test-drb

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

101090 discussions

by csmith＠amdocs.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: R. D. Davis [mailto:rdd@rddavis.org] > Out of curiosity, how many here care whether or not the machines they > collect are considered "collectable" or "top collectable?" Isn't the > point of collecting these machines to have fun toys to play with? > Collecting was more fun, and the machines were easier to find, when > nearly everyone considered them worthless a decade or so ago. Well, you didn't ask how many "don't care," but I'm going to chime in anyway. ;) I couldn't care less what the rest of the world thinks about my computers. In fact, as you said, I'd prefer they thought them worthless to an extent (though, that would actually make some things I'm interested in more difficult to find, since they would get trashed more often -- it's a mixed blessing). I collect machines for my own personal educational and recreational purposes. Admittedly, rarity is sometimes a factor, since any machine that you find which is "rare," may have all kinds of quirks or features which weren't replicated in other systems. Those interest me; the actual "collectability" of a system does not. Chris Christopher Smith, Perl Developer Amdocs - Champaign, IL /usr/bin/perl -e ' print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n"); '

24 years, 1 month

MicroVAX-II questions

by csmith＠amdocs.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: Doc Shipley [mailto:doc@mdrconsult.com] > Everything VMS I've looked at says the DEQNA is unsupported in VMS > >v5.2. Is that unsupported as in "don't call DEC/Compaq/HP", or > unsupported as in "it don't work"? Am I stuck with NetBSD then? Does > anyone know if NBSD will mop-boot over the DEQNA? I don't have VMS > older than 6.2. ISTR that's correct, and that's unsupported as in "We never could get it to work right, so you're on your own..." The suggested solution I've seen is to replace it with a DELQA board. :) Try it with 6.2. If it works, it works. If not, let me know, I may eventually be able to get a bootable MicroVMS 4.x setup on tk50. That is to say, I have MicroVMS 4.x on a VAX with a questionable RD54 (takes several minutes to spin up properly), and a shot tape controller. I will, as soon as I can replace the tape controller, produce a bootable backup if it kills me. > Oh yeah. It boots. VMS 5.2, but it's looking for the rest of a > cluster, and apparently a lot of its filespace was remote. Bummer. > Other than that, and the fact that I can't get it upstairs, > it's a cool > "little" box. Ok, have you tried booting it conversationally, and turning off the clustering? (I have never tried this, but it seems like it might work.) Chris Christopher Smith, Perl Developer Amdocs - Champaign, IL /usr/bin/perl -e ' print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n"); '

24 years, 1 month

Thinning the heard

by csmith＠amdocs.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: Doc [mailto:doc@mdrconsult.com] > Actually, I bet it's more like: friends first, then back-scratchers, > then local folk, then finally out on the list. As it should be. > No dibbing. Unless Sridhar gives up on that 270. Then it's mine. Heh. :) Chris Christopher Smith, Perl Developer Amdocs - Champaign, IL /usr/bin/perl -e ' print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n"); '

24 years, 1 month

OT Mitsubishi Monitor Weirdness

by vance＠ikickass.org

Hi people. I have a Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 900u (nowhere near on-topic but I figure people here might know better what causes this kind of problem). If I provide it with a sync-on-green signal to its BNC connectors (It has five, I connect three), the monitor syncs up just fine, but all the areas that are black show up with a green cast. The white areas show up just fine. I haven't looked at an image with color yet, but I would guess that all the colors would probably be shifted towards the green. Any ideas? Peace... Sridhar

24 years, 1 month

Seen on RISKS-L

by Robert_Feldman＠jdedwards.com

Depends on the type of stone ;-) -----Original Message----- From: Ben Franchuk [mailto:bfranchuk@jetnet.ab.ca] Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 9:09 AM To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Re: Seen on RISKS-L Adrian Graham wrote: > What horse crap (as we all know)! Typical bloody uk journalists who can't be > arsed to research a story properly. If they want to see if it's *really* > still unreadable give the disks to me and I'll use them in my own Domesday > machine, based on one of those *wow*r@re* BBC Micros. > > Or do they mean the discs themselves aren't readable anymore, regardless of > whether you've got a Domesday machine or not? Stone tablets still keep better. -- Ben Franchuk - Dawn * 12/24 bit cpu * www.jetnet.ab.ca/users/bfranchuk/index.html

24 years, 1 month

Seen on RISKS-L

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> In any sufficiently large organization there will be lost files, > ones that are physically present but "lost" due to the owner > keeping important contextual information with him and either > leaving or dying. These lost files could be either paper or > digital; doesn't matter much. > sufficiently large = 15+ people > sufficiently old = 10+ years yes, this is true for the architecture firm I work for. Some earliest work didn't get archived. A *very* few archive disks (128MB and 230MB M-O) have developed problems that cause the loss of one or two files. But given the way they organize their CAD here, the floor plan or detail info they need is often contained in another drawing. We did some early visualization work on the Mac using Gimeor's Architreon, which is a dead product that never made it to another platform. However, I have been opening the animations and taking snapshots, frame-by-frame, so I can bring those animations over to the PC and show them there. It's a lot of work, admittedly... -dq

24 years, 1 month

Metro: Time runs out for Domesday discs

by alan.pearson＠cramer.com

>stored on 12-inch video discs that were only readable by the BBC Micro, of >which only a handful still exist. Got to challenge that, unless they're referring to the "handful" I've got sitting in the Toy Barn. And I doubt I'm the only one in the UK with several working Beebs :-) Al.

24 years, 1 month

Seen on RISKS-L

by korpela＠ssl.berkeley.edu

>Date: Mon, 4 Mar 2002 09:51:50 -0000 >From: "LEESON, Chris" <CHRIS.LEESON(a)london.sema.slb.com> >Subject: Metro: Time runs out for Domesday discs > >The BBC's 1986 Domesday Project (a time capsule containing sound, images, >video and data defining life in Britain) is now unreadable. The data was >stored on 12-inch video discs that were only readable by the BBC Micro, of >which only a handful still exist. The time capsule contains "250,000 place >names, 25,000 maps, 50,000 pictures, 3,000 data sets and 60 minutes of >moving pictures.". The article notes that the original Domesday Book >(compiled in 1086 for tax purposes) is still in "mint condition". >[Source: London *Metro*, 01 Mar 2002] > >Additional comments of my own: > >The BBC Micro, along with the original Sinclair Computers, was the computer >that sparked off the "computer revolution" in the UK. The BBC Micro was >especially popular in schools, whereas the Sinclair computers were more >popular in the home. > >To be fair, the 1986 Domesday Project was in the days before the really >rapid changes in technology came into force - the BBC Micro was not a bad >choice of platform then, especially when you consider that there were very >few other choices available (50,000 pictures alone take up a lot of space). > >Moral/Risk: If you are wanting long-term data storage, the format is just as >important as the materials. > >This is not a new problem - It has appeared in Risks before (RISKS-21.56: >'NASA data from 1970s lost due to "forgotten" file format' for one...), but >is worth keeping in mind. I still have an old Commodore 64/128 disk with my >(very) old account details on it - not that I have a C64/128 any more. My >permanent records, however, are the printouts. > >PS: "Domed... We are all Doomed..."

24 years, 1 month

Seen on RISKS-L

by Adrian.Graham＠corporatemicrosystems.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: Sellam Ismail [mailto:foo@siconic.com] > Sent: 07 March 2002 15:57 > To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: Seen on RISKS-L > > If someone actually knows how the data is encoded then it > doesn't sound > very "unreadable" to me. Considering that all the people who designed the project are still around I'd agree with that. The text you replied to was from Andy Finney's website, and Andy Finney was one of the Domesday project members..... a

24 years, 1 month

Seen on RISKS-L

by Adrian.Graham＠corporatemicrosystems.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: John Foust [mailto:jfoust@threedee.com] > Sent: 07 March 2002 21:17 > To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: Seen on RISKS-L > > You'd think the actual problem must be that the discs are > becoming unreadable, or that kind of LD player is hard to find > or maintain, or that there was some custom controller that's It was an Acorn SCSI controller inside the Twin-CPU BBC Master that connected to the LV-ROM transport, and even the transport was a bog-standard Philips Laserdisc player; granted with some extra gubbins on the bottom for SCSI access to the transport. Greenweld electronics (www.greenweld.co.uk) are still selling the Philips Laserdisc player in question for ukp30. Oh, and up until recently the London Science Museum had a working Domesday setup.... a www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk; *wow*r@re Domesday machine home!

24 years, 1 month

Top collectable machines

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> It was my understanding that Stardent was the result of a > merger between Ardebnt (nee Dana) and Stellar. This was correct; Poduska was also a founder of Stellar; he wrote the business plans for Prime, Apollo, Stellar, and Stardent. He has always limited himself to a 20-page plan, which many credit as one element of his success. -dq

24 years, 1 month

Intel iPSC/1, TI Explorer II, Symbolics 3620 documentation, software sought

by tony.eros＠machm.org

Does anyone have documentation or software for the Intel iPSC/1, TI Explorer II or Symbolics 3620 that they'd be willing to share? I'd like to start playing with some of my toys. Thanks! -- Tony

24 years, 1 month

Data I/O Unisite programmer

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

Is anyone familar with these? I don't don't know much about them other than that the surplus dealers all think they're worth a fortune. Anyway I "rescued" one out of a scrap pile. First, is it worth trying to repair and use? I already have a Data I/O model 29. Second, it's missing the two disk drives but otherwise it seems to be in decent condition. Can these use standard 3.5" floppy drives? I THINK these have their complete operating system on disk. Can anyone confirm that? Does anyone have the SW or manuals for it? Joe

24 years, 1 month

Beehive terminals CPU?

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

IIRC A couple of months ago somebody on this list said that the Beehive terminals used 4040 CPUs. Can anyone confirm that? Yesterday I spotted a pair of old two-tome brown Beehive terminals in a trash pile and I was wondering if I should go back and pick them up. Joe

24 years, 1 month

Thinning the heard

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

An aside to all this, and hopefully the last words. The equipment was mine to dispose of. How, is my choice. To put it bluntly, if there were no response, I'd have called a few people on last resort and if no interest I'd have then landfilled them. Often with my time being very limited I will impose those conditions that will least impact my time. Usually no outside the US 48 states as packing, paperwork and shipping requires *time* even if minimal effort. I am not a business with a shipping department. Personally I'd rather see them used or at least recycled. However, I dont have unlimited space and If I can't use it or don't use it then maybe it's time to remove it. I was glad that there were at least three people that could and would pick them up. Allison

24 years, 1 month

Thinning the heard

by ajp166＠bellatlantic.net

Hi, This is an unreasonable request. Allison -----Original Message----- From: Torquil MacCorkle III <torquil(a)rockbridge.net> To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> Date: Thursday, March 07, 2002 10:17 PM Subject: Re: Thinning the heard >Hi, > I think it is very nice of you to give away machines like this. I was >just wondering if you'd be willing to, if you do this again, give me first >dibs on the next complete machine you give away? > Thanks for the generosity to the list, > torquil >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Allison" <ajp166(a)bellatlantic.net> >To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> >Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 11:12 AM >Subject: Thinning the heard > > >> Thanks everyone. >> >> The two Pros are claimed. >> >> In the future there may be other hardware but, not alot. >> I'm not getting out it's more a selection process as I >> with to run more of the peices and that takes space. >> >> Allison >> >> > >

24 years, 1 month

Top collectable machines

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> > Stardent was not a follow-on from Ardent. > > > > Stardent made a graphics supercomputer with a fancy very wide data path > > between the CPU and the graphics engine. Something like 512 bits > > wide... > > > > My wife worked there. Stardent attempted to generate a market for a > > product that did not already exist. Some were sold for scientific > > visualization and other high-end uses. Quite a unique machine > > really...not your average workstation at all. > > Cool. I have one which I got from the University of Texas at Austin last > summer. I believe that I owe it to a list member who sent me some cool > hardware in exhange for it. I may be confusing it with another firm, but I think Bill Poduska founded Stardent after leaving Apollo... -dq

24 years, 1 month

Seen on RISKS-L

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> I suspect the practicality is that, although technically feasable to convert > to a DVD, _copyright_ issues prevent any commercial project from > doing so (starting with the arm and a leg than ordnance survey would charge > for the map data, and following with the impossibility of contacting all the > other copyright holders) and the amount of work required (and legal > minefield) being too much for a hobby project. Has "migrating a copyrighted work from an older decaying medium to a newer stable medium" had a court test already? -dq

24 years, 1 month

Mitsubishi monitor problem.

by vance＠ikickass.org

Never mind. The Clamp pulse setting was in the wrong position. Peace... Sridhar

24 years, 1 month

Punch Card Humor

by jismay＠gkar.unixboxen.net

I was going through the archives on www.techtales.com, and I came across this one: Punch Card Problems This one really belongs to my dad. Many years ago, he was using a PDP 8 with 8k of core for generating geological maps. All the programmes and data were entered via punch card or paper tape. On one run, it just wouldn't work. All the cards were manually checked, a very labour and time intensive process. Still nothing worked. Eventually, the whole run was repunched card by card and in the end it did work. Some detective work revealed the source of the errors. The dye used in the blue punch cards was slightly hygroscopic. The absorbed water made all the blue cards slightly longer than the rest, just long enough to throw off the reader. The solution: replace all the blue cards....... Thanks to: Araneas -- Love of the Goddess makes the poet go mad he goes to his death and in death is made wise. Robert Graves

24 years, 1 month

Wanted: DECNA

by dittman＠dittman.net

If anyone has a DECNA they'd like to sell or trade, please let me know. -- Eric Dittman dittman(a)dittman.net Check out the DEC Enthusiasts Club at http://www.dittman.net/

24 years, 1 month

ADV: International Trade

by calmanagement＠earthlink.net

If you are in the International Trade, you need to join the FREE Trade Group, Itrade http://www.2wongs.com/itrade.htm Join today - IT'S FREE Disclaimer: This is NOT SPAM - You have received this e-mail because at one time or another you requested information from us regarding international trade or excess merchandise. We comply with all proposed and current laws on commercial e-mail under (Bill s. 1618 TITLE III passed by the 105th Congress). If you have received this e-mail in error, we apologize for the inconvenience and ask that you remove yourself. Just return this email and enter REMOVE as the subject. Thank you.

24 years, 1 month

Decwriters

by csmith＠amdocs.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: William Donzelli [mailto:aw288@osfn.org] > > Well, I've got to have somebody go out to Mass. to get the > > Prime anyway, so I'll probably just have them go past the > > museum. :) > Talk to me off the list. I did attempt to contact you off list, after you emailed me a reply to my original question about how much this thing would cost to ship. :) I just assumed you were busy and hadn't gotten around to answering. Chris Christopher Smith, Perl Developer Amdocs - Champaign, IL /usr/bin/perl -e ' print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n"); '

24 years, 1 month

Decwriters

by csmith＠amdocs.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: William Donzelli [mailto:aw288@osfn.org] > > I have one spoken for, in Champaign, IL. That might be out of your > > way from (or to) Chicago, though. I'm not sure. > We could meet somewhere north of Champaign. After all, I am > going to have > to go just south of the lake anyway. Well, I've got to have somebody go out to Mass. to get the Prime anyway, so I'll probably just have them go past the museum. :) Out of curiosity, when are you making this trip, though? Chris Christopher Smith, Perl Developer Amdocs - Champaign, IL /usr/bin/perl -e ' print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n"); '

24 years, 1 month

AIM-65 Questions

by r_beaudry＠hotmail.com

Hello all, I recently completed a trade for an AIM-65 that is about 80-90% working, but needs a little TLC. Hopefully someone here can help.... It appears to have the BASIC ROMs installed, and in the right sockets, but pressing "5" on the keyboard only results in the "<5>" display, and then the AIM hangs up. Only a press of the Reset button will free it up. I suspect the ROMs may be flaky, since one had quite a bit of (for lack of a better word) gunk on the tops of the pins. I cleanied it all off, but there may be some internal damage. These ROMs are part number 2332. I suspect these are 2732-compatible, at least in read mode, and not program mode... Does anyone have a ROM dump in Hex format? If so, could you email it to me so I can burn new ones? Actually, while I'm at it, if anyone has ANY of the AIM-65 ROMs dumped in Hex format, I'd appreciate copies. Then I could burn a whole new set... Also, the keyboard needs cleaning pretty badly. Unfortunately, I do not remember the manufacturer name or model #, but it is the standard AIM-65 keyboard. Has anyone ever fully taken one apart to clean it? If so, any gotchas? Thanks! Rich B. _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com

24 years, 1 month

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test-drb