John Higginbotham <higginbo(a)netpath.net> wrote:
>Which brings up an interesting point: Why do the self appointed software
>cops go after software archives of "abandonware" that most of today's
>computers usually run too fast anyway? Do these ancient games really hurt
>todays software market? Anything 10 years old or older should be
>freeware/public domain as far as games are concerned. They don't increase
>productivity, and the collectors of these old games aren't doing any harm
>are they?
So let me get this straight: on one hand, you're saying there's a bunch
of people out there who like to play old computer games, but you think
the software owners shouldn't be free to sell to that market because
there's no gain in productivity or increase in "harm"? What about
learning or enjoyment?
I think this list proves there is some small level of demand for old
stuff... and certainly game makers like Microsoft and Atari have done
well by selling relatively inexpensive pre-made collections of
either the exact old games or updated emulations. I'm stunned by
the amount of software that has been collected and redistributed
(largely illegally) for the very good software-based emulators
for old computers. Many of these emulators have become commercial
products, again proving there's a bit of profit left in old software.
On the other hand, I agree with some of your sentiment - it would be
nice if there was a more formalized, established and accepted method
that antique computer collectors could secure the rights to redistribute
software that the owners have in fact abandoned.
For example, I've tried to track down the rights to the Terak computer,
as described on my web page. Terak was sold to CalComp, then a Sanders
company, which was later assimilated by Lockheed-Martin. Try to wind
your way through that bureaucracy to find the long-time employee who
*might* be able to track down those assets - if you could convince
them of the good intent of your interest, and that they should take
time out of their day to help you.
Similarly, I tried to clarify the rights to UCSD Pascal's p-code system.
The UCSD licensing agency has stated that the license is non-exclusive,
but in reality they have only one licensee, Cabot Systems in the UK,
who are actively trying to sell the P-System as an alternative to Java
for set-top boxes and embedded applications. Ken Bowles, author of a
well-known early book on Pascal and one of the original designers of
the P-System, believes that at least the early versions should be
public domain because they were developed by the university with
government funds, or something like that.
You can see the problem: as soon as you *ask* about the obscure software
and claim there's hundreds of people interested in using it, someone
sees dollar signs and doesn't want to simply give it away. Non-profit
collectors feel they're a "good cause" and that they'd take really
good care of the stuff, but there are collectors and publishers out
there who do seek to make a profit.
- John
Jefferson Computer Museum <http://www.threedee.com/jcm>
Yeah, BTW, how old are the RS/6K's?
-----Original Message-----
From: Ward Donald Griffiths III <gram(a)cnct.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Sunday, January 04, 1998 8:13 AM
Subject: Re: UNIX questions?
>Olminkhof wrote:
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Ward Donald Griffiths III <gram(a)cnct.com>
>> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
>> <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
>> Date: Sunday, 4 January 1998 11:46
>> Subject: Re: UNIX questions?
>>
>> >It'll be nice when Caldera follows up on their promise to release the
>> >source code for CP/M and DR-DOS (now OpenDOS). _That_ will definitely
>> >have some results on-topic for this mailing list.
>>Ward Griffiths
>>
>> They already HAVE released the source code for OpenDOS. While it is far
>> beyond me to do anything with it, I found it very well commented and
>> interesting. I was amazed at the number of "fixes" for specific hardware.
>
>You're right -- they _have_. It wasn't there a couple of weeks ago
>when I was printing out all of the manuals (which are the best that
>I've ever seen outside of the Linux Documentation Project -- they make
>the manuals that used to come with MS-DOS look like crap). Well, that
>takes care of my lunch hour Monday while I dump it from the T-1 to a
>Zip disk. Have to remember to grab a sandwich at Blimpy's at Newark
>Penn Station in the morning.
>
>Yes, I know a Zip disk has a lot more space than will be needed -- but
>for some reason I've taken to isolating my archives to avoid confusion.
>All of my material from Tim Mann's TRS-80 site is on one, all of my
>AT&T Unix PC material is on another, and so on for the Color Computer,
>the ST, the Mod 100 etc. Eventually, I'll wind up burning a couple of
>CDs -- since somebody was kind enough to find an excuse for one at work.
>Pity that it's attached to an NT box, since I'd prefer to use proper
>Unix filenames -- but maybe I can sucker^H^H^H^H^H^Htalk my boss into
>letting me hook it up to one of my RS/6000s for a couple of hours.
>--
>Ward Griffiths
>Dylan: How many years must some people exist,
> before they're allowed to be free?
>WDG3rd: If they "must" exist until they're "allowed",
> they'll never be free.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ward Donald Griffiths III <gram(a)cnct.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Sunday, 4 January 1998 11:46
Subject: Re: UNIX questions?
>It'll be nice when Caldera follows up on their promise to release the
>source code for CP/M and DR-DOS (now OpenDOS). _That_ will definitely
>have some results on-topic for this mailing list.
>--
>Ward Griffiths
They already HAVE released the source code for OpenDOS. While it is far
beyond me to do anything with it, I found it very well commented and
interesting. I was amazed at the number of "fixes" for specific hardware.
>From: "Cliff Gregory" <cgregory(a)lrbcg.com>
>Subject: CBM 8032
>Anyone have a source for manuals/software for a CBM 8032 /8050 floppy >drive?
>Cliff Gregory
>cgregory(a)lrbcg.com
First try might be the PET archives at:
http://www.funet.fi/pub/cbm/
After that I can offer you this:
http://www.goldrush.com/~foxnhare/petfaq.htmlhttp://www.goldrush.com/~foxnhare/diskbasics.htmlhttp://www.goldrush.com/~foxnhare/loadingbasics.html
Lastly check out the Commodore information on Jim Brain's Commodore site
(Caboom), which includes a PET www message SIG:
http://www.jbrain.com/caboom/
================================
Once you find software on-line - One of the real bummers is that the
8032 does not have an RS-232 port for easy communication (read: file
transfer via null-modem) nor is the 8050 drive compatible with any other
Commodore disk drive (like the 4040/2031 is compatible with the 1541
thus making it easy to get software to a 4040 by doing a null-modem to a
64 and writing with a 1541).
Though I am not saying it is impossible; the PET does have a parallel
user port which is VERY easy to program. With a bit of coding knowledge
a few parts and soldering you could whip up a PET-to-Whatever connector
and the appropriate software for transferring files.
Larry Anderson
--
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Visit our web page at: http://www.goldrush.com/~foxnhare/
Call our BBS (Silicon Realms BBS 300-2400 baud) at: (209) 754-1363
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
I note that you *N*X users mention recompiling the kernel. Is that
something peculiar to the UNIX/LINUX world? Is it done by the average user?
I presume (from "context clues", as my fourth grade son's homework puts it)
that it provides a smaller/faster/more crashproof installation.
I've always run CP/M and Bill's M$-DO$ and have no experience with UNIX.
Should I -- I fix boxen and run online and graphics apps; I don't program
much anymore -- play with UNIX? What would I get out of it?
manney
At 06:01 PM 1/3/98 -0500, you wrote:
>Should I -- I fix boxen and run online and graphics apps; I don't program
>much anymore -- play with UNIX? What would I get out of it?
Headaches one day, major breakthroughs the next, a trip to the crazy house a
few weeks later... I'm a user, and I can honestly say I can quit any time I
want!
- John Higginbotham
- limbo.netpath.net
Awhile back there was talk here about getting the documentation for the
classic machines as while as the machines themself. I picked up a IBM
Guide to Operations manual 6025113 Dated 1981,1982 and listed as the First
Edition. In the back was a clear plastic bag with a casette tape for
Diagnostic's number 6081562 version 1.02 new and unopened. The book cost
me 50 cents at the Goodwill. Also got a AMIGA monitor I believe a 1080 for
$15 at Goodwill. I also won the bid on a very large bo full of computers,
parts, TV's, microwaves, and other items for 35.00 will list later after I
sort it all out. Keep computing !!! John
> Two thousand yeare since Bethlehem and still we hear the lie,
> that after years of hopes and fears the best part's when we die.
Yup, that's what I used to think. I felt sorry for all those poor
misguided fools, Christians. (Didn't occur to me that some of them
were very bright, and very skeptical, and had spent years studying
to seek truth, & only then became Christians.)
And then one day, I was forced to examine my 'beliefs', & was a
little surprised to see that they were assumptions only. Bummer.
So I had to check it out for myself. Sure is a ton of info out
there, some good, some not, but anyway I was finally able to go
1%, & God went the other 99.
So I now believe that anyone who diligently tries to disprove the
teachings of Jesus, or seeks truth or whatever terminology you can
live with -- with any kind of open mind at all (none of us can truly
have an open mind, all we can do is try) -- will become His followers.
Go and do likewise. Don't be chicken.......
Regards,
---mikey
I am the owner of a Kaypro 10 computer kindly left to me by a deceased
friend, unfortunately I have no manual which restricts my use of the
computer. can you help me please?
Dave
Actually, the ELKS webpage mentions that it should be technically possible and
not-too-difficult to port ELKS to PDP-11
In a message dated 98-01-03 01:08:46 EST, you write:
<< > >This argument is going to piss off Bill Whitson when he next checks in.
> >Linux is _not_ within the scopy of this mailing list. And I recall an
>
> Well, Linux does run on 10+ year old systems, so on that basis this might
> be an OK subject. For example, my Amiga 2000's are over ten years old I
> believe, and with the proper accelerator they can run Linux. In fact with
> it's merits (yes, I know I'm one of those argueing).
>
> >item in the FAQ that this _not_ the right place for dicksize wars
> >between proponents of different systems -- the "advocacy" newsgroups
> >supply corrals for that gunfight.
>
> This on the otherhand is definitly not a correct topic for the mailing
> list, and yes, I think this fact is mentioned in the FAQ.
Well, I'm not sure that Wind-blows is really an appropriate topic either
but I see people talking about it all the time.
I doubt it will 'piss' Bill off since we're talking about how Linux can
be used to 'resurrect' ancient and obsolete hardware like 386sx's and so
on. Although it's not Altairs, I think it is in the spirit of what we're
all about.
Heck, every day I wonder why there isn't a Linux PDP-11 port. =-)
Wirehead - Anthony Clifton >>
Joe <rigdonj(a)intellistar.net> wrote:
> Yeap, it plugs into the socket under the panel on the back. I have one
> Tech BASIC ROM, also have TWO! System Engineering ROMs (Unix in a ROM) and
> even have a Service ROM. I also have Tech BASIC on disk. Now you just need
> to find an Integral!
Very cool! Where did you find those ROMs?
I have an Integral, but it's ROM just has the HP-UX kernel and PAM --
just enough to boot and run things. So I have /usr/bin (Unix
utilities, C compiler, &c) on a 9134 for when I actually want to do
something with it.
Back when they were new I looked at buying one, and that seemed to be
how you were expected to do things: if you actually wanted to wrangle
code in C you needed the hard disk. Kind of made me wonder why they
made it portable. Also I could never get a straight answer on whether
the HP terminal windows were capable of block-mode (like I needed to
talk to the 3000).
> BTW I found a HP 7912 at a surplus store. It's about 18" wide and 2 foot
> deep and three foot tall. I *think* it's a 600+ Meg hard drive with a
> built-in tape drive. Do you know for sure? I need a couple of external
> hard drives if you know where I can find one. I'd rather have something
> like a 9133, 7959 etc instead of a monster like the 7912!
7912...I'm rusty on these, but it's nowhere near 600MB. I'm thinking
more like 60 or 130MB.
-Frank McConnell
Gee, and I thought this was a classic computer mailing list. silly me...
In a message dated 98-01-03 15:42:53 EST, somebody went WAY off topic and
said:
<< Um, I'm not sure what you just said, but:
a) I'm sure this has nothing to do with old computers, unless God stands for
Graphic Output Device :)
b)I think you mean that if one tries to disprove Jesus, they automatically
God's followers, but,once again, I'm not sure
Original Message:
<< > Two thousand yeare since Bethlehem and still we hear the lie,
> that after years of hopes and fears the best part's when we die.
Yup, that's what I used to think. I felt sorry for all those poor
misguided fools, Christians. (Didn't occur to me that some of them
were very bright, and very skeptical, and had spent years studying
to seek truth, & only then became Christians.)
And then one day, I was forced to examine my 'beliefs', & was a
little surprised to see that they were assumptions only. Bummer.
So I had to check it out for myself. Sure is a ton of info out
there, some good, some not, but anyway I was finally able to go
1%, & God went the other 99.
So I now believe that anyone who diligently tries to disprove the
teachings of Jesus, or seeks truth or whatever terminology you can
live with -- with any kind of open mind at all (none of us can truly
have an open mind, all we can do is try) -- will become His followers.
Go and do likewise. Don't be chicken.......
Regards,
---mikey >>
>>
I don't know RS stuff all that well. I'm assuming yours is a parallel
printer.
> >I was wondering if I can connect my DMP-100 to a PC through the parallel
> >port in the back and if I need a special cable ? According to the
manual,
> >this port was made for TRS-80 only. It doesn't talk about PC in the
manual.
Many radio Schlock printers will work with some PC's and not others. I get
the best luck with the newer motherboards (486/Pentium).
> >If someone was able to connect it to a PC, please let me know how and
which
> >driver did you use in Windows?
Use the "Generic" driver
> >
> >I was wondering if someone has a spare cable to connect this printer to
a
> >TRS-80 COCO II or III (using the DIN connector) to giveaway ? If not,
which
> >part number
> >do I need to order from Radio Shack ?
Weren't the COCO's serial? If the DMP-100's parallel, she won't work.
btw, I do have several RS "edge card" parallel cables (a la Tandy 1000) if
anyone wants.
Given the recent prices mentioned for Lisas and Apples, maybe I should ask
$100 each for 'em!
manney(a)nwohio.com
At 12:37 PM 1/3/98 -0600, you wrote:
>
>
>> >> A LINC!!???!?!?!
>> >
>> >Wirehead - Anthony Clifton
>> >
>> >PS: Notice I haven't WHERE I'm getting the stuff from. I'll just keep
>> >THAT little secret until they're safely in my basement. ;-D
>> >
>> >
>> That's even better, that way it will be all packed and ready. Just tell
>> us where your basement is :-)
>>
>Well you'd have to get past The Attack Cats of Lurking Evil, The Pet Rats
>of Flailing Vengence and The Death Bunny. After that you'd have to
>navigate the basement without having a giant bookshelf or computer topple
>over on you, crushing you. After that you'd have to carry the equipment
>upstairs avoiding the Doorknob of Bruised Hips, The Furniture of Hunger
>that feeds on unwary shins and finally Steps Into The Abyss at the front
>porch which never seem to be where you remembered them. =-)
No problem. Sounds just like my house only we have Killer Parakeets as
well!
>
>Indiana Jones and the Computer Room of Doom
>
>Wirehead - Anthony Clifton
>
>
> As an example at home my primary machine is a Macintosh, I know that my
> Pentium running Linux is more stable, and runs a better OS. But I am far
> more productive on my Macintosh, and the Applications that I want to run
>are available on the Mac.
Which IS what I meant at the beginning that started this whole little
discussion! Linux is trying to compete with Windows 95 and MacOS, but is not
designed around getting documents typed, and stuff like that, so the average
user would be awfully unproductive, and the "power user" would spend years
tweaking their shell script and recompiling the kernel to run vi perfectly,
which can't even do fonts!
i picked this machine up for free: here's what i got.
the H89A in good condition. possible power problem. clean, and in great
cosmetic shape. even got the original dust cover for it!
external 5.25 floppy drive.
about 50 disks with cpm, wordstar, dbase, and several other apps.
the best part is the extensive documentation. i have *ALL* the construction
manuals,schematics, bios listings, software reference guides, and original
disks in their packaging. even had some 8 inch cpm disks included!
the person that gave me this machine wants to join the list. if someone can
email me directly with what i need to tell him to subscribe, let me know
please.
david
> a)I am curious to know what that sed command line _was_
cat filename | sed s/"text to replace"/"replacement text"/g > outfile
You can also do
sed s/"text to replace"/"replacement text"/g < infile > outfile
In my case it was under 40 characters to replace every instance of 1995 with
1997 in a 25mb file.
> b)I appreciate Linux's usefulness for networks (I did mention TCP/IP stacks,
> remember :), but I see no use in it for anything else. i.e. stuff like word
> processing. Since that is the most common computer function today, I would
> think Linux would have some utility for it, but all there is is stuff like vi
> and EMACS. Why can't Linux folks settle with some MS Word-style program?
>
First, I don't consider word processing to be a meaningful test of an OS's
usefulness. Word processing is probably the most wasteful way ever
invented to use personal computers. Sure it's easy but I can word
process just as quickly and easily on my old Mac SE as I can on a new 95
box.
Second, there are applications...I believe WordPerfect is available for
Linux as well as many other WSIWYG programs. I don't use them on my
Linux box because I prefer to have it do useful things.
Third, I think you need to pick up a copy of Linux Journal as it has
listings for commercial software etc.
Fourth, let's not underestimate the value of what you call 'TCP/IP Stack'
operations. We're not talking about a replacement for Trumpet Winsock
here...we're talking about being able to do EVERYTHING that thousands of
dollars worth of commercial software can do, do it better and
FASTER...for FREE. The financial value of that alone is incalculable
when you realize how much of the Internet simply would not have been
implemented had it not been for Linux (and other free unix-based OSs).
> But wait! I DID try installing a small text editor to run under X. It needed
> MOTIF, but said it would run with LessTIF. So, I copy over LessTIF and it
> doesn't compile. Neither does the little notepad program, for that matter.
All of this software you mention, or equivalents, is readily available on
sunsite.unc.edu or other Linux archives in binary form.
> That was the end of my last try at Linux, a few months ago. I have a Slackware
> Linux CD with Kernels up to 1.3.12. I now have T-1 access, though, so if you
> can suggest a system which COULD BE A VIABLE REPLACEMENT FOR MacOS OR WINDOWS,
Linux isn't a replacement for MacOS or Windows...it goes FAR BEYOND the
capabilities of either. Certainly you can use it for word processing,
using the WordPerfect etc mentioned above, but Linux boxes are serious
business machines that can represent thousands of dollars in revenues to
a business that uses it.
It's like saying a Cray could never be useful because you can't run
Microsoft Word on it. I don't think it's reasonable to make Word the
be-all end-all basis for judging a machine.
Keep in mind that there's a trade-off between flexibility and
ease-of-use. Linux will never be as easy to install as Windows 95. It
isn't intended for that purpose. It's far too powerful and flexible for
that and assumes that the user wants to go beyond mere word processing.
Anthony Clifton - Wirehead
> Which brings up an interesting point: Why do the self appointed software
> cops go after software archives of "abandonware" that most of today's
> computers usually run too fast anyway? Do these ancient games really hurt
> todays software market? Anything 10 years old or older should be
> freeware/public domain as far as games are concerned. They don't increase
> productivity, and the collectors of these old games aren't doing any harm
> are they?
Well, frogger is a good example of why not. I see they're bringing it out
again.
Copyrights are what? 37 years? As someone who produces intellectual
property (Photos and -- occasionally -- software), I appreciate copyright
protection.
Can't tell you why the self appointed software cops go after 'em...maybe
because they're easy?
manney
Normally I wouldn't do something like this, but I suspect I'm not the only
one that will find this of interest. I'm posting some of the data because
the web page is almost impossibly slow!
Well looking for new Amiga web pages I found a most interesting Web page
about the "Catweasel Advanced Floppy Controller". It can be found at
http://www.rat.de/apd/catweasl.htm basically there are two flavors, one for
a standard IBM PC, and one for the Amiga. Since it's primarily for use
with the Amiga the Amiga version is more advanced, but even the PC version
is most interesting.
I've seen these for sale by some of the Amiga companies, but I didn't
realise the wide variety of formats supported. Now I'm seriously thinking
about getting one for my PC and one for my Amiga!
Zane
Here is a list of the formats the Web page lists.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Catweasel uses standard 3.5inch and 5.25 inch floppy drives and reads
the following formats:
These File-systems are supported:
- CBM 1541 (DOS 2A)
- CBM 1571 (DOS 2A), single-sided & double-sided
- Amiga OFS
- Amiga OFS localised
- Amiga FFS
- Amiga FFS localised
- PC FAT12
- PC FAT16
- PC VFAT12
- PC VFAT16
via disk-image file (and therefore also sector by sector)
- CBM 1541, 5.25" single-sided 170 KB
- CBM 1571, 5.25" single-sided 170 KB
- CBM 1571, 5.25" double-sided 341 KB
- CBM 1581, 3.5" double-sided 800 KB
- Amiga, 3.5", double-sided 880 KB
- Amiga, 3.5", double-sided 1760 KB
- Amiga, 5.25", double-sided 880 KB
- Amiga, 5.25", double-sided 1760 KB
- Atari ST, 3.5", double-sided 720 KB
- Atari ST, 3.5", double-sided 800 KB
- Atari ST, 3.5", double-sided 1440 KB
- IBM PC, 3.5", double-sided 720 KB
- IBM PC, 3.5", double-sided 1440 KB
- IBM PC, 5.25", double-sided 360 KB
- IBM PC, 5.25", double-sided 720 KB
- IBM PC, 5.25", double-sided 800 KB
- IBM PC, 5.25", double-sided 1200 KB
- Catweasel-Extra, 3.5", double-sided 1160 KB
- Catweasel-Extra, 3.5", double-sided 2380 KB
- Apple Macintosh, 3.5", single-sided 400 KB
- Apple Macintosh, 3.5", double-sided 720 KB
- Apple Macintosh, 3.5", double-sided 800 KB
- Apple Macintosh, 3.5", double-sided 1440 KB
- Apple IIe, 5.25", single-sided 140 KB
(sector access only) Sinclair QL
(soon:) Atari 800XL (amiga catweasel can, read-only in the moment)
(not yet) Armstrad 3" (please send us a drive and some floppies)
(not yet) 8 inch Floppy (please send us a drive and floppies)
(not yet) Any other Shugart floppy (please send us a drive and floppies)
Currently only the Amiga version can write (most of them) to disk. The
PC-ISA Catweasel will be able to write in the future... only a software
update
is needed!! It won't be too long now! The software for the PC-ISA Version
can handle 4 controllers (8 Floppy Drives!) and uses no DMA and no
IRQ!
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| For Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| see http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
| For the collecting of Classic Computers with info on them. |
| see http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/museum.html |
> While we're on the subject, I'll throw in my gripe. Why can't we
copy
> old computer manuals? Most of the computers and software are worthless
> with the manuals. HP and the other companies gave up all
> sales/support/service of these things years ago, why should they care if
> we copy manuals that they don't sell any more?
I'll agree there. Manuals' copyrights should expire after the software is
no longer supported.
manney
> Actually, It took a few minutes for works even to start up! We were
editing
> one-page documents. The Leading Edge Model D I have had two experiences
with.
> In one case it was ENIAC-speed (clock? oh, yeah, it's 3:30!) and the
other it
> was 286-speed.
It should _fly_ on a 286. Were you running off the world's slowest HDD?
(Actually, this is probably moot. As I understand you, the compooter isn't
around anymore?) Anyway, mine's pretty quick.
> This works 2.0 is best example of user interface without interrupting
> your train of thought and look as you go...And no playing games of
> guessing buried in GUI menus, waiting for fancy features to load in
> on demand.
...except that it doesn't work _exactly_ as the Win keystrokes do (I don't
remember just what).
> And keep that hands on that keyboard is BIG plus
> especially without fuction keys and mouse.
Yeah, I like that, too. The only time I use a mouse (mostly) is in drawing
programs and #@$#%$ MS Schedule Plus, with which I have to use the mouse to
dial a number. Stupid!
> And another good example
> was News Xpress had same user interface but the next version totally
> lost it, using windows crap. :( That is one another big reason I'm
> looking at linux ongoing basis.
I have MSW 2 on my laptop, as I'm developing a spreadsheet app for a
customer (old church with a non-Windows 386). It's legal to load multiple
versions if you own the program.
manney
At the risk of asking a loaded question...
Thanks to Jim Willing, I've become the proud(?) owner of my first
DECStation 3100. As a RISC box, I'm given to understand it will only run
Ultrix and NetBSD (is there a Linux port for it?)
With that in mind... does anyone happen to have:
* An Ultrix 4.3/RISC or higher CD that they can loan me long enough to
install?
* Suggestions for where to obtain NetBSD on bootable CD-ROM?
* A guide for creating a bootable CD-ROM using NetBSD files downloaded
>from the 'net? (I have a Yamaha CD writer).
Thanks in advance. Thanks again to Jim. ;-)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272)
(Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin2(a)wizards.net)
http://www.wizards.net/technoid
"Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own
human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."
<From: Zeus334 <Zeus334(a)aol.com>
<Actually, the ELKS webpage mentions that it should be technically possi
<not-too-difficult to port ELKS to PDP-11
Doable but understand that ELKS is Embedded Linux Kernal System, the
embedded part is the idea that some custom apps need and executave and
the embeddable kernel is it. It's not a full linux.
< Heck, every day I wonder why there isn't a Linux PDP-11 port. =-)
Me too.
Allison
In a message dated 97-12-31 17:40:13 EST, you write:
<< > (the XT came with a 10MB, but the XT's lasted so long that I found mine
with
> a 42, another reason that you can't run Linux, it requires 40MB minimum)
and
> So, Linux isn't possible, DOS isn't what you want, so get OS/2 or
Errrr...not to quibble...but the primary restriction on using Linux is the
processor and the RAM not so much the hard drive. You can run a usable
linux system on a 386 with 4mb of RAM and 20mb of drive space. I know
because I ran a small FTP/web server on one...if I powered it up, it'd
still run and do ok...can't handle many simultaneous users and swaps
itself to death if you don't reboot it every morning but that's easy
with crond.
You can't do ALOT of software development mind you...but you can have
full networking utilities...even run Lynx for web stuff...and write
shell scripts and editors and do all kinds of useful things.
Wirehead - Anthony Clifton
>>
Er....one question here. I've tried Linux many times, as well as Minix. From
all of my attempts, I have come to the following conclusion: Linux is not for
doing USEFUL things. The express purpose of Linux is to provide something for
people to recompile. After all, you HAVEN'T seen people doing something on
Linux besides recompiling the kernel and configuring TCP/IP stacks, HAVE YOU?
Most of the tandy printers where serial. Does the DMP have a DIN cable, a
D cable or a Centronics cable. Most had a serial DIN cable and you would
have to make a custom cable that went from a PC"s serial port to the DIN on
the printer. If it's a D connector you should be able to use a straight
through serial cable. Getting it to talk, will be the next interesting
part. Im not sure how they communicated, but you might be able to get at
least text out of it. Let me know how it comes out.
-----Original Message-----
From: Eric Deschamps <erdesch(a)HEMPSEED.COM>
To: Multiple recipients of list COCO <COCO(a)PUCC.BITNET>
Date: Friday, January 02, 1998 4:45 PM
Subject: Radio Shack TRS-80 DMP 100 Printer info needed.
>I was wondering if I can connect my DMP-100 to a PC through the parallel
>port in the back and if I need a special cable ? According to the manual,
>this port was made for TRS-80 only. It doesn't talk about PC in the manual.
>If someone was able to connect it to a PC, please let me know how and which
>driver did you use in Windows?
>
>I was wondering if someone has a spare cable to connect this printer to a
>TRS-80 COCO II or III (using the DIN connector) to giveaway ? If not, which
>part number
>do I need to order from Radio Shack ?
>
>Many thanks!!!
>
Um, I'm not sure what you just said, but:
a) I'm sure this has nothing to do with old computers, unless God stands for
Graphic Output Device :)
b)I think you mean that if one tries to disprove Jesus, they automatically
God's followers, but,once again, I'm not sure
Original Message:
<< > Two thousand yeare since Bethlehem and still we hear the lie,
> that after years of hopes and fears the best part's when we die.
Yup, that's what I used to think. I felt sorry for all those poor
misguided fools, Christians. (Didn't occur to me that some of them
were very bright, and very skeptical, and had spent years studying
to seek truth, & only then became Christians.)
And then one day, I was forced to examine my 'beliefs', & was a
little surprised to see that they were assumptions only. Bummer.
So I had to check it out for myself. Sure is a ton of info out
there, some good, some not, but anyway I was finally able to go
1%, & God went the other 99.
So I now believe that anyone who diligently tries to disprove the
teachings of Jesus, or seeks truth or whatever terminology you can
live with -- with any kind of open mind at all (none of us can truly
have an open mind, all we can do is try) -- will become His followers.
Go and do likewise. Don't be chicken.......
Regards,
---mikey >>
At 01:06 AM 1/3/98 -0600, you wrote:
>>
>> A LINC!!???!?!?!
>>
>
>Wirehead - Anthony Clifton
>
>PS: Notice I haven't WHERE I'm getting the stuff from. I'll just keep
>THAT little secret until they're safely in my basement. ;-D
>
>
That's even better, that way it will be all packed and ready. Just tell
us where your basement is :-)
At 10:01 AM 1/3/98, you wrote:
> While we're on the subject, I'll throw in my gripe. Why can't we copy
>old computer manuals? Most of the computers and software are worthless
>with the manuals. HP and the other companies gave up all
>sales/support/service of these things years ago, why should they care if
>we copy manuals that they don't sell any more?
They care because they can keep a xerox copy of those manuals around to sell
to us for the unholy figure of $35-$50 if someone ever actually asks them
for one. (Not naming names, but one company that does this rhymes with Sandy.)
- John Higginbotham
- limbo.netpath.net
I am just starting to use this 1985 Z80 computer and wonder if
anyone else has one. It has a built in 3" (not 3.5") drive.
Its the last of the Sinclair computers. It also runs CP/M 3.0.
I'd be interested if anyone knows about a UK company called
Spectre Communications that made a plug in RS232 board and
comunication package for it.
Don Walterman
Joe <rigdonj(a)intellistar.net> wrote (after me):
> >Every once in a while I see a flavor of 9000/200 that is built into or
> >around an HP 2382 terminal housing: small, beige skin, brown bezel around
> >9" monochrome CRT.
>
> That sounds more like the 9000 216 aka 9816. Look at
> "http://www.intellistar.net/~rigdonj/hp9816.jpg" and see if that looks like
> what you're thinking of.
Yep, that is what I was thinking of.
> This was a box about the size of a 9133 disk
> drive and had 8? expansion slots in the back and no attached monitor or
> keybaord. it said 9000 217 on the front top corner.
Hmm. I'm going to have to pull my old /320 out to look at it, but
that was about the same cross-section, only deeper than the 9133. The
CPU plugs into the bottom slot (and has a special connector), then
there are several DIO slots above it.
> BTW Do you know where I can get a keyboard for a 9816? Do you know if any
> of the other keyboards will work on it? I have a bunch of HP-HIL keyboards
> and they use that same style connector. I'm not sure if it's the same size
> or number of contacts though. I do know that the 9816 keyboard has one
> latch on top and the HIL keybaord has two latchs, one on each side.
The 9816 keyboard in your picture looks something like the
small/standard 2382 keyboard, except the 2382 keyboard has wider
function keys across the top row (typical HP terminal) and doesn't
have the knob.
The 2382 keyboard had a similar modular connector and was not HP-HIL.
I don't think I'd chance it. You might want to ask on
comp.sys.hp.{hardware,misc} and see if anyone there knows.
[Integral PC]
> I have heard it called a 9807, ONCE. It's also shown as a 9807 in the
> '87 catalog. The IPC is one of my favorites! I have two of them and lots
> of software. If you run across any IPCs or accessories or software, I'M
> INTERESTED!
Yep, they are fun boxes. Unfortunately the only spare bit I have for one
right now is a 256KB RAM card.
Hmm, what would I like to find? Technical BASIC. I gather it installs into
the ROM cartridge in the back of the machine. Mine just seems to have the
System V version of HP-UX for the IPC.
-Frank McConnell
At 01:11 AM 1/3/98 -0500, you wrote:
>And none of those ganes were ever as good as the "Big-5" series on
>the old TRS-80's with their monochrome 128x48 "graphics". The Linux
>fight is over, it's time for an arcade-game dicksize war. (And I've
>never been good at arcade games).
The best to me back then weren't the arcade games. I mean you have to admit
it's a little hard to conceptualize something in a 128x48 grid. Nope, the
games that did it for me back then were the text parsing adventure games
(infocom, etc.) Although there were some games that never die, and I still
play (Anyone remember Space War?) and of course Combat on the Atari 2600.
I've got a CD full of abandonware games that I have slowly put together from
websites that seem to go down as fast as they come up. There are ancient
games on that CD that I have never played.
<rant>
Which brings up an interesting point: Why do the self appointed software
cops go after software archives of "abandonware" that most of today's
computers usually run too fast anyway? Do these ancient games really hurt
todays software market? Anything 10 years old or older should be
freeware/public domain as far as games are concerned. They don't increase
productivity, and the collectors of these old games aren't doing any harm
are they?
</rant>
- John Higginbotham
- limbo.netpath.net
I don't remember who asked for the part number for the HP 85 printer drive
belt but I finally dug out my service manual and found the numbers. There
are two belts in the printer. One drives the carriage and is PN 1500-0529.
The other drives the paper advance and is PN 1500-0572. If one is bad you
should go ahead and replace both. During the week you can call HP's
automated ordering line at 1-800-227-8164 and order them if they're still
available. Let me know if these are still available and what they cost. If
you can't get them, let me know and I'll open up one of my 85s and measure
the belts and to to match them up with something from Small Parts Inc or
one of the other companies.
Joe
At 02:48 PM 1/2/98 -0600, you wrote:
>get all those pretty colors... (Thank goodness *somebody*'s coloring all
>those boring old black and white movies! 8^)
They used to do that with older games that were originally in 4-color CGA,
going back and redoing them in VGA 256 color. Just a few though. Space Quest
springs to mind...
- John Higginbotham
- limbo.netpath.net
pvhp(a)forte.com (Peter Prymmer) wrote:
> I am brimming with curiosity about the MPE OS: What is it like?
ObAdvocacy: <BIFF> K00L3R THAN L1NUX!!!! </BIFF>
It's stable like a rock, and doesn't need a lot of maintenance. You
want a system that can stay up for a year? Choose MPE.
> Having tried to glean some info from the HP web site I can only
> surmise that the target market is mid to large businesses and
> might be comparable to IBM AS/400 or Mainframe type computing
> environments. Am I right?
Yep, pretty much. Historically, 3000s have been aimed at
transaction-processing environments. There have been efforts to push
3000s into office automation roles but they really didn't stick, both
because PCs got cheap and because 3000s (particularly the classics)
really didn't do interactive character terminal I/O very well.
> If that is the case I am curious: does MPE run with ASCII or EBCDIC
> character sets?
ASCII. But there's some presumption (in many applications, including
some of the configuration tools) that you will be using an HP terminal
that supports block mode, which (approximately) lets the application
use the terminal's memory as a buffer for a form, so that the user
can do his editing in the terminal then transmit the completed form
to the 3000 in a fast block transfer.
> Does MPE support a UNIX like environment - even as an option?
If you're running MPE/iX, yes. :RUN SH.HPBIN.SYS and you will get a $
prompt.
> What is the shell like?
The MPE command interpreter...well, I can't speak for the MPE/iX CI.
I haven't used it enough.
The classic MPE CI is not really like a Unix shell -- there are a
bunch of internal commands that look like they do their own filename
globbing depending on whether they handle filesets or not, there
aren't really pipes (instead there are "message files" which are
sort of record-structured FIFOs with disc-file backing store).
> What is the C compiler like?
For MPE/iX, it's available and seems to be a somewhat modern C compiler
for PA-RISC 1.0. GCC has also been ported to MPE/iX.
At Wollongong, we used a third-party C compiler that sometimes made me
wish SPL supported structure/record declarations. It was a slow compiler,
and it had a really conservative approach to addressing modes...though
I managed to find ways around some of its conservatism.
> Editors?
Well, you get EDIT/3000, which is a line-oriented editor that is
suitable for use on all manner of terminals, even the printing ones.
I believe someone ported MicroEMACS to MPE/iX a while back, and you
definitely get vi with it. There are also several third-party
editors, some in the Interex contributed software library (e.g. QUAD,
which includes a pseudo-screen editing mode) and some commercial
(e.g. Robelle's QEDIT, which lots of 3000 folks swear by).
> How long has it been on the market?
25 years.
-Frank McConnell
At 07:13 PM 1/2/98, you wrote:
> Did you see the ad on there for the KayPro 4 on there for $10,000 !
>Honest! I'm not making this up! Gee, my Altair must be worth millions!
>I wish!
Some yahoo on www.haggle.com had an Apple Lisa listed for $15,000.00. People
collect these old machines, but not for the money, for the nostalgia mostly.
At least that's how it is in my case, although I do use some of my machines
on a daily basis. (Mostly for playing my collection of ancient games that
just seem to run like greased electrons on my Cyrix 200 system. :)
- John Higginbotham
- limbo.netpath.net
classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu, fmc(a)reanimators.org
Subj: Re: Frank Knows his stuff was Re: What is this HP 9000/220?
Frank McConnell wrote:
>I've been doing stuff with HPs for over 20 years now (mostly with
>3000s and HP PCs), and some of it stuck. But I've never worked with
>Series 200s so don't know that much about them, just what I've picked
>up here and there. And I still think I have a lot to learn.
>
>Why do I know about Series 500s? In 1989 I took a job at a little
>company called The Wollongong Group, supporting a product for the HP
>3000 called WIN/TCP for MPE/V. Little did I know, they also had a
>product for the HP 9000 Series 500s called, straightforwardly enough,
>WIN/TCP for HP 9000 Series 500. They expected me to support that too
>-- after all it's all HP stuff, it's all weird/how different can it
>be? (yep, that's how they thought) -- so I did.
<snip>
>-Frank McConnell "I want my MPE" (w/apologies to Dire Straits)
> <fmc(a)reanimators.org>
I am brimming with curiosity about the MPE OS: What is it like?
Having tried to glean some info from the HP web site I can only
surmise that the target market is mid to large businesses and
might be comparable to IBM AS/400 or Mainframe type computing
environments. Am I right? If that is the case I am curious: does
MPE run with ASCII or EBCDIC character sets? Does MPE support a
UNIX like environment - even as an option? What is the shell like?
What is the C compiler like? Editors? In short - what is MPE like?
How long has it been on the market?
Sorry, but I have never personally known anyone/anyplace that runs
MPE, until I came across a UC campus with a web site that several
MPE freeware packages available. However, from that (as well as
any possible newsgroups) it is difficult to determine what the OS
is like for the user/admin/programmer and I would appreciate some
info.
Thanks very much to anyone who can respond.
Peter Prymmer
> I mentioned a while ago that I saw a copy of Apple II visicalc. Well, I
> finally got it. It has all the stuff, and is a 1981 copy. I was wondering
if
> there was a PC version or port for DOS?
Sure was. -- I've got one (no manuals, tho'). I messed with it a
little...works sorta like early Lotus.
IIRC, there was one for the PCjr, too.
manney(a)nwohio.com
In a message dated 98-01-02 17:36:09 EST, you write:
<< Why do I know about Series 500s? In 1989 I took a job at a little
company called The Wollongong Group, supporting a product for the HP
3000 called WIN/TCP for MPE/V. Little did I know, they also had a
product for the HP 9000 Series 500s called, straightforwardly enough,
WIN/TCP for HP 9000 Series 500. They expected me to support that too
-- after all it's all HP stuff, it's all weird/how different can it
be? (yep, that's how they thought) -- so I did.
>>
Oh cool. from 89-92, I managed 2 500's, a 540 and a 560. I don't remember
the exact differences between the two. but, they were great. we had the
wollongong software on them.
my favorite was the 400 Mb had disk that looked and sounded like a dishwasher.
Kelly
At 03:32 PM 1/2/98 -0800, you wrote:
>Here is one that I got today from someone offering "Rare Apple Computers
and Hardware". Seems that the prices are about as far disconnected from
reality as his web page. It's there, but has no content other than a splash
screen.
>Apple Macintosh 512K - 200.00
I feel so stupid... I sold a Mac 512ke for $40 about 3 months ago. Man, I
better go update my prices... I'm sitting on a fortune!!!!
- John Higginbotham
- limbo.netpath.net
Two quick questions:
1. What is a disk substitution for a DEC RX-50 diskette?
2. How can you get a DECmate terminal working as a regular "dumb"
terminal in stead of a word processor?
TIA!
Rich Cini/WUGNET
<nospam_rcini(a)msn.com> (remove nospam_ to use)
ClubWin! Charter Member (6)
MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking
============================================
In a message dated 98-01-02 20:03:36 EST, you write:
<<
> Right. And if you ran MS Works 2.0 for DOS on an XT, which was
unfortunately
> what had to be done for a while with me, it would show characters maybe a
> second after they are type, especially on a Leading Edge Model D, which
was
> first priority to replace among the 8 XTs that were slowly being phased
out.
I've used MSW on XT's (even a PC), and I don't remember its being all that
slow. What were you doing? Editing War & Peace?
> MS-DOS edit or Windows Write works very much faster. (Don't get me wrong
here,
> I love the Leading Edge Model D, it's just so damn slow)
I think they're pretty quick (faster than the IBM XT, anyway!)
>>
Actually, It took a few minutes for works even to start up! We were editing
one-page documents. The Leading Edge Model D I have had two experiences with.
In one case it was ENIAC-speed (clock? oh, yeah, it's 3:30!) and the other it
was 286-speed.
Another thing: I saw a copy of Lotus 123 for the Rainbow 100. Anyone want
that?
In a message dated 98-01-02 19:06:16 EST, you write:
<< Actually I think VisiCalc WAS the early version of Lotus 123. I don't
remember all the names but VisiCalc was originally developed by some guy as
a school project. One of the other students liked it and bought the rights
to it for something like $100 and formed Lotus Developement Corp (I think
that's the right name). It was first marketed as VisiCalc and was
virtually unchanged from the original project software except for being
ported to different systems. Later the name was changed to Lotus 123 and
the product was further developed. Another case of the inventor ending up
sweeping floors and a promoter becoming rich with someone else's idea.
(Tesla >> George Westinghouse) (Henry >> Oliver Winchester) etc etc. >>
Joe <rigdonj(a)intellistar.net> wrote:
> Frank knows his HPs! I know the 200 series pretty well but he's got all
> of them down pat.
I've been doing stuff with HPs for over 20 years now (mostly with
3000s and HP PCs), and some of it stuck. But I've never worked with
Series 200s so don't know that much about them, just what I've picked
up here and there. And I still think I have a lot to learn.
Why do I know about Series 500s? In 1989 I took a job at a little
company called The Wollongong Group, supporting a product for the HP
3000 called WIN/TCP for MPE/V. Little did I know, they also had a
product for the HP 9000 Series 500s called, straightforwardly enough,
WIN/TCP for HP 9000 Series 500. They expected me to support that too
-- after all it's all HP stuff, it's all weird/how different can it
be? (yep, that's how they thought) -- so I did.
Somewhere along the way I decided I wanted a windowing environment
that could handle HP terminal emulation on my desk, and after fooling
around a bit with PCs I saw some guy up in Berkeley trying to be rid
of a 9000 Series 320. So I bought it, and it was good. That sat
there 'til early 1994 when I got retreaded into a Windows device
driver kind of guy. Now I guess it's part of my collection -- it sits
in the storage closet.
> FWIW the 9000 Vectra series computers (or some of them anyway) used
> 80286 CPUs and were MS-DOS compatable.
9000 Vectra? My recollection of the Vectra family is that it's all
IBM-compatibles (well, mostly, I remember the earliest Vectras and
they were about 99% if you allowed for the HP-isms that snuck in, like
the HP-HIL interface for the keyboard and mouse, the HP keyboard with
the f1-f8 keys across the top, and the funky HP Multimode MDA/CGA
display adapter) and never was a part of the 9000 family.
Though I think I remember something about a coprocessor card (set?) you
could stick in ISA slot(s) to run Rocky Mountain BASIC. Of course HP
would have sold that in/for Vectra boxes.
> NOW My turn. Does anyone know exactly what a 9000 217 model is? I found
> one but I've neverheard of it before and it's not in any of my catalogs.
Every once in a while I see a flavor of 9000/200 that is built into or
around an HP 2382 terminal housing: small, beige skin, brown bezel around
9" monochrome CRT. I think some of the ones I've seen were hooked up
to 91[23]x disk drives, and can't remember whether the processor was in
a similarly-sized box or in the terminal. Could that be it?
I think the HP Integral PC was also the HP 9000/207 though I don't know
if it was ever sold under that name.
-Frank McConnell "I want my MPE" (w/apologies to Dire Straits)
<fmc(a)reanimators.org>
<> > second after they are type, especially on a Leading Edge Model D, w
I have a Leading Edge model D here in active use. Nice machine and
locked (no turbo) to 4.77mhz. Mine has had a hard disk controller
added and a souped up floppy controller to do 1.44 3.5". That and a V20
it's stock and runs well.
Save fpr I'm using it for other things I've had Win3.0 running on it
and it's not that bad considering.
Currently it has Wordperfect works on it and it's very useful for text
work.
Allison
At 11:38 PM 12/31/97, you wrote:
>You should have read the ad. It says "WANTED TO BUY AN IMSAI COMPUTER WITH
>OR WITH OUT MANUALS. ALSO ALTAIRS, PROLOG, KIMS, SBC-80-10 BY INTEL YEARS
>1975-1982 DECS, JUPER-II BY WAVE MATE. I WILL PAY UP TO 200+ FOR CSOME
I should have actually read the ad. I'm *really* sorry to have wasted
everone's time with this.
>Classifieds2000 is a waste of time IMO.
I'm beginning to think so too.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/
I think that MAI produced an accounting system "solution" for businesses
consisting of a multi-user computer system and proprietary accounting
software.
I remember running into them occasionally during field audits of some of
our clients.
Rich Cini/WUGNET
<nospam_rcini(a)msn.com> (remove nospam_ to use)
ClubWin! Charter Member (6)
MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking
============================================
In a message dated 98-01-02 16:38:35 EST, you write:
<< >When I first ran winders it was on a 386/16 with 4mb of ram
> it seemed fast enough to do a lot of useful work.
>
>
> Allison
Well, yeah. But, that was when a Winders program came on a couple of
floppies, before the code -- and graphics -- bloat. A program, then, did
less and had less junk (toolbars and suchlike).
Still, some things _have_ improved in speed. My Corel Draw 3 on my laptop
handles text in a rather leisurely fashion, wheras Corel Draw 7 is quite
snappy.
manney(a)nwohio.com >>
Right. And if you ran MS Works 2.0 for DOS on an XT, which was unfortunately
what had to be done for a while with me, it would show characters maybe a
second after they are type, especially on a Leading Edge Model D, which was
first priority to replace among the 8 XTs that were slowly being phased out.
MS-DOS edit or Windows Write works very much faster. (Don't get me wrong here,
I love the Leading Edge Model D, it's just so damn slow)
> True story.
>
> When my sone was about 5, he had very interesting taste in TV shows. It
> went something like this:
>
> - If it is animated, watch it.
We all love Windows 95 :)
> - If it is live-action in color, change the channel.
We all love Windows 95 :)
> - If it is live-action in B&W, watch it for a while to see if it's funny.
Not that strange. Remember that Charlie Chaplin, The Three Stooges, and MS-DOS
1.0 are the three all-time comedy classics!
>
> Roger Ivie
> ivie(a)cc.usu.edu