test-drb

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

101090 discussions

by caprio＠dcms.com

This may be a pipe dream but I've always wanted to get my hands on an IMSAI 8080. I used to work for an OEM and we rolled these out to clients by the hundreds. I would like to build an IMSAI. If you have any parts/systems for sale please email me with details. Thank you.

24 years, 1 month

Write only programming

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> "R. D. Davis" <rdd(a)rddavis.org> wrote: > > Also, remember that obfuscated code is an art form that should bring > > bonuses and raises to programmers skilled in this art. Besides, a > > programmer who can't read so-called "difficult to read code," with no > > comments, isn't a real programmer. :-) > > No comments? I think you're forgetting the potential of comments as > things whose maintenance is a lesser priority and whose relationship > to the code may therefore differ from the reader's expectations. Edward Yourdon recounts an episode in one of his textbooks about a large assembly language program that was comment-free, except for a single line (don't know the real processor so I'm faking the instruction): 1827: MOV AX,0001H ; R.I.P. L.V.B. The programmer brought in to maintain this code was certain that this was the Rosetta Stone to the entire application; if he could figure it out, he'd have no trouble with this code. However, the final revelation wasn't very helpful, although he did give up and finally just immerse himself in the code to gain the understanding he'd vainly hoped he'd get from decyphering the comment. Any guesses as to the comment's meaning? No fair if you read the book and know the answer from that... ;)

24 years, 1 month

Free stuff in Seattle

by mythtech＠mac.com

>Corona PC portable (looks like compaq portable) I just gave one of these to David W on Sunday... I have two more, but am missing the covers for them. -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>

24 years, 1 month

Symbolics rescue (question about picture)

by mbg＠TheWorld.com

>RK03s >I haven't seen any on eBay ever, and I think that only a few people on >the list have them. I doubt I'll ever be able to find one. Count me as one of them... I have two on a LAB-8/E... Megan Gentry Former RT-11 Developer +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+ | Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | Internet (work): gentry!zk3.dec.com | | Unix Support Engineering Group | (home): mbg!world.std.com | | Compaq Computer Corporation | addresses need '@' in place of '!' | | 110 Spitbrook Rd. ZK03-2/T43 | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ | | Nashua, NH 03062 | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler | | (603) 884 1055 | required." - mbg KB1FCA | +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+

24 years, 1 month

Write only programming

by fmc＠reanimators.org

"R. D. Davis" <rdd(a)rddavis.org> wrote: > Also, remember that obfuscated code is an art form that should bring > bonuses and raises to programmers skilled in this art. Besides, a > programmer who can't read so-called "difficult to read code," with no > comments, isn't a real programmer. :-) No comments? I think you're forgetting the potential of comments as things whose maintenance is a lesser priority and whose relationship to the code may therefore differ from the reader's expectations. -Frank McConnell

24 years, 1 month

Packing suggestions (was Re: PDP11 Redux, or Behind-The-Scenes Bull)

by jwbirdsa＠picarefy.com

Regarding "foam-in-place": make sure the brand of foam you use is tough enough for the job! I recently received a machine whose plastic fascia had been somewhat munched despite the whole thing being foamed in place because the foam actually crushed somewhat due to the weight of the machine. --James B.

24 years, 1 month

CORRECTION Re: A Few finds today some old/some new

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On March 1, Doc wrote: > That's the second time in two days that my ASSumption overrode what > was in front of my face, resulting in Hoof-In-Mouth disease. Your ass can ride something in front of your face? Man, you're a LOT more flexible than I am. -Dave -- Dave McGuire St. Petersburg, FL "Less talk. More synthohol." --Lt. Worf

24 years, 1 month

RX02 Bootstrap

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Feb 28, 11:04, Andreas Freiherr wrote: > Pete, > > understand or agree with all you say. Except: > > > > Yes. But this is neither a typo nor a printing error. If you read four > > > blocks of 200(8) _words_ each, starting at zero, you fill exactly > > > 2000(8) _bytes_, and the next free location is 2000(8). As you state, > > > the printed version is prepared for conversion to single density (by > > > clearing the 400 bit in locations 2036 and 2072, right?) by reading in > > > four blocks... - So, the reason is somewhat similar to that for the > > > TS-11. > > > > Yes, but if it's single density, which is the only reason you'd read four > > sectors, the sectors are 128 bytes [100(8)] not 256, so it's still only > > 1000(8). > > Sure, you need not read four sectors if they are 200 words each, but as > we noted earlier, the routine will always read these four sectors (so > you need only change two words in order to switch to single density), > and if these four sectors happen to be from a double-density RX02, you > will want to have sufficient room for them. Er, read the code again. The double-density version only loads 2 sectors, in *all* the versions I've seen. 40 001122 120427 CMPB R4,#3 ; sectors 1 and 3 get done 40 001124 000003 > I haven't tried: is it possible to get a false error indication while > you are supposed to wait until the RXV11 has digested parameters like > sector / track number? From reading the docs, I would assume that the > only reason for the error bit to come on at this time might be an > invalid parameter like sector > 26, and in this case, you'll probably > better abort as well (sure, should not happen during boot...). So why > not just use this check every time you wait for the controller, once the > check is in the subroutine anyway? I haven't tried all the permutations to see what happens if you give garbage in response to a TR request, but the error only shows up ast the end in cases I have tried. It's almost impossible to test this by hand, as the controller doesn't wait forever; you only have a short time to respond to TR so you can't do it from, say, ODT or an 11/40 switch console. > But, you're right: savings aren't too extreme with this approach, as the > sequence BIT-BEQ-BMI takes three words, and a JSR would need two. In > turn, you need two additional words for a MOV #something,SP plus one for > the RTS, and there are four places with a BMI, so in total we save four > words by spending three: makes a total of one word saved. Didn't you say > something like this before? ;-) Something like that, yeah ;-) > Let me continue, and we can open a contest for writing the shortest > bootstrap! ;-) I used to do that with all sorts of small assembly-languge routines. My best was saving 200+ bytes out of 2048, in some Z80 code that one self-proclaimed expert (not the author) described as "a mastepiece of conciseness". -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

24 years, 1 month

Need paper tape encoding format

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Mar 1, 9:00, Stan Barr wrote: > pete(a)dunnington.u-net.com (Pete Turnbull) said: > > Lots of unix (including many BSD/Linux) systems have a program called ppt > > (usually in /usr/bin/games or similar) which takes an ASCII string and > > outputs a facsimile of paper tape. > > Thanks for that, I just found it on this Linux box. "Man ppt" also > listed bcd which does the same for punched cards. And in case anyone thinks that's off-topic, this is the description from my Seventh Edition man page on ppt: bcd, ppt - convert to antique media So it was considered antiquated in 1979! -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

24 years, 1 month

A Few finds today some old/some new

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

1. IBM Thinkpad 755c for $12.51 2. Commodore 1084 video monitor for $7 3. hp NetServer 4d/66LM for $33 4. Apple PowerPC 8100/80 tower traded 4 empty PC cases for it. 5. digital VT 420 - 2 for $1 each 6. digital VT 520 - 2 for $1 each 7. WYSE 30+ terminal for $1 8. hp Laserjet IIIp for $1

24 years, 1 month

VS4000/60 docs available

by doc＠mdrconsult.com

Hi. I've seen this come up a couple of times with no real solution. I very generous somebody just emailed me the VAXstation 4000/60 "Owner's and System Installation Guide" (EK-PMARI-OM-001) and "Options Installation Guide" (EK-PMARI-IG-001) in Bookreader format. I don't have ftp or webserver space, but I'll be glad to share. I can read these in OSF or VMS, but does anyone know of a reader or conversion utility for Linux? If I had that, I'd see about putting them in PostScript or PDF. Doc

24 years, 1 month

SGI Personal Iris 4D/35

by trip7294＠dowling.edu

Hi, We have a Personal Iris 4D/35 with a missing keyboard and mouse. Where and how can I find something that works? http://www.geocities.com/riskyfriends/

24 years, 1 month

paging Jeff Kaneko

by rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com

Jeff, If you're out there drop me a line. I've send you at lest four messages recently and I haven't gotten a reply. I don't know if the problem is your E-mail or mine or ????? Joe

24 years, 1 month

Xenosoft? Re: Multiple floppies in one system?

by acme_ent＠bellsouth.net

> From: Joe <rigdonj(a)cfl.rr.com> > Fred, You've mentioned Xenosoft several times. How about telling us more > about it, such as what formats it supports, how much it costs and wheather > it supports the Compaticards? Funny you should mention this. I was looking through an old book-of-the-month club purchase, "C Programmer's Guide to Serial Communications," the other night and I found a plug for XenoSoft in it! Glen 0/0

24 years, 1 month

Looking for Intersil ICL8048CCJE Log Amplifier Chip

by maintenance＠alfacolor.com

Can any one ponit toward a vendor that sells obsolete chips that might have this part. Thanks in advance.

24 years, 1 month

Wanted: Win3.1 IE4 or 5 install cabs

by DAW＠yalepress3.unipress.yale.edu

> ---------- > From: Bill Pechter > > Folks -- > > I've been trying to find a copy of either ie4 or ie5 for Win3.1/Winnt35 > somewhere on the net. I tried the MS install setup.exe files and > they both timed out looking for the url. > > Anyone have them locally cached? I lost my set in a disk failure last > year. > > > Either url that works, ftp site, or cd copy would be fine. > > Bill > -- Have you tried 'The Internet Archive'? http://www.archive.org/index.html --- David A Woyciesjes --- C & IS Support Specialist --- Yale University Press --- mailto:david.woyciesjes@yale.edu --- (203) 432-0953 --- ICQ # - 90581 Mac OS X 10.1.2 - Darwin Kernel Version 5.2: Fri Dec 7 21:39:35 PST 2001 Running since 01/22/2002 without a crash

24 years, 1 month

Non-Sol version of SOLOS For Sale on E-Pay

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> On Thu, 28 Feb 2002, Douglas Quebbeman wrote: > > > I remember reading about this, I'm surprised they > > ever actually sold any: > > > > http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2004920012 > > It's just a third party ROM board that happens to have a SOLOS EPROM in > it. While you could speculate that Processor Technology sold this > (unlikely), it's more likely that some hacker back in the day put this > together. No, this was a product, listed in catalogs... my remark was meant to convey that, I just never figured they'd actually sell one, but this is it... -dq

24 years, 1 month

Need Shugart 851 manual

by r_beaudry＠hotmail.com

From: Jeff Hellige <jhellige(a)earthlink.net> >Which manual are you looking for...the OEM or the Service >manual? Thanks to a generous list member, I have copies of both and >could photocopy them for you, with the exception of the large circuit >diagrams. Joe, And if you need the schematics, I have access to an 11"x17" photocopier, so I can get them to you.... Also, drop me a note off-line if you still need that YE-Data manual... Rich B. _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx

24 years, 1 month

Write only programming

by csmith＠amdocs.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: John Chris Wren [mailto:jcwren@jcwren.com] > This is a personal tirade of mine. There is no such > thing as a language > that supports comments that can be considered write-only. There are > write-only programmers, but personally, I can't think of a > single language > that doesn't support comments in one form or another. From > using Forth with > shadow files to the latest and greatest 5GL languages, they > all support > comments. Feel free to show an example of a language that > doesn't support > comments, it will be new to me. Going back to intercal, it officially doesn't. There is a (convoluted, like everything else) way to make it ignore a line of code. 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

Write only programming

by csmith＠amdocs.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: Ben Franchuk [mailto:bfranchuk@jetnet.ab.ca] > How dare you call a programing languge that has the 'Come from' > statement > far right! get your compiler and start writing real code > http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/intercal/ That's not to mention the "PLEASE ABSTAIN FROM" directive... 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

NYTimes: A Long Time Ago, in a Lab Far Away...

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> > The Stewart Brand-penned article for Rolling Stone > > 1972? That picture of the laptop is friggin' incredible. Yes, 1972, and what you saw was a mockup of Alan Kay's Dynabook, that being perhaps the best extant photo of said cardboard computer... -dq

24 years, 1 month

Multiple floppies in one system?

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> > > ASSIGN D: C: > > > > > > Meaning D: would be the equivalent of C: > > > > Wow, sounds just like the DOS/CMD.EXE (NT, 2000) command called > > > > SUBST > > > > as in identical syntax... > > You're right. It's the SUBST command. There is no ASSIGN command (but it > sounded good). Actually, yes, there is... it had problems, SUBST was the cure? -dq

24 years, 1 month

DEC BC09J cable

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Feb 28, 21:25, Tothwolf wrote: > On Thu, 28 Feb 2002, Pete Turnbull wrote: > > I believe the common order in the States is to swap orange and green > > pairs, which is T568A. > I haven't found 586A to be used more than 586B here in the US. Nearly > every ethernet installation I've worked on used 586B, but I have seen 586A > used quite abit for Token Ring over twisted pair. That's interesting. That's the first time I've ever heard an opinion direct from someone who uses the stuff. My belief was founded on things I've seen written by people who write standards or interpretations of them, no more than that. In other words, not people who actually do it. I always wondered why we'd do it differently. Perhaps we don't :-) -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

24 years, 1 month

thinning out my Apollo collection

by wilby98＠yahoo.com

It is time for me to thin out my Apollo "herd". I have 8-Apollo's and plan on keeping only 2. They are DN3500's and DN3000's. Most are complete but a few are missing power supplies. I also have a bunch of keyboards, accessories. They were/are running the Domain OS (the ones I powered up). Most came from one source in the UK. You can see a picture at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~wstan/puters I am trying to make more room for my VAXen. Plus, I want to share and give others a chance to have one. They are here in Amsterdam, NL. I can help you with finding a freight forwarder if you want to go that route. Contact me directly for more information. Regards, -- Bill Amsterdam, NL

24 years, 1 month

MZ3850

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On February 28, RMChadwick(a)aol.com wrote: > any body know what the instuction set for the MZ3850 CPU is or better still > sourse code for the racal RA6790/gm or variant of that rx so i can change the > cpu for one that works. I too have a Racal 6790/GM...if you find a solution to the Unobtainium Processor problem, please let me know. ;-) -Dave -- Dave McGuire St. Petersburg, FL "Less talk. More synthohol." --Lt. Worf

24 years, 1 month

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