>The car that can't pass emissions is like the computer that won't run. It's
>of no real use, except maybe for parts.
Um... WRONG... the $4,000 Toyota just needs a new cat ($100 in parts and
$80 in labor). The guy just felt like buying a new car. But since he
donated it to us with the understanding it would be cut up, we can't sell
it (like we would have liked, since we would have done the labor ourself,
and used the money we got by selling the car for 4 grand to buy a new
scott pack). Its about the same as throwing out a computer saying it is
good only for parts, because the OS install has become corrupted.
>(have you tried to salvage parts
>from
>a computer lately?)
I do it weekly, when I pick up PCs sitting in curbside garbage. I built
my home PC out of 90% salvaged parts. I have also upgraded most of the
computers at my office entirely out of garbaged PCs. Some are mix and
match, but many are picked up and need nothing more than a shot of 409 to
clean the case as they work perfectly. I get a working 14 inch SVGA
monitor
weekly at this point. Heck... I have a Mac LC5200 sitting on the floor
next to me that I just grabbed out of the garbage on my drive home
Sunday... works fine... its heading to one of my office sites to upgrade
an older 68k Mac.
>there are lots of perfectly useable
>PC's (you know, the ones with 640KB of RAM and no HDD) out there. They still
>do everything a PC ever did, and a lot more than the mainframes of 1960 did.
>What should we do with them? Once people don't want them any longer, whether
>they're still functional is entirely moot.
But there ARE people out there that still want them... they just aren't
being given the option to have them... they are being scrapped without
anyone checking.
>If someone's interested in 'em,
>well, that's why there's this list.
Sure, great, ok, contact the group taking all the computers from Staples,
and get them to agree to list all the computers they don't feel like
keeping (what was it 90% of them are being junked?) and have them offer
them up to others... either on this list, or a web site, or whatever. Bet
they will tell you to bugger off, they can't be bothered... they are
going to pick thru for the few they want, and the rest will become scrap
metal. That is unfortunately true for most organizations (the local
salvation army store told me they stopped taking computer donations
because of return problems... when I pressed them on the topic wondering
how they tell someone they can't donate an item... they told me that they
actually still take them, they just toss them in the dumpster to avoid
the heartaches of selling them... needless to say, I have been trying to
keep an eye on the dumpster)
So you are STILL wrong... a huge number of perfectly good... and WANTED
machines, get scrapped all the time. I could continue to give you
examples if you want... like the pharmaceutical company up the road that
is tossing working Pentium II PCs and 17 inch monitors, because they are
upgrading to P4's and flat screens. The PCs are being junked under
contract to have them destroyed because the hard drives may contain
sensitive info, and they didn't want to take the time to remove them, or
securely wipe them (a friend works at the site, I had him look into it).
Should I give you MORE examples of machines being scrapped that are
wanted, or useful, or interesting?
-chris
<http://www.mythtech.net>
If someone on the east coast is interested, the company that I bought the
TDC microfilm scanner from contacted me that they have another one that
they'd be willing to sell for $500. It would be a non-trival effort to
get working, but it would be a good place to start if someone was thinking
about building an auto-indexing device from scratch.
Phyllis Miller
(703)550-1994
Diversified Equipment Co., Inc.
7213 Lockport Place
Lorton, VA 22079
> On Sat, 16 Feb 2002, William S. wrote:
>
> > Although I am in the Netherlands I am not a native
> > speaker. I will begin my Dutch language course in
> > April but doubt I will be reading Nederlands
> > very proficiently too soon. :)
>
> Where else do they speak Dutch besides some rural parts of Pennsylvania
> where they generally shun technology? :)
FYI- Dutch as in Pennsylvania Dutch is Deutsch ie German
not Hollandische...
-dq
Please allow me to second this emotion. I'm originally from York, PA --
about as Pennsylvania Dutch as anyplace. While I intensely disliked it
growing up -- 'technological backwater' would be wrong. Backwater would be
right. Don't think of it as picturesque farms with no electric. Think of it
as aging trailer parks with abuntdant rent-to-own electronics, and plaques
above the toilets reading 'If you sprinkle when you tinkle, be sweetie --
wipe the seatie'. It the sort of place where the peeling paint from
bent-over farm-girl lawn ornaments blend nicely with the recycled tire
flowerbeds and crab grass.
I don't know about taste, but the Pennsylvania Dutch are as technologically
adept as poor white trash anywhere in America.
Colin Eby
(escapee living on the Massachussets coast)
At 01:01 AM 2/16/02 +0000, you wrote:
>On Sat, 16 Feb 2002, William S. wrote:
>
>> Although I am in the Netherlands I am not a native
>> speaker. I will begin my Dutch language course in
>> April but doubt I will be reading Nederlands
>> very proficiently too soon. :)
>
>Where else do they speak Dutch besides some rural parts of Pennsylvania
>where they generally shun technology? :)
The "Pennsylvania dutch" are actually german, for all I know.
Seems that like a case of one person saying "deutsche" and
another hearing "dutch". At least that's the explanation
that I heard from a native. This native was born in a farm,
then went to Drexel university, and now he's a phd and a top
programmer of web applications for research purposes. So
not all "Pennsylvania dutch" are technology averse. His
dad, still a farmer, uses a Mac. So they even have taste
in technology.
carlos.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Carlos E. Murillo-Sanchez carlos_murillo(a)nospammers.ieee.org
In a message dated 2/15/02 7:08:57 PM Pacific Standard Time, ken(a)seefried.com
writes:
> The drive is roughly 3"w x 2.5"h x 7"d, and consists of a 3-board sandwitch.
>
> It uses FBM-C128GA bubble memory cartridges. Interestingly, many of the
> cartridges that I got have "Amdahl" stickers on them.
>
We got in several 100 units that had a drive installed that sounds similar to
this. They were remote power monitoring stations, kind of like an electric
meter but with a bubble memory drive with a bubble memory cart plugged into
it. We got lots of carts, too. This was about 10 years ago. They came from
the State of Washington IIRC.
I was surprised to see them. Before that the only bubble stuff we had seen
came from Intel. IIRC they were of Japanese mfg., I don't remember if they
were Fujitsu but it is possible. They used a removable 128K memory module,
about 3/4X1X2 inches in size that plugs in and out of a socket on the drive.
They were remote power loggers. Someone showed up, pulled the bubble cart,
replaced it with another and took the just pulled one down to the office and
read it.
Paxton
Astoria, OR
OK, now that I have a bunch of 9-track tapes, how do I dump a copy of the
tape to a file? I've found "mount /foreign mua0:" and "dump /out=bleh
mua0:", but I'd rather have a binary copy of the tape end up in a file.
I've seen the MKD program, but that requires a library that I don't seem
to have:
-CLI-E-AMAGEFNF, image file not found
DUA0:[SYS0.SYSCOMMON.][SYSLIB]CMA$TIS_SHR.EXE;
Any suggestions?
-- Pat
Well, as Murphy would have it I just threw out a thick folder of Protec
docs & literature. But, if it's the same Protec in Quebec who did indeed
make Z80 SBCs in the old days before they specialized in KVMs, they're
still very much alive; why not try a phone call or e-mail.
www.protec.ca
Protec Microsystems Inc.
297, Labrosse, Pointe-Claire, Quebec H9R 1A3, CANADA
Tel.: (514) 630-5832
-------------Original Message-----------
From: "Robert Collier" <rdcoll(a)hotmail.com>
Subject: Protec PRO-83 Computer - More Info
Hello all,
I did a little more reading and found out that the model number for the
computer was PMS 100. I could still use any information anyone might have -
and hopefully, the model number might help. The machine is the Protec PRO-83
z80 Single Board Computer. Thanks.
Howdy.
I'm looking for any information I can find on the Ciprico Rimfire 3200 VME
SMD controller, and ideally drivers for it to run under SunOS 4.1.
Actually, I know what it is so perhaps I should amend my request for
"configuration information" in preference to "information". (;
ok
r.
On February 16, Tothwolf wrote:
> #1705353697
>
> Who was it here who collects these?
Lots of us, myself included. :-)
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
St. Petersburg, FL "Less talk. More synthohol." --Lt. Worf
You may find that interfacing to X-10 is a little
easier today than it was then, with friendlier stuff
>from X-10 and also Micromint's PLIX chip/kit (the same
folks who brought us the elsewhere-mentioned 80C52-BASIC).
http://www.micromint.com/chips.htm
mike
-----------Original Message----------
From: Chris <mythtech(a)Mac.com>
Subject: RE: A *real* classic
<snip>
Some day I will get an old interface and hook my X10
system up to a Mac Plus or SE or so that I have kicking around.
> From: Sellam Ismail <foo(a)siconic.com>
> If people are still using MS Outlook inspire of all the viruses and crap
> that have plagued that pathetic piece of shit in the past few years then
> they not only deserve whatever damage gets done to their system via such
> vehicles but they shouldn't be allowed to use e-mail at all since they
> only end up contributing to the greater problem by running it!
I'm using (please don't puke, at least not in my direction) MS Mail & News,
simply because it's *there* and I've never heard of any Outlook-like holes
in it. Has anyone out there ever heard of any major vulnerabilities in
this program?
Glen
0/0
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Doc [mailto:doc@mdrconsult.com]
> What's happening more and more, though, is a long pseudotechnical
> mis-explanation of the part's function. I was looking at digital
I love those. :) See my previous comment about the composite video
input.
> cameras last year, and asked the salesperson at the camera
> counter what
> 3.2 megapixels translates to in terms of resolution and color
> depth. He
I always assumed megapixel was referring to the number of pixels at
a fixed color depth (probably 24-bit)... I'm certain that it's just
a manufactured slang term to make digital cameras sound more impressive
and annoy people who know what they're talking about.
Chances are that we're either talking about 1024 * 1024 pixels, or 1000
* 1000 pixels, in which case 3.2 megapixels gives one a resolution of
something like:
3355443.2 (?) pixels -- that's using 1024, so it's probably incorrect :)
(The .2 of a pixel makes me wonder)
3200000 (Sounds better to me, so it's based on 1000s)
A square picture of 1789 * 1789 would be slightly larger than this. You
can probably assume some kind of a rectangular aspect ratio, though. I
would guess that a normal camera is something around 1.5 (wide) to 1,
but I don't really feel like calculating that. ;)
> explained to me at length that megapixels was a measure of "how many
> pictures you can take on one smartcard"
> Not being busy that day, and being unduly irritated by his
> condescension, I made him repeat himself in front of the
> store manager.
> I don't know if the manager cared at all, but it made _me_ feel much
> better.
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Richard Erlacher [mailto:edick@idcomm.com]
> IOMEGA again. I've still got about 500 lbs of useless IOMEGA
> hardware in the
> basement ...
Speaking of iomega hardware in the basement... :)
I have a 1/4 length 8-bit ISA board that looks like a SCSI
controller, and is stamped with the iomega logo. Anyone know
what it might be, or where to get drivers?
I can try to get the numbers from it over the weekend, but all this
talk of iomega stuff has made me curious as to what it may be...
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
> Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 17:59:40 -0500 (EST)
> From: "r. 'bear' stricklin" <red(a)bears.org>
> To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
> Subject: Re: Drive inventory
>
> On Fri, 15 Feb 2002, Carl Lowenstein wrote:
>
> > The only Data/DAT drives I ever used (Gigatrend) were hardly ever
> > compatible from one drive to another. In fact they were seldom compatible
> > on the same drive from month to month.
>
> FWIW I have one of those drives. The mechanism was manufactured by JVC,
> and I have not had much luck with it. I recall it being extremely
> persnickety about errors on tapes, and even when I managed to get a whole
> backup onto a tape without the drive going into fits, I was never able to
> read that tape back to verify the data.
Yes. I have a box of unreadable backup tapes and data tapes that someone
else made while under the impression that the Gigatrend was really a
working tape drive. :-(
> OTOH if the tapes had to be formatted before use and were block
> addressable, that might tend to explain why I had such terrible luck using
> that drive as a normal tape device under unix. What was the prescribed
> method for using a tape in this drive?
Scrabbling around in the back room, he finds the Gigatrend 1230 Operators
Manual. From Appendix B:
Press ONLINE to go offline
Press TEST to get to menu -- you want level 1.
Press SETUP to increment displayed digit
Press ONLINE to enter that level
In level 1 you want function 1
Cycle through digits with SETUP
Press ONLINE to select format function using default values.
Lights will blink "FFFF"
Insert tape and press ONLINE to activate format operation.
Simple, isn't it. I think I got it all correctly summarized from the manual.
If you want a copy of Appendix B TEST PROCEDURES it is only 8 pages.
Send me a postal address.
carl
--
carl lowenstein marine physical lab u.c. san diego
clowenstein(a)ucsd.edu
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Fred Cisin (XenoSoft) [mailto:cisin@xenosoft.com]
> How can you possibly squeeze the system into a DeLorean?
> There isn't even
> enough room for a REAL computer!
Well, provided you could fill some of it up with boards and disks,
in such a way that it would function as a computer, the DeLorian
itself may be considered a REAL computer, since it has wheels, and
a sufficiently large case.
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
> But overall, why not just buy a real $4,000 fiche scanner
The pro imaging market is very pricey and proprietary. 4K
won't buy you much more than a microfiche reader with a
scanner back. Something that can do auto-indexing is closer
to 20K.
I have a mid-80's indexing fiche scanner that I've not been
able to get any info on, and a 3M 7710 with SCSI interface
that I've been trying to find software for about 6 months.
Most of the companies have either been bought by a pretty
non helpful company that I've been unable to get any info
from, or have gone out of business.
> Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 12:34:53 -0600
> From: Dan Wright <dtwright(a)uiuc.edu>
> To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
> Subject: Re: Drive inventory
> In-Reply-To: <3B55D7F383B0D31197D9009027541CBF1A1A3952(a)cmiexch1.cmi.itds.com>
> Sender: owner-classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
> Reply-To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
>
> Christopher Smith said:
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Clint Wolff (VAX collector) [mailto:vaxman@earthlink.net]
> >
> > > DAT is the same as DDS except for the identification holes on the
> > > case, and I would assume a royalty to the recording industry...
> > > My Maynard/Archive/Seagate drive won't take DAT tapes. Irritating
> > > because I wanted to write music to them at the time.
> >
> > Well, if you mean that you wanted to write it in standard DAT format,
> > very few drives will handle that... most, though (every one I've
> > used, at least), will write DDS data to a normal DAT.
>
> SGI is one company that makes sure the DAT/DDS drives they sell do audio DAT
> too... I know that you can read/write audio tapes on an SGI you get if you
> buy the tape drive from them, and possibly using a drive from another
> manufacturer too. I imagine they do this since their machines are often used
> in high-end multimedia type things...sill, kind of a cool capability and all
> :)
Two comments. Nearly all current DDS cartridges have an optically-sensed
pattern at the beginning of the tape itself. This is termed MRS or
Media Recognitions System. A DDS drive is usually configured by switch
setting to treat tapes without the MRS stripes as read-only. DAT
tapes sold for audio purposes don't have MRS.
Back in the early days of DAT, there was a second competing tape format
besides DDS, it was called Data/DAT. This required pre-formatting of
the tape cartridges before use, and had the advantage that the tapes
were block-addressable and block-replaceable, like a disk drive.
The only Data/DAT drives I ever used (Gigatrend) were hardly ever
compatible from one drive to another. In fact they were seldom compatible
on the same drive from month to month.
carl
--
carl lowenstein marine physical lab u.c. san diego
clowenstein(a)ucsd.edu
Damn! If I could've, I'd skip right out of work for that puppy. But
New Haven, CT is a little far...
--- 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
> ----------
> From: Feldman, Robert
>
> Well, Harold Washington College is at it again this morning. However, I
> have
> saved something that someone here might want: a Digital Prioris HX 5100
> MP/2. Don't know much about it, and it looks to be less than 10 years old,
> but it is DEC. Appears to be clean and complete, except it is missing the
> left side panel. Has four FR-PCWVR-AZ 4.0GB drives. Free for pickup _only_
> in the Chicago Loop (35 E. Wacker). Email me at
> robert_feldman(at)jdedwards.com if you want it.
>
> Bob
>
>
Found the following while unpacking in the warehouse:
1. Commodore 1700 Ram expansion unit - not tested yet
2. Heathkit H8 missing 3 keys - not tested yet
3. Pet CBM 2001-32B - tested not powering on will need repair.
4. Heathkit H9 - not tested yet
5. Atari Lynx models I and II - both tested fine from the trip.
6. Radio Shack m100 - tested last night and works fine
7. Found a cartridge for the TI99 called Ant Eater 8K - not tested yet
8. Unpacked the black metal Kenworth Playstation tractor trailer - looks
good on display with the other ad items. Now if I can just get some of
those old oval display signs.
9. Tested the six Vectrex cartridges I found at the shop and they all
work fine on the console.
Took some other goodies home to play with like the 20th Annv. MAC, SEGA
Nomad, and others.
Hello all,
I did a little more reading and found out that the model number for the
computer was PMS 100. I could still use any information anyone might have -
and hopefully, the model number might help. The machine is the Protec PRO-83
z80 Single Board Computer. Thanks.
_________________________________________________________________
Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail.
http://www.hotmail.com
In a message dated 2/15/02 7:33:31 AM Pacific Standard Time,
tony.eros(a)machm.org writes:
> I like the resolution, but need to find a way to expand the field of
> view. I'm sure I can rig up a scanning frame, but don't want to have to
> stitch multiple captures per frame. If I can get this to work, it would be
>
> a very affordable way to do high-quality fiche scans.
>
I think you have a good idea Tony, nice experiment with the QX3. I wish I had
one.
>From looking at the images It appears to me that it is a Fiche that should be
read at 24X.
You might try photographic close up lenses with the 10X magnification. I
suspect distortion from getting too close would be a problem but worth trying
If you had one, a simple concave lens in front of the 60X might be worth a
try.
Is there a published optical path plan for the microscope? If so one might be
able to figure out correction optics.
Good luck and keep us informed.
Paxton
Astoria, OR