think pkunpack will work as well. Does anyone know if
>WINZIP handles "ARC" type archives?
>
>> What MS-DOS command works on these archives or do I need to fetch a CP/M
>> version and run under a CP/M emulator?
>
>Eric
Oaxton wrote:
>I liked MPM. I am still sitting on a MPM box that supports 4 terminals and
>hope to get it running again some time. Hmm. that reminds me, I am going to
>need a new (used) 10 meg HD for it. It is nice to see the SW for it on the
>Internet.
On what kind of hardware is this MPM (86?) running? Newbies that want to
experiment with MPM, would most likely want an implementation of MPM for
the IBM PC hardware - but is that available somewhere? The downloads that
were mentioned a week ago (mpm8621i.zip etc.) are for some compupro hardware.
Freek.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Antonio Carlini [mailto:Antonio.Carlini@riverstonenet.com]
> > a 20A plug at the surplus barn (the one with the blades like (- |)
> > not the usual (| |) for a 15A plug).
> Sounds to me like you won big time here :-)
Sounds to me like a 16A plug. ;)
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
> OpenVMS? Maybe eventually. When I started really getting into
> computer work, it was as an operator, on an OpenVMS system... But since I
> do have the CDs and docs here for D/UX, I'll give it a whirl, and see if it
> fits my needs.
> Does it allow only one user at a time, without the OSF-BASE PAK?
> This afternoon I'll be firing up my 3000/400 to see what's
> installed, before I try throwing D/UX on it...
Without the PAK you'll be pretty restricted on what you can do, and can
probably only log in on the console. I suspect you can't even bring up
X-Windows.
OpenVMS has the advantage of being cheaper to run for a Hobbyist, but the
Hobbyist PAKs have to be renewed every year (for free). Tru64 costs about
$100 for the hobbyist, but that includes a set of CD's and permanent PAK's.
Personally I prefer OpenVMS on my Alpha's as I can run UNIX faster on x86.
Zane
> The big win, though, was a fully loaded (SCSI drives, 4 x MS440
> and TSZ07) VAX 4000-710. I would have thought it was an Alpha
> box, but unless the sun was in my eyes, it says "VAX 4000" on one
> name plate on one end, and "Model 710" on a name plate on the other
Lucky Bum!!!! That's one of the most powerful VAXen around! OpenVMS/VAX
should rock on that sucker! It's interesting that there is a VAX 4000-710
and a DEC 4000-710 with the DEC being an Alpha.
Zane
> From: Christopher Smith
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: David Woyciesjes [mailto:DAW@yalepress3.unipress.yale.edu]
>
> > > From: Christopher Smith
>
> > > I certainly hope that changes. I could stand to see many people
> > > replace their peesees with Macs.
>
> > Instead of a Mac, how about a DEC 3000/400, or Sun
> > Ulltra1 Creator
> > or an SGI, or...
>
> Even better, but there's less of a chance that will happen.
>
> Chris
>
Unless, of course, you hang around here...
--
--- David A Woyciesjes
--- C & IS Support Specialist
--- Yale University Press
--- mailto:david.woyciesjes@yale.edu
--- (203) 432-0953
--- ICQ # - 905818
Mac OS X 10.1 - Darwin Kernel Version 5
Running since 01/22/2002 without a crash