- test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org - classiccmp.org

by mattislind＠gmail.com

The revival process of the 11/750 continues. The power supplies is working good and then I started testing the actual machine. But that was not a very smooth journey to success. I have in total at least three complete CPU board sets and just after quite a lot of board swapping it got running (I think). I had error like: * Bright red error light * No response at all on the console * %C microverify error * %O microverify error * An hexdump prompt which non like above bot still not correct. * etc Finally I had the %% which meant that it passed microverify. Then I used the (second) RDM module (the first one had RAM error) to run the DPM and MIC test which passed. The I ran the "Hardcore VAX instruction test" / TU58#7 which also passed fine. BUT the Cache / TB diag, TU58#5, give me this: %% 00000000 16 >>>B %% @?ECKAL -- VAX 11/750 Cache/TB Diagnostic 00003488 06 >>> I am running a BE-S198Q-DE tape image. Anyone has a listing or description for the ECKAL diagnostic? Is there any know incompatibilities with certain revisions of boards? Or known bugs? The machine manage to boot the console tape so I get the BOOT58> prompt. But I am not sure if that indicate that it is indeed working or not. So, some help with the Cache/TB diagnostic would be very much appreciated. /Mattis

10 years, 1 month

17
41
0 0

Ideas for running a VB4 application on modern hardware?

by mikew＠thecomputervalet.com

I can?t really tell if this is on-topic, but there?s [no|some|much] shame in trying? I have a Visual Basic 4 application that I need to run on modern 64-bit hardware I can do this in a VM, but I really need this VM to be wicked small, like under a gig. The smallest XP VM I?ve seen is 600MB (which might be good) but XP is becoming very hard to source these days. I am bummed that there doesn?t seem to be something like vDOS or DOSBOX for VB applications. Or? maybe there is? Does anyone have any suggestions on how I might go about doing this? m

10 years, 1 month

5
5
0 0

OT: Ideas for running a VB4 application on modern hardware?

by billdegnan＠gmail.com

VB4 is what, mid 90s? How about you upgrade the code? Bill Degnan twitter: billdeg vintagecomputer.net On May 1, 2016 1:29 PM, "Mike Whalen" <mikew at thecomputervalet.com> wrote: > I can?t really tell if this is on-topic, but there?s [no|some|much] shame > in trying? > > I have a Visual Basic 4 application that I need to run on modern 64-bit > hardware I can do this in a VM, but I really need this VM to be wicked > small, like under a gig. The smallest XP VM I?ve seen is 600MB (which might > be good) but XP is becoming very hard to source these days. > > I am bummed that there doesn?t seem to be something like vDOS or DOSBOX for > VB applications. Or? maybe there is? > > Does anyone have any suggestions on how I might go about doing this? > > m >

10 years, 1 month

4
5
0 0

DIMM Failures

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

To be able to use my parallel port programmer I keep an old (by modern standards) machine running with Windows XP on it. It is an Abit KV-85 motherboard for AMD processors. In recent times I have had a couple of DIMMs fail on me. I am not sure if this is just coincidence, that I have had a couple of bad DIMMs, or if the motherboard is damaging the DIMMs. It uses a cheap generic PSU, I checked the PSU for voltage and ripple and it seemed OK, I also checked voltage and ripple on some of the power pins of the working DIMM, they seemed OK too (ripple about +/- 20mV), but other than that, are there any other things I should check? Thanks Rob

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

PDP-8/e sales brochure

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

That is spectacular! thanks for sharing it! that last picture is why you needed the E with both backplanes .... to hold all the i/o for all those devices! Ed# In a message dated 5/1/2016 11:59:54 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, mattislind at gmail.com writes: I found a really nice PDP-8/e sales brochure while browsing through our heaps of documentation. Plenty of nice close up photos and as last picture a system with everything. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/96935524/Datormusuem/pdp8e-sales.pdf

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

PowerBook Duo 280c

by BHuntsman＠mail2.cu-portland.edu

Hi! Anyone on here collect old Mac 68k gear, and happen to have a PowerBook Duo 280c in decent shape they'd be willing to part with? I'm wishing I hadn't ditched all my old Macs years ago... Thanks much as always! -Ben

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

File systems expert for a news article (urgent)

by cctalk＠snarc.net

Anyone here on cctalk consider themselves a file systems expert and have the credentials or job title to vouch for it? If so, then I need to interview you ASAP today (in the next hour-ish) for a TechRepublic.com article. Contact me offline: news at snarc.net. Not going to discuss the story itself here in public.

10 years, 1 month

3
4
0 0

VCF XI pictures

by c.murray.mccullough＠gmail.com

Excellent pictures from Vintage Computer Festival XI: Wht an ENIAC? Vintage-vintage I guess! http://enews.techrepublic.com/ct/35098113:WumutjYmN:m:1:714261601:9FFAF36F5… Happy computing. Murray :)

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

OFF TOPIC!!! Any alumni of NYU here?

by useddec＠gmail.com

If so, can you please contact me off list? Thanks, Paul

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Calling all typographers

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

Hi Guys DEC did some interesting things when it came to fonts on front panels. Take an 8/e front panel for example. the address is kind of a chalet font. But they built it out of circles and straight lines and that's what I do. Then they bunch up the characters until they touch or nearly touch. (kerning?) I'd like to recover the DEC fonts and have looked at several font creator/editors. Frankly they are dung. Every fancy curve there is but not a straight forward line and circle method of creating lower case characters as DEC did it. I do need the ability to enter (or import) the lower case characters using just circles and lines. I then need to do the usual font type things like different font sizes, bold, and character spacing from zero (touching) to miles apart. Suggestions please Rod (Panelman) Smallwood

10 years, 1 month

9
25
0 0

Photorealistic PDP-11/20 panel for SimH

by j_hoppe＠t-online.de

Another Java panel simulation for BlinkenBone is there, the classic PDP-11/20. In function and style it fills the gap between the PDP-8 and the later PDP-11's. The GitHub distribution starts the 1970 Paper-tape BASIC, download here: https://github.com/j-hoppe/BlinkenBone/releases Info http://retrocmp.com/projects/blinkenbone/simulated-panels/253-blinkenbone-s… and next page. Now we have PDP-8/I, PDP-11/20, PDP-11/40, PDP-11/70 and PDP-10/KI10. Not to mention the PiDP8 replica and soon the PiDP11. Joerg

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

AlphaStation 200 NVRAM Problem

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

I tried starting up my AlphaStation 200 today. All I get is some beeps and an LED diagnostic code that suggests the NVRAM test failed. I swapped the battery, as the old one was dead, but it still refused to work. I have tried connecting to the serial port and got nothing (although I could have a problem with using the correct cable etc). I even tried flipping the jumper that takes you to the mini console, to no avail. Does anyone have any suggestions for reviving this machine? Thanks Rob

10 years, 1 month

10
53
0 0

Vaisala SPT11A reader (was Data General Nova Star Trek)

by erik＠baigar.de

Dear Paul, thanks for your email - I acquired the reader several years ago and did quite a lot of experiments to figure out how to use it with the original firmware SPTS11, 2.02, 5289 but I never got an answer from the reader. So the project of Jim to read in the DG tapes was the reason I needed to address this issue. For your (and the communities) convenience I placed the original firmware (27C256 type EPROM)... http://www.baigar.de/electronics/PTR-SPTS11-2.02-5289.bin ...and my new one (also 27C256)... http://www.baigar.de/electronics/PTR-SPTS11-EB1.01.hex ...onto my server. My new firmware just sends out the data read via the serial port at 9600, 8N1. A welcome messages tests the serial communication on starting and during this time the red LED is on. On getting ready the green LED takes over and the yellow one shows the state of the sprocket input: For each byte read this LED flashes. At 9600 the serial port is always faster than you can pull the tape through the reader, so I do not expect the red LED (indicate a buffer overflow, byte lost) come on during normal operation... The pinout of the Sub-D9 male plug is as usual on serial ports: 5: GND, 2: Data from reader to PC, 3: Data from PC to reader (not used in my firmware, but original expects some start/config command here) additionally 7: DC input to reader (in my case 9V). Hope this helps, best regards, Erik. On Tue, 26 Apr 2016, Paul Birkel wrote: > Eric; > > Would you please share your firmware updates, and any other information that > you've gleaned regarding the Vaisala SPT11A reader? I recently acquired one > of these as well but haven't yet started on reverse-engineering it into > something useful Would prefer to leverage your experience, if you please > :->. > > Good health to You and Yours! > > paul > (from Maryland, USA) > > -----Original Message----- > From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Erik Baigar > Sent: Monday, April 25, 2016 11:42 AM > To: jim s; cctalk at classiccmp.org > Cc: Sherman Foy > Subject: Re: Data General Nova Star Trek > > > Hi Jim, > > regarding reading the StarTrek paper tapes I spent some time on the weekend > to rework my SPT11A manual reader - I got this from an eBay auction and it > was an accessory for some military receiver (probalby to read in some > codes). It had a fimrwaere which refused to communicate with a simple > terminal program, so I reverse en- gineered the hardware and replaced the > original ROM it by an own firmware which simply sends the contents read from > PPT to the PC via its RS232C... > > http://www.baigar.de/vintage/SPT11A-mod-Internal.jpg > > So I'd offer sending this to you as an item on loan to read in your tapes > and you return it afterwards? I tested it with some data and it works well > (just slowly pull the paper tape through the reader and use e.g. putty to > log the binary serial output). After turning on the reader there is a short > welcome message to verify the serial connection (9600,8N1). > > The only question is, whether you can handle the EU style power supply shown > in the picture... > > http://www.baigar.de/vintage/SPT11A-mod.jpg > > I ordered USB->RS232C converters and if you have some more time, I'd attach > one of them to the reader not only doing conversion but also supplying the > converter with power from the PC. > Addidionally you should send me your physical address via PM so I can > prepare for shipping... > > Best regards from Germany, > > Erik. > > ----- >

10 years, 1 month

2
3
0 0

Panelman's adventures on the Fonteria.

by rodsmallwood52＠btinternet.com

Hi Guys Well I made it ! I now have the correct font for the address line in the masthead on PDP-8/e. As usual the combined wisdom of the list was the main source of answers. One point is that are in fact three different fonts in use. The one for the d i g i t a l name, one for the touching out line font of the letters pdp and finally that which is used for the address. The digital name logo sub master I already had left over from my DEC days. There's also a copy on a web site that has been referred to recently. The pdp logo I drew and the basis of the address line text was thanks to Paul Koning's handbook.ttf My view of the list is "Strength in numbers, Depth in knowledge and Band of Brothers in spirit". Thank you everybody Rod (Panelman) Smallwood

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

OT: LED lighting configuration...

by elson＠pico-systems.com

On 04/29/2016 03:10 PM, Bill Sudbrink wrote: > I want a constant current supply that "pushes" 0.41 Amps. > A little more googling reveals that the above supply is > rated "1.67A output". This seems to support the W=AV > theory. So, do I want a PS labeled "15 watt 36vdc", > regardless of how many bulbs I want to drive? You say > "within limits". What specification do I look for to > understand the limits? Thanks LED lighting power supplies are generally rated in mA output, within a range of voltages, such as 350 mA within 24:72 V DC. Digi-Key stocks something like 10,000 models! Jon

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

strangest systems I've sent email from

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Liam Proven >> I think it _became_ popular for two reasons: ... ii) C was a lot better >> than many of the alternatives _at the time it first appeared_ (for a >> number of reasons, which I won't expand on unless there is interest). > I am indeed interested. OK, have to wind my brain back a _long_ way to remember what it was like before I met C (which in my case was ca. '77). Leaving aside places where you absolutely have to have pointers (e.g. device drivers), the ability to allocate storage dynamically (whether via pointers, or some alternative if you consider pointers unsafe) is just really key for many uses, and not everything supported that. For system work, stand-alone applications, etc pointers are really, really useful (if not key), and there weren't that many languages with pointers. It was an absolute revelation to see device drivers written *completely* in higher-level language in Unix! Anyway, for languages with that kind of capability, there was PL/I, which although it was used for the Multics kernel, was rather a large pile; it included a lot of stuff intended for commercial use. There was BCPL, which is basically C without types (a _really_ major drawback) and less terse syntax. Definitely a very nice language (a lot of Alto software was written in it, for example), and probably the best alternative to C _at the time_. I think BLISS was just getting started then, and outside DEC I'm not sure many people knew much about it. Can't think of any others with pointers, but my memory is probably failing me. Algol didn't have (IIRC) pointers or structures - the latter are fantastically useful when writing network code (which is what I was doing at the time). Did BCPL have structures? I don't recall. It's just that a lot of things which we now take for granted, and will be in any 'reasonable' language (types, structures, dynamic allocation, etc) didn't exist in all the available alternatives back then. And some languages had more hairy mechanisms for some things than were probably really needed (e.g. 'thunks' in Algol, for complicated argument support - nobody seems to miss that semantics in later languages). C just seemed to hit a sweet spot for functionality versus complexity - in the syntax, in the semantics; all over. > Well, malloc() and free(), anyway. Especially free()! If you only let people call malloc(), a lot of bugs would go away! ;-) > Not everyone's a genius. And those who aren't, often don't know. See > Dunning-Kruger. Klutzes think they're gods; gods think they're klutzes. > ... > So we *need* safe languages for the non-geniuses who think they're > brilliant. > ... > So, keep everyone in the safe space, but offer power tools - like Lisp > macros - so the brilliant are not held back. There's a problem, though - the great people probably really need access to 'dangerous' capabilities, which they will use to create great software. Limit them to the tools you make available to the average programmer, and you might limit their effectiveness. But once those more powerful tools exist, everyone and their mama is going to want to use them, as you point out. With the inevitable result... I dunno, maybe there's a way to have only 'safe' tools, but do so in a way that doesn't limit the productiveness of the really good people. Noel

10 years, 1 month

4
3
0 0

strangest systems I've sent email from

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Swift Griggs > even though there is *more* overall documentation on the Internet, the > docs you get with hardware and tools are nowhere near as good as they > were in the 80s AFAIK. I think that's partially because the speed of product cycles has sped up; there just isn't time to get good docs done and out. Also, there's more competitiveness/'efficiency', and good documentation costs money/overhead. Wonderful as e.g. DEC Technical Manuals were, I suspect producing their ilk nowadays is simply beyond the industry's capabilities (in the organizational sense, not the technical skill sense). > From: Liam Proven > C is popular because C is popular. Yes, but that had to start somewhere. I think it _became_ popular for two reasons: i) it was 'the' language of Unix, and Unix was so much better than 99% of the alternatives _at the time_ that it grew like crazy, and ii) C was a lot better than many of the alternatives _at the time it first appeared_ (for a number of reasons, which I won't expand on unless there is interest). > direct memory allocation, pointer manipulation and so on -- are > widespread /because/ of the C family influence. And I have a deep > suspicion that these are harmful things. Pointers, yes. Allocation, not really - a lot of languages have heaps. Did you mean manual freeing when you mention 'memory allocation', because technically even something like CONS allocates memory? And one could consider 'auto' variables as 'allocated' - but the 'freeing' is automatic, when the routine returns. As to whether those two are harmful - they can be. You have to have a 'clean' programming style to use them extensively without running into problems. (I personally have only rarely run into problems with them - and then mostly in very early C, before casts existed, because of C's wierd pointer math rules.) I would need to think about this for a while to really come up with a good position, but my initial sense is that these two are perhaps things that should be hidden in the depths of large systems, for use by very good programmers, that 'average' programmers should only be using higher-level constructs. (E.g. build a 'system' of routines to manage a certain kind of objects - like OO languages enforce in the language itself - and the average user only calls foo_allocate(), etc.) > I actually hugely admire Linux > ... > We are continuing to refine and tweak a 1970s-style OS -- a > technologically conservative monolithic Unix. FOSS Unix hasn't even > caught up with 1990s style Unix design yet, the early microkernel ones > .. It's roughly 2 decades behind the times. I'm a bit puzzled by your first thought, given your follow-on (which I agree with). I'd go further in criticizing Linux (and basically all other Unix descendants), though - your latter comment above is just about the _implementation_. I have a problem with the _basic semantics_ - i.e. the computational environment provided to user code. It was fantastic on a PDP-11 - near-'mainframe' levels of capability on a tiny 16-bit machine. On modern machines... not so much. Noel

10 years, 1 month

6
5
0 0

OT: LED lighting configuration...

by paulkoning＠comcast.net

> On Apr 29, 2016, at 4:10 PM, Bill Sudbrink <wh.sudbrink at verizon.net> wrote: > > Paul Koning wrote: >>> On Apr 29, 2016, at 3:32 PM, Bill Sudbrink <wh.sudbrink at verizon.net> >> wrote: >>> >>> ... The "bulbs" are labeled: >>> >>> 15F18120-45 15 watt 36vdc constant current >>> >>> I'd like to put four in a fixture and I'm trying to >>> understand what kind of driver I need and how to wire >>> it. I was thinking of using a Mean Well LPF-60D-36 >>> like this: >>> >>> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mean-Well-LPF-60D-36-AC-DC-POWER-SUPPLY- >> Dimmable-LED >>> -DRIVER-36V-60W-CLASS2- >> /161857068172?hash=item25af6edc8c:g:9hQAAOSwA4dWHVn5 >>> >>> and wiring the "bulbs" in parallel to it. But after >>> realizing that I'm not completely sure what a "constant >>> current" power supply does and doing a little "googling" >>> I don't know if that's the right approach. >> >> A constant current supply is one that delivers a constant >> current to a varying load (within limits) just as a constant >> voltage supply delivers a constant voltage to a varying load. > > Ok, I figured that much. The problem/question is why there > are no Amp ratings on anything? Assuming the DC equation: > > Watts = Amps X Volts > > I want a constant current supply that "pushes" 0.41 Amps. > A little more googling reveals that the above supply is > rated "1.67A output". This seems to support the W=AV > theory. So, do I want a PS labeled "15 watt 36vdc", > regardless of how many bulbs I want to drive? You say > "within limits". What specification do I look for to > understand the limits? 15 watt 36 V is an odd spec for a device that needs constant current. What it seems to translate to is 400 mA device current, 36 volt nominal operating voltage. That's perhaps 10-12 LEDs in series, since each has a forward voltage around 3 volts, perhaps a bit more. If you have a supply rated for constant current operation, 36 volt or so, settable current, you could use that, crank the current setting down to 400 mA. If it's a fixed supply (36 volts 60 watts, i.e., 1.66 A) then that would not work. paul

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

OT: LED lighting configuration...

by paulkoning＠comcast.net

> On Apr 29, 2016, at 3:32 PM, Bill Sudbrink <wh.sudbrink at verizon.net> wrote: > > ... The "bulbs" are labeled: > > 15F18120-45 15 watt 36vdc constant current > > I'd like to put four in a fixture and I'm trying to > understand what kind of driver I need and how to wire > it. I was thinking of using a Mean Well LPF-60D-36 > like this: > > http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mean-Well-LPF-60D-36-AC-DC-POWER-SUPPLY-Dimmable-LED > -DRIVER-36V-60W-CLASS2-/161857068172?hash=item25af6edc8c:g:9hQAAOSwA4dWHVn5 > > and wiring the "bulbs" in parallel to it. But after > realizing that I'm not completely sure what a "constant > current" power supply does and doing a little "googling" > I don't know if that's the right approach. A constant current supply is one that delivers a constant current to a varying load (within limits) just as a constant voltage supply delivers a constant voltage to a varying load. Constant voltage is the typical "regulated power supply". Constant current is needed for loads whose behavior is tied to a particular current, especially if those loads have negative dynamic resistance (such as gas discharge tubes, e.g., fluorescent tubes). If you have multiple loads that want the same constant voltage, connect them in parallel. If you have multiple loads that need constant current, connect them in series, NOT in parallel. The whole point of constant current applications is that the impedance of the loads is not consistent, and if you connect them in parallel, the current through each individual load will not be the correct value. paul

10 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

Calling all typographers and introduction.

by wsudol＠freedom.com

I've been lurking on the cctech list for awhile and thought I would introduce myself. I hope I'm not breaking protocol by responding to the " Calling all typographers" topic I am truly amazed by the breadth of knowledge of the Classic Computers Community. I'm a computer programmer and have worked for a few major metropolitan newspapers for most of my working life. In college @ Cal State Los Angeles, I worked with PDP 11/45, and, If my memory isn't failing me, CDC 3170 and Cyber 76 computers and the ITS timesharing system. Even worked with PLATO when it was put on campus as a test system. First professional job was as an assembly language programmer programming Zentek Zms-90 8080 based terminals for a Classified Ad order entry system in 1977. So I'm old... Next job was as the "system programmer"/system manager for a DEC shop running Pdp 11/70, VAXen 780, 785, 8600 and Microvax II with lots of RM05's and System Industries 9755 and 9775 RM05 look alikes. I went back to Newspapers when they started using DEC equipment in addition to IBM Mainframes. Electronics is my hobby and I am starting/trying to accumulate some vintage VAX and pdp 11 gear. Re: Typography... My recommendation would be to try Macromedia's (now Fontlab) Fontographer for font creation/modification. That was the staple in the Newspaper industryand was used to modify existing fonts. It runs on MAC/Win and with it you can take an existing font and easily modify it as needed. You can adjust glyphs, add kearning and basically design a whole new font and output it as Sun, Adobe type 1, Type 3, Opentype, Postscript, Win bitmap and other formats. I'm only familiar with the old Version 4. The MAC version had a few more output options that the Windows version so that was the preferred solution. Version 4 may be available as abandonware. -- Wayne -----Original Message----- From: cctech [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Paul Koning Sent: Friday, April 29, 2016 9:19 AM To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: Re: Calling all typographers > On Apr 29, 2016, at 12:07 PM, Rod Smallwood <rodsmallwood52 at btinternet.com> wrote: > > ... > If anybody has found or made or knows a download URL of any dec font it would help me of I could get hold of it. My version of the DEC font that's on those bezels and on older handbook covers can be found here: http://www.dbit.com/pub/misc/handbook.ttf paul

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

strangest systems I've sent email from

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Mouse > It's true that C is easy to use unsafely. ... I suspect it is not > possible to eliminate the ability to do stupid things in C without also > eliminating the ability to do some clever things in C. Oh so true. Computer science progress seems to be all about improving on getting the most bang for the buck (i.e. it's really engineering, which is all about bang/buck ratios - as the saying goes, 'an engineer is someone who can do for $.10 what any fool can do for $1'). So assembly language is maximally flexible, but very easy to screw up. Something like C gives you 93% of the flexibility, but with only 40% of the chances to screw up. (Numbers only approximate, after 2 seconds of consideration.) So further language development has had to improve on that ratio; ideally, one should decrease the latter with impacting the former, if possible - a non-trivial problem. And of course the optimal flexibility/screwage ratio will differ from programmer to programmer, and even from project to project. (I once wrote a condition handler package for C, and elected to do it in assembler - even though others have done in it C, using longjump(). But there are very few things where assembler seems a better choice, to me.) > Note that PDP-11 autoincrement and autodecrement exist only when > ... the pointers are in registers. Of course, clever programmers will make sure their code is arranged (not warped into an non-understandable maze, mind, just... arranged properly) to do that! :-) But to really do that effectively, you have to be able to control which variables are in registers, etc, etc. Modern optimizing compilers like to do this all for you - and do an incredibly good job, most of the time, to the point where for most programmers, the compiler does a _better_ job than they could. So, for 97% of programmers, probably the right thing. For those who are writing real-time code, know exactly what instructions any piece of code will compile into, and how many memory references are involved, not so much. (Back to different strokes for different programmers.) (Yes, yes, I know those optimizations often aren't portable - I wrote a fair amount of code that ran on several architectures at the same point in time. But what was optimal on one was usually pretty good on the others, too.) Noel

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

OT: LED lighting configuration...

by wh.sudbrink＠verizon.net

Sorry for the OT post but I'm pretty sure someone here will know how this stuff works... An office near me was recently demolished/remodeled. It had retrofitted LED lighting in fluorescent fixtures. The remodelers were smart enough to save the "bulbs" but not smart enough to save the "ballasts" (DC power supplies). Once they figured out that they couldn't easily use them, they gave a bunch to me. I'd like to use them but I'm having a little trouble figuring out how. The "bulbs" are labeled: 15F18120-45 15 watt 36vdc constant current I'd like to put four in a fixture and I'm trying to understand what kind of driver I need and how to wire it. I was thinking of using a Mean Well LPF-60D-36 like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mean-Well-LPF-60D-36-AC-DC-POWER-SUPPLY-Dimmable-LED -DRIVER-36V-60W-CLASS2-/161857068172?hash=item25af6edc8c:g:9hQAAOSwA4dWHVn5 and wiring the "bulbs" in parallel to it. But after realizing that I'm not completely sure what a "constant current" power supply does and doing a little "googling" I don't know if that's the right approach. Any help greatly appreciated, Bill S.

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Gentoo (was Re: strangest systems I've sent email from)

by alexmcwhirter＠triadic.us

I can more or less agree with your sentiments, but given the choice of needing to maintain compatibility between many applications and being able to support multiple architectures such as SPARC and Power Gentoo is really the only choice. The only real close candidate would be FreeBSD which treats anything that isn't x86 as a second class citizen. I have my own issues with Linux as well, and as I said earlier I would much rather use illumos, but when it comes to business applications that always have to run and always maintain compatibility is new versions come out gentoo is as close to a BSD/Unix that I can get to and maintain compatibility with everything I need. Use flags can be cumbersome if you have tons of applications such as a desktop system. But that's generally not the case for servers which is really all I care about in this case. For me it's generally just maintaining a set of used flags for each application that I need which is generally pretty minimal per server / container. Profiles help make Use flags not as cumbersome, but it doesn't quite fix the issue. Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device -------- Original message -------- From: Swift Griggs <swiftgriggs at gmail.com> Date: 4/29/2016 12:10 PM (GMT-05:00) To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Gentoo (was Re: strangest systems I've sent email from) On Fri, 29 Apr 2016, alexmcwhirter at triadic.us wrote: > Gentoo is powerful because you get to chose your init system, kernel > options, and every other piece of software that runs on the box. Other than the swapping init systems, many OSS OS distributions have the ability to choose what you want to run. Not all are as granular as Gentoo (but some, say embedded distros, have even more control). There are dozens of Linux distros as you know, and this degree of control & granularity is one of the main variable. Ubuntu users want "just-worky-ness", Gentoo users often want tweakability in the extreme. It all depends on your needs and value system. > For example, dovecot on ubuntu pulls in ldap, sasl, etc... On gentoo you > choose what gets pulled in via USE flags. I guess there is no accounting for taste. I would not call USE flags a feature, my opinion is that they are painful in implementation (dragging around a list of way-too-many little keywords is not fun, IMHO), nasty to work with and have to look at (some giant wrap-around variables in the conf file), and make me feel dirty and disorganized. Plus, in my experience, if you accidentally put in two mutually exclusive or not-very-well-tested USE flags you are in for a hard time that might be difficult to track down (ie.. if the effects don't immediately surface). > CrossDev is also a great to that has helped me port gentoo to SPARC64 > with little to no issues. Cross compiling is neat, for sure. However, Gentoo doesn't have any unique claim on that (not that you implied that). Many other OSs have used the same methodology since long before Linux, much less Gentoo. -Swift

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Reproduction program pak boxes

by tlindner＠macmess.org

I just complete a project to reproduce some old game boxes. I got tired of the ripped and broken boxes I have for my Color Computer Program Paks. I made a video about it: https://youtu.be/5L9adQlM7ro -- -- tim lindner "Proper User Policy apparently means Simon Says."

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Very sad message: the passing of Jon Johnston

by hp-fix＠xs4all.nl

This morning I got the sad message of the passing of Jon Johnston the curator of the HP Museum website www.hpmusem.net. More info at : <http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/father-of-three-jon-johnston-died -in-tibet-during-a-trek-in-the-himalayas/news-story/501c804577a833b0964016ba e87fd318> http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/father-of-three-jon-johnston-died- in-tibet-during-a-trek-in-the-himalayas/news-story/501c804577a833b0964016bae 87fd318 Jon, was a fellow collector and HP enthusiast and will be missed. Jon himself and his site were a help and source of knowledge for everyone who was interested in HP computing history. -Rik

10 years, 1 month

10
12
0 0

Lyle scores a WIN for our hobby!

by jwest＠classiccmp.org

Several years ago, Lyle Bickley began negotiations with S&H Computer Systems to release TSX-Plus (a 3rd party Multiuser Operating System for PDP-11's) as free software for personal use. As is often the case, this process can take a lot longer than one would expect. Once Lyle obtained an initial agreement from the owner of TSX-Plus, he then had to await the approval from S&H's Board of Directors. Initially, S&H chose to only release the source code listings for TSX-Plus (which are now on Bitsavers.org). Unfortunately, the machine readable source code itself had been accidentally lost when S&H changed PDP-11 computer systems in-house. Eventually, Lyle was able to obtain the original SMD hard drive from S&H containing the latest versions of TSX-Plus, and the layered products COBOL-Plus and RTSORT (and other software that remains private to S&H Computer Systems). He transferred the TSX-Plus, COBOL-Plus, and RTSORT files to an RL02 disk - and using S&H's proprietary licensing software created a "personal use, serialized version" of TSX-Plus. This version has ALL the capabilities and features of the commercially licensed version of TSX-Plus. Subsequently, Lyle was authorized to release this "Personal Use" TSX-Plus distribution only to individuals that he could vouch for as being non-commercial users. After another year or so, he was able to obtain the current agreement and license to make this "Personal Use" TSX-Plus distribution generally available for non-commercial use. Please note that TSX-Plus is NOT public domain software; S&H retains all rights including ownership. They have provided a free personal use license available through Bickley Consulting West. There is still a paid commercial use license available directly from S&H. We all owe a big "Thanks!" to Harry Sanders at S&H Computer Systems and his Board of Directors for making this release a reality for all vintage computer folks! Also, the hobby owes huge thanks to Lyle Bickley for tirelessly pursuing this for us all! I've always been a huge fan of TSX-Plus and I'm thrilled there's now a personal (hobbyist) license thanks to Lyle. The distribution is at http://tsxplus.classiccmp.org Best, J

10 years, 1 month

10
15
0 0

basic switch lubricant

by chd＠chdickman.com

I have been cleaning a PDP-8/e front panel and some of the switches are not as free as others. The switches are simple slider basic switches. I have taken similar switches apart and noticed that there is a brown/red grease on the contacts. Any suggestions on the proper grease for a low voltage contact. Chuck

10 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

Lyle scores a WIN for our hobby!

by wdonzelli＠gmail.com

Excellent news. Thank you for making this happen. -- Will On Apr 28, 2016 1:22 PM, "Jay West" <jwest at classiccmp.org> wrote: > > Several years ago, Lyle Bickley began negotiations with S&H Computer Systems > to release TSX-Plus (a 3rd party Multiuser Operating System for PDP-11's) as > free software for personal use. As is often the case, this process can take > a lot longer than one would expect. > > Once Lyle obtained an initial agreement from the owner of TSX-Plus, he then > had to await the approval from S&H's Board of Directors. Initially, S&H > chose to only release the source code listings for TSX-Plus (which are now > on Bitsavers.org). Unfortunately, the machine readable source code itself > had been accidentally lost when S&H changed PDP-11 computer systems > in-house. > > Eventually, Lyle was able to obtain the original SMD hard drive from S&H > containing the latest versions of TSX-Plus, and the layered products > COBOL-Plus and RTSORT (and other software that remains private to S&H > Computer Systems). He transferred the TSX-Plus, COBOL-Plus, and RTSORT files > to an RL02 disk - and using S&H's proprietary licensing software created a > "personal use, serialized version" of TSX-Plus. This version has ALL the > capabilities and features of the commercially licensed version of TSX-Plus. > > Subsequently, Lyle was authorized to release this "Personal Use" TSX-Plus > distribution only to individuals that he could vouch for as being > non-commercial users. > > After another year or so, he was able to obtain the current agreement and > license to make this "Personal Use" TSX-Plus distribution generally > available for non-commercial use. > > Please note that TSX-Plus is NOT public domain software; S&H retains all > rights including ownership. They have provided a free personal use license > available through Bickley Consulting West. There is still a paid commercial > use license available directly from S&H. > > We all owe a big "Thanks!" to Harry Sanders at S&H Computer Systems and his > Board of Directors for making this release a reality for all vintage > computer folks! Also, the hobby owes huge thanks to Lyle Bickley for > tirelessly pursuing this for us all! I've always been a huge fan of TSX-Plus > and I'm thrilled there's now a personal (hobbyist) license thanks to Lyle. > > The distribution is at http://tsxplus.classiccmp.org > > Best, > > J > >

10 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

Lyle scores a WIN for our hobby!

by lbickley＠bickleywest.com

Hi All, Hopefully you all read in the "Notes" (and Jay's and my comments) that TSX-Plus requires RT-11 as a prerequisite. RT-11 is readily available all over the Internet. It is also available at on the classiccmp server at http://www.classiccmp.org/PDP-11/ Cheers, Lyle -- 73 AF6WS Bickley Consulting West Inc. http://bickleywest.com "Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

strangest systems I've sent email from

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Liam Proven > There's the not-remotely-safe kinda-sorta C in a web browser, > Javascript. Love the rant, which I mostly agree with (_especially_ that one). A couple of comments: > So they still have C like holes and there are frequent patches and > updates to try to make them able to retain some water for a short time, > while the "cyber criminals" make hundreds of millions. It's not clear to me that a 'better language' is going to get rid of that, because there will always be bugs (and the bigger the application, and the more it gets changed, the more there will be). The vibe I get from my knowledge of security is that it takes a secure OS, running on hardware that enforces security, to really fix the problem. (Google "Roger Schell".) > The Lisp Machines and Smalltalk boxes lost the workstation war. Unix > won, and as history is written by the victors Custom hardware for running LISP lost (not sure about Smalltalk, don't know much about it), I am quite sure, mostly because 'mainstream' CPUs got so much faster/cheaper, because of the volume. I saw this happening in the AI Lab at MIT: when you could run LISP on a workstation with a vanilla CPU much faster than a specialized LISP processor, that's all she wrote. (That effect killed all sorts of things, not just LISP machines, of course.) Noel

10 years, 1 month

7
7
0 0

Seeking immediate rescue of full-rack SGI ONYX near Northbrook, IL

by ian.finder＠gmail.com

Does not require three phase. Complete system, includes sirius video and other fun stuff. RealityEngine2 Needs to be gone in a week or two- had made other arrangements but they have fallen through. Call Ian - two two four 659 four two zero 4 -- Ian Finder ian.finder at gmail.com

10 years, 1 month

24
67
0 0

Unknown transistor repairing a TI990/5 power supply

by alberto＠retrocomputing.eu

I'm working at the power supply of a 990/5 minicomputer. The chassis is a 6 slot version, with 20A power supply. After a few minutes of working, the fuse blow and I found a transistor on the main power supply board with collector in short circuit with emitter. The transistor has TRW logo and is market with Texas part number 996070-003, in addiction with the date code. Pictures of the transistor here : http://www.museodelcomputer.org/parts/texas/990_5/IMG_6442_transistor.JPG http://www.museodelcomputer.org/parts/texas/990_5/IMG_6445_sotto.JPG Google give me only a link, were it seem to be an Optek SVT6747 ... another unknown transistor :( Someone has experience with this power supply ? http://www.museodelcomputer.org/parts/texas/990_5/IMG_6423.JPG Texas part number is 944970-0001 Thanks for any help ! Alberto ------------------------------------------------------ Alberto Rubinelli A2 SISTEMI ELETTRONICA, INFORMATICA, NETWORKING Via per Occhieppo, 29 Tel 015 8853203 13891 CAMBURZANO (BI) - ITALY Fax 015 8853202 Mobile +39 335 6026632 Mail : alberto at a2sistemi.it Web : www.a2sistemi.it FONDAZIONE MUSEO DEL COMPUTER ONLUS http://www.museodelcomputer.org Mail:info.museodelcomputer.org Tel 015 8853201 Fax 015 8853202 ------------------------------------------------------ Le telefonate con numero nascosto sono filtrate Calls with no caller identifier are filtered ------------------------------------------------------

10 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

Calling all typographers

by blstuart＠bellsouth.net

On Thu, 4/28/16, Rod Smallwood <rodsmallwood52 at btinternet.com> wrote: > Every fancy curve there is but not a straight > forward line and circle method of? creating lower case > characters I'm not sure if you count it as straightforward, but I'd suggest METAFONT. Straight lines are certainly straightforward. Circles are a little more fun, but once you get the hang of the math, most any curve is pretty easy to create. BLS

10 years, 1 month

4
3
0 0

strangest systems I've sent email from

by blstuart＠bellsouth.net

On Thu, 4/28/16, Rod Smallwood <rodsmallwood52 at btinternet.com> wrote: > How about morse by a key made in 1898 . Then cw to ascii serial > converter and? normal program input after that. I've often thought of doing that! Though my key dates from more like the '40s or '50s. I see a weekend Raspberry Pi hack in my future... BLS

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

strangest systems I've sent email from

by blstuart＠bellsouth.net

On Thu, 4/28/16, Liam Proven <lproven at gmail.com> wrote: > Oh, yes, indeed! I have a Plan 9 VM, and I intend to try it on my Pi. > But it's had relatively little impact on mainstream Unix. I would agree, given the qualification "relatively." There are several things that have made their way from the late research UNIX editions and Plan 9 to the mainstream UNIX world. The unfortunate part is that they're little bits and pieces and as a result miss the major advantages by not bringing in the big picture. For example, the proc file system that most UNIXs have today was originally in either 9th or 10th edition and is a central part of the design of Plan 9. The _clone() system call that now underlies good old fork() in Linux is basically the Plan 9 rfork() call. Several UNIXs are starting to graft in per-process name spaces. There are also a number of research systems that are bringing in a lot of Plan 9 influence. The only one whose name comes to mind at the moment, though, is Akaros. BLS

10 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

Calling all typographers

by blstuart＠bellsouth.net

On Thu, 4/28/16, Rod Smallwood <rodsmallwood52 at btinternet.com> wrote: > On 28/04/2016 16:32, Jon Elson wrote: >> Have you tried MetaFont?? I've never actually created a font with it, >> just used it automatically within the TeX environment.? But, there is >> a human-readable language that defines the characters. > > I haven't where would I find it? It should be part of pretty much any TeX installation. I don't know if anyone has packaged it up independently of TeX though. If you don't already have TeX installed, I'll warn you that the mainstream TeX distributions are pretty huge. There's a build-from-source distribution called kerTeX that I use. It's much closer to Knuth's original packaging and I find to be quite a bit more managable. If all you need is METAFONT, then that might be a nice way to go. BLS

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

strangest systems I've sent email from

by blstuart＠bellsouth.net

On Wed, 4/27/16, Liam Proven <lproven at gmail.com> wrote: > ... with a few weirdos saying that 6809 was better than > ... and a few weirdos maintained that Forth was better. > ... while the weirdoes use FreeBSD. I've never been more proud to be classified as a weirdo :) > The efforts to fix and improve Unix -- Plan 9, Inferno -- forgotten. Plan 9 and Inferno are still around. There are quite a few of us who still use them on a regular basis. In fact, the Plan 9 updates for the new Pi 3 should be out very soon, and I have a student currently working on a port of Plan 9 to the Allwinner A20 found in the Banana Pi and several of the low-end tablets. > That makes me despair. I feel much the same way, but it leads me to a little different place. While I'll probably never be there entirely, I am now at a point where I am giving serious thought to only running software I write myself. For example, the file system I run on my home file server (a Plan 9 box) is something I wrote myself. The version of Scheme I use on Inferno is one I wrote, etc. The truth is if you're willing to be one of the weirdos, there are still some pretty interesting places to be in the computing world. There are still interesting languages both old and new to learn. (I had a blast last summer working with MCPL, an experimental offshoot of BCPL, and the ENIAC simulator I'm developing is written in Go.) I find life to be much more enjoyable and my blood pressure to be much lower as long as I steer away >from anything that's mainstream or popular. BLS

10 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

It has been quiet.

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Dwight Kelvey > Has the list gone down or just dropped me again? Consulting the list archive via the Web: http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctalk/ is a good way to see if things are moving. Noel

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Digital (Was RE: Mac "Workgroup Server" (or "network server") hardware & AIX)

by dave.g4ugm＠gmail.com

> > > > Don?t fret, once OpenVMS v9.0 is released, on x86-64, there won?t be any doubt > as to who won. :-) > Sadly, no one won. I doubt any one (well perhaps not anyone) would consider OpenVMS for a new deployment. Upgrading existing environments, yes, but a new green field site. It would have to have very good reasons. (I know you will all come out with some, but perhaps one for every 10,000 Linux and/or Windows Server deployments.) Digital is now a fond memory for most. Both VAX and Alpha are no longer manufactured. I actually wonder if an FPGA VAX chip could be made that would run faster than existing real VAXEN. That could perhaps form the basis of a nice VaxStation... ... on browsing I found this... http://h71000.www7.hp.com/openvms/journal/v7/vax_6000_emulator.pdf Dave

10 years, 1 month

8
14
0 0

Data General Nova Star Trek

by shermanfoy＠att.net

under the heading of d?j? vu, if this unit is a Rockwell Collins mil hand paper tape puller, my old roommate ran the qualification tests on the development of that system. That happened here in Santa Ana @ their Harbor & Warner facility. They drove around the parking lot in the bed of pickup trucks pulling tape and loading systems w/ potholes & speedbumps in the way.

10 years, 1 month

8
22
0 0

It has been quiet.

by dkelvey＠hotmail.com

Has the list gone down or just dropped me again?

10 years, 1 month

4
3
0 0

REMEX paper tape interfaces

by useddec＠gmail.com

A few list members wanted me to hold on to some boards until they were ready for them. While looking for then, among hundreds of other non DEC boards, I came across the following REMEX boards. As far as I can tell they are for 8s. Please contact me off list if you are interested. REMEX 109381, one is a reader only,should be an easy upgrade reader/punch 109883 114143 / 114141 Thanks, Paul

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

strangest systems I've sent email from

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

> From: Paul Koning > while Unix is reasonably secure, application writers have managed to > create massive numbers of security holes that have nothing to do with > defects of the OS, and aren't cured by a better OS. On a secure system (i.e. OS plus underlying hardware), _nothing_ an application does (whether merely buggy, or guidely malevolent) can i) write data it's not supposed to have write access to, ii) read such data, iii) interfere with any another application, etc, etc. Google '"Roger Schell" oral history', and read that, and the other documents he mentions there. (By itself, it's a very entertaining and educational read, even if you ignore the others. It contains an interesting discssion on his contributions to the security mechanisms of the x86 - which I expect Intel will someday ditch, because nobody is using them - just like they apparently ditched segmentation in the latest x86 chips because nobody is using it. Sigh.) Yes, a buggy application won't work right, and may crash, but there's no way to prevent that (although better languages, and programming style, can help a lot). Noel

10 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

PAL on CDU-700 / 710 Unibus disk controllers

by glen.slick＠gmail.com

On Apr 26, 2016 2:35 PM, "Ian Finder" <ian.finder at gmail.com> wrote: > > Does anyone out there have one of these controllers? > > There is an unprotected PAL- the address decoder- and I really need a dump of it. Many programmers, particularly the BP technologies ones, can read it Curious how you know it is not a protected PAL? The PALs are protected on all of the CMD CQD adapters I have looked at. I can't remember if I bothered checking the PAL on my CDU-720/M

10 years, 1 month

2
6
0 0

Very sad message: the passing of Jon Johnston

by COURYHOUSE＠aol.com

Jon was always helpful always cheerful and never snarky this issad.... very sad indeed we have lost an ally. Ed Sharpe archivist for SMECC In a message dated 4/27/2016 10:09:08 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, curiousmarc3 at gmail.com writes: Oh, what a terrible news. His website is such a tremendous resource for HP collectors. Researched, organized, encyclopedic. I don?t know how many times I used it just to get accurate history and technical information on what I was acquiring, and then for the ensuing restorations. And he linked back to every single one of my resulting restoration videos or demos. I hope the museum and site survives his passing and passion. Marc From: cctalk <cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org> on behalf of Rik Bos <hp-fix at xs4all.nl> Organization: CCE Reply-To: "cctalk at classiccmp.org" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Date: Wednesday, April 27, 2016 at 2:48 AM To: "cctalk at classiccmp.org" <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Subject: Very sad message: the passing of Jon Johnston http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/father-of-three-jon-johnston-died- in-tibet-during-a-trek-in-the-himalayas/news-story/501c804577a833b0964016bae 87fd318

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

The Ivory Tower saga was Re: strangest systems I've sent email

by blstuart＠bellsouth.net

On Wed, 4/27/16, Sean Conner <spc at conman.org> wrote: > > The bracketed note in the second paragraph of content on > > http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/personality.html is exactly the sort of > > thing I'm talking about here; ESR taught himself TeX by the simple > > expedient of reading the TeXBook. > > ? You mean not everybody does this? Alas, no, but that's really the point I was getting at with the comment about knowing multiple languages. It wasn't about the languages themselves or what value the variety itself brings. I pulled the half dozen number out of the air just because if I look back over any 6 to 12 month period of my career, I've used a good half dozen during that period. What's important to me isn't the effect on the candidate's programming; it's the independence, self-motivation, and curiosity that learning many languages represents. I also like to see evidence that the candidate recognizes that no skilled artisan's toolbox contains only a single tool. My biggest complaint about new grads is the view that all the world's a nail, because the only tool in their toolbox is a hammer. BLS

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Mac "Workgroup Server" (or "network server") hardware & AIX

by swiftgriggs＠gmail.com

Has anyone ever seen either A/UX or AIX running on an Apple Network Server or Apple Workgroup Server? I had several hundred AIX machines running in a server farm for a while, but even the oldest was POWER4 based, and I've only done a bit of legacy support for PPC60x-based RS/6000 systems. I don't belive I've ever seen an ANS or AWS IRL. I'm curious what the last version of AIX that will run on them. I'm guessing 4.x. I'm also curious if there is one machine that can run A/UX, AIX, MacOS, and NetBSD. Here's a fun fact to know and tell. In addition to an SGI Irix screen running the "fsn" tool in the movie Jurassic Park, there were several screenshots of a workstation in that same room/scene running A/UX. -Swift

10 years, 1 month

5
11
0 0

strangest systems I've sent email from

by blstuart＠bellsouth.net

On Mon, 4/25/16, Swift Griggs <swiftgriggs at gmail.com> wrote: > So, the point is that the masses > don't often pick "great" languages to fixate on.? IMHO, Just > because I point that out, doesn't make me "foolish, ignorant, narrow > minded, or short-sighted" I usually try to stay out of such discussions, but I think it's important to draw some distinctions here. First, it's not pointing out which languages/techniques are popular that's narrow- minded and short-sighted. It's the view that popularity and "commercial viability" is the primary consideration of value in education that's narrow-minded and short-sighted. Second, it's the perspective that's narrow-minded and short-sighted, not the person who expresses that perspective. Many people fail to appreciate the distinction between training and education and as a result see the primary purpose of the university to be job preparation. That so many people misunderstand the purpose of the university isn't a reflection on their individual intelligence or priorities. It's a reflection on the misplaced priorities of the secondary education system and of society as a whole. It's the same misplaced priorities that lead so many students to be so obsessed by the most meaningless part of the system: grades. BLS

10 years, 1 month

7
9
0 0

strangest systems I've sent email from

by jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu

{Several replies packaged together to minimize list bandwidth use..} > From: John Willis > the real promise of the Internet as envisioned by Cerf, Postel, et. al. > was in the purity of the end-to-end networking connectivity, where your > personal machine is a node equal in stature to minis, mid, and > mainframes also participating We don't have peer-peer at the packet level, true, but a lot of the philosophical goals many people had back then (which were unspoken, of course) were in fact met. i) Information is much more accesible now (and not just Wikipedia, but government information, etc - stuff you used to legally have access to, but it required real effort and physical presence to get to). ii) Information is much more democratic - the 'New Media'. No more three national TV channels (in the US, replace '3' in other countries.) Yes, there are issues, but on balance, I think I still prefer post-Internet to pre-Internet. > the vapidity of online exchanges quickly reached fever pitch as more > and more blockheads flooded the network. This is kind of a corollary to Sturgeon's Law. x% of the world are ^%&-heads; if you have something that includes the entire population, you'll _necessarily_ have a lot of ^%&-heads. > From: Swift Griggs > The Internet is a large, but still textbook case of what happens when > you let business-weasels in on something good. They "monetize" it and > turn it into a combination strip-mall, casino, theatre, porn-shop. "In a democracy, people generally get the kind of government they deserve." Real world strip malls, Walmart, etc exist because of _demand_. If people didn't want that stuff, it wouldn't exist. You want better? Educate people's tastes. > I even cringed when I saw Geocities dying. Yeah it was a cheesy service > but, for example, I have a friend who is a master gunsmith and put all > kinds of excellent info on a site he made. Now it's gone Some was saved: http://reocities.com/newhome/makingof.html Interesting story... >> Of course, if class A and B address blocks weren't handed out like >> candy to children in the early days, IPv4 might have lasted longer. > I still hate Network Solutions and all the NICs for that, too. Uhh, by the time we got to that stage, the taps were long turned off. All the 'space handed out freely' stuff happened back when you went to Postel for numbers - and a lot of the class A's went i) before the Internet was a going concern, and ii) in the earliest days, there were _only_ class A's. > Nowadays, folks create viruses that encrypt and/or destroy the target > for ransom the minute they can write 3 lines of code in Visual Basic. > The level of malice and thuggery have gone way up. See previous Sturgeon's Law comment... Noel

10 years, 1 month

1
0
0 0

Fast Unibus Sync Serial?

by seefriek＠gmail.com

From: Paul Koning <paulkoning at comcast.net> > > HDLC is ok so far as it goes, but DDCMP is superior in every respect. The only reason > to use HDLC is that you need to talk something that can't be made to speak DDCMP. > Like a Cisco router without the DECnet feature set? Or pretty much anything that doesn't speak DECnet? KJ

10 years, 1 month

2
1
0 0

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

test-drb