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101090 discussions

In defense of NASA: was Re: Wirin' up blinkenlights

by allisonp＠world.std.com

>And don't overlook one Charles Goodyear. If he had not accidentally >dropped a sample of latex laced with carbon black on a hot stove, we >might still be on wooden wheels with iron treads. I thought it was sulphur. Carbon black was added for light/uv resistance. Allison

26 years

AppleTalk on the hoof

by ckaiser＠oa.ptloma.edu

Great brag today. Two ROM 03 Apple IIgses with 1MB RAM, keyboards, two sets of two each of 5.25" and 3.5" UniDisks and a nice composite monitor. But that's not the interesting part. The interesting part is the Mac SE/30 that came with them. It runs System 6 (cough) and AppleShare File Server. It looks like this was the file server for the IIgs systems, since the disk is full of AppleWorks, Oregon Trail and ProDOS boot images. :-) How do I get the IIgses to speak AppleTalk? I have the parts for building the network, and I know IIgs systems can do it (I've seen it), but obviously I need some additional software which unfortunately did NOT come with the package. This might be stretching it, but can they network boot? The IIgs Control Panel (CTRL-OPTION-RESET) yielded nothing too helpful. By the way, total cost was $0.00 ;-) (Well, I did have to buy an ADB mouse for the Mac, which was missing too. $40?! Highway robbery. But I shan't complain too much :-) -- ----------------------------- personal page: http://www.armory.com/~spectre/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Point Loma Nazarene University * ckaiser(a)ptloma.edu -- "I'd love to go out with you, but I'm rethreading my toothbrush bristles." -

26 years

IBM System/38 Availible

by mrdos＠swbell.net

There is an IBM System/38 with Tape Drive and 4 Disk Drives available in San Francisco California. If you are interested contact Rbatist(a)aol.com . If you get it, tell me all about it 'cause I REALLY wanted this one, but there isn't enough time to arrange for shipping.

26 years

Tandy 2 drive oops

by ckaiser＠oa.ptloma.edu

Roger, I think you sent me an answer about the Tandy 2 floppy drive, but in my haste I deleted it by accident. Could you resend it? I'm terribly sorry about that. -- ----------------------------- personal page: http://www.armory.com/~spectre/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Point Loma Nazarene University * ckaiser(a)ptloma.edu -- "I'd love to go out with you, but my personalities each need therapy." -----

26 years

OT Ranting (blather blather blather) Re: In defense of NASA:was Re: Wirin' up blinkenlights

by allisonp＠world.std.com

>> Somehow, probably with the help of marketing people, WD-40 could "do" >> both jobs. It does contain some very light oil. Not the best lube though, then again mousemilk isn't either and I have both for those times when... WD40, like LPS-5, 3in1, LMO (light machine oil) and various lubricants on my shelf are like the assortment of hammers I have. Some are brass dead blows, plastic, wood, claw and ballpeen all for specific uses. When used for the right purpose the right to is a great help. WD40 is like screwdrivers as they get used for hammers, prybars and whatnot all to the great consternation of the machinest sorts that know and appreciate tools. Allison

26 years

Wirin' up blinkenlights

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

On June 8, R. D. Davis wrote: > It's not only bizarre, it's apparently someone's idea of a sick joke, > that the most boring and poorly designed systems are the ones that > most people depend on these days which have replaced the VAXen, etc. A sick joke, indeed. > Is it not true, however, that all computers are toys, and that PDP's, > VAXen and Crays could have been considered toys when they were new? This is a good point. While I will slap anyone who walks into my computer room (containing about twenty machines, no PCs, well over a terabyte of disk storage, one Cray...some "classic" machines, some not) and calls anything a "toy"...I enjoy working with these systems so much that I can honestly call it "fun". As much fun as retrocomputing on the older PDP and VAX systems, as a matter of fact. So is it really that offensive to call them "toys"? Maybe not. One must not forget, however, that there *are* PDPs, VAXen, and Crays that are *not* so old. The PC marketeers would have everyone believe that anything that isn't a PC is old technology. That simply isn't the case. There are new (current technology) PDP11 systems (Mentec), there are new (albeit based on older technology) VAXen, and there are certainly new Crays. It's a stretch, but it seems that preserving "classic" computers is almost an exercise in preserving anything that's not a current Windoze box. -Dave McGuire

26 years

Fixin' der Tandy 2 floppydrivenspiegelthingengruppebochs

by ckaiser＠oa.ptloma.edu

Good news und bat news. I got a nice Tandy 200 package today, unit, power supplies, manuals and even some Club 100 disks in the original hard case. Very nice and the machine, after a little of fiddling and a cold start, is running well. That's the good news. The bad news, alas, is the 3.5" RS-232 floppy that came with it. (Yes, RS-232 floppy drive; hopefully someone has seen one of these.) It will not power up on either the power supply (original power supply, btw, which works with the M200 just fine), or new batteries. All it does is flash its low battery light briefly, spin for about a second, and shut off. I took a look at the board but couldn't see anything physically shot. Anyone have experience with these drives? What are my options? Part of getting this thing was so that I would have a floppy to save on, and maybe even get my 8201A to talk to it :-) Thanks in advance. -- ----------------------------- personal page: http://www.armory.com/~spectre/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Point Loma Nazarene University * ckaiser(a)ptloma.edu -- Arguments with furniture are rarely productive. -- Kehlog Albran -----------

26 years

In defense of NASA: was Re: Wirin' up blinkenlights

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> The space program, while costing the taxpayers a sizable amount > of money, has produced huge quantities of spinoff projects and > technologies that have definitely benefitted mankind. I don't personally equate NASA with the space program. Yes, NASA runs the only real space program we have. But while R. D. Davis seems to decry them both, and many others are jumping in to defend both, let me offer an alternative view. For the most part, I have always supported manned space flight. And once upon a time working at NASA was my dream. But over the years, and particularly in the way that they acquired and then deliberately destroyed the Delta Clipper project and prototype (yes I have read the NASA reports in full and I still conclude the engineer who failed to check the landing strut because the instructions he got did not specify to do so most likely did so deliberately and on directions from higher-ups), I have come to see NASA as a bloated bureaucracy that would be best put to sleep. But I would still replace NASA with something that would carry on manned spaceflight. As for individuals, so also for society, that [a] mans reach should exceed his grasp. respectfully submitted, doug quebbeman

26 years

Old laptops as cheap terminals (was Re: Old Macs = cheap terminals)

by ethan_dicks＠yahoo.com

--- allisonp <allisonp(a)world.std.com> wrote: > Don't you need a bidirectional port for the PE3? I have a few of them and > have never tried them on xtclass boxen for that reason. At least the older Xircom adapters can work in nybble-mode with a uni- directional port. I just didn't think they'd break it with the newer models. I want a PE3, not PE2 because of power consumption - the PE3 can be powered off of a parasitic cable (typically from the keyboard jack, but there isn't one on an XT laptop; I was just going to wire one in). There are parameters you can tell the PE3 to use when connecting the driver, but I'd have to look them up; I haven't actually used a parallel port adapter since I was at McMurdo. > What I'd like to find is a driver for that that works under win95, nt4, > linux or Minix. the ones I have are dos, win3.x and maybe OS/2 V??. AFAIK, there will never be any newer drivers because Xircom isn't forthcoming with their internals details. I tried for a long time to get info out of them so I could adapt a PE3 to the Amiga, but they formally rejected my written propsal because they didn't want to be in anything but the DOS market. Since then, they've been more flexible, so the newer PCMCIA Xircom NICs work, but I have this CE-10BT that only works under older stuff (fortunately, I do happen to have a PCMCIA NIC or two that _is_ supported under Linux; my CE3B-100BTX the only thing I have for the laptop that will go 100Mbps and isn't Cardbus). -ethan ===== Even though my old e-mail address is no longer going to vanish, please note my new public address: erd(a)iname.com The original webpage address is still going away. The permanent home is: http://penguincentral.com/ See http://ohio.voyager.net/ for details. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos -- now, 100 FREE prints! http://photos.yahoo.com

26 years

Wirin' up blinkenlights

by mcguire＠neurotica.com

For a lot of things, maybe...but lots of computational tasks simply aren't well suited to running on a thousand tiny buzzing Intel processors. -Dave McGuire On June 8, Richard Erlacher wrote: > Well . . . you're right, but it might read, "300 PC's replace CRAY - film at > 11." That's in place of the popular Cheers or Frasier reruns . . . > > Dick > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Dave McGuire <mcguire(a)neurotica.com> > To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> > Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2000 7:16 PM > Subject: Re: Wirin' up blinkenlights > > > > > > PC replaces Cray...film at 11. > > > > Not quite yet, I'm afraid. The PC isn't the end-all, be-all of > > computing. > > > > -Dave McGuire > > > > On June 8, Richard Erlacher wrote: > > > Careful, now . . . due to the passage of time and the change of the > > > "climate" the PDP's, Vaxen, Cray's, etc, that are sitting in basements > and > > > garages are the toys now, and the former toys, the PC's, are the "real" > > > computers. Bizzarre, isn't it? > > > > > > Dick > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > From: R. D. Davis <rdd(a)smart.net> > > > To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> > > > Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2000 4:45 PM > > > Subject: Re: Wirin' up blinkenlights > > > > > > > > > > On Thu, 8 Jun 2000, Tony Duell wrote: > > > > > > simulator and a PDP-11/45 front panel with no CPU boards. I'd > like to > > > do > > > > > > sort of a faux PDP-11/45 with this setup by somehow wiring the > front > > > panel > > > > > > up to the PC running Sim. > > > > > > > > > > > > Am I completely out of my mind, or is there even the remotest > chance > > > of > > > > > > > > > > We're all out of our minds on this list ;-) > > > > > > > > Actually, I think that adding blinking lights, and switches, to any > > > > computer is a good idea, and, as my PDP-11s don't have lights and > > > > switches, I think it's time to add them... by creating a separate rack > > > > panel, of course. Has anyone here added lights and switches to one of > > > > the PDP-11s of incomplete design? > > > > > > > > > It's _possible_. It's probably less work to find a set of 11/45 CPU > > > > > boards and get them working, but it's still _possible_ to do what > you > > > ask. > > > > > > > > The idea of finding a set of PDP-11 boards is a better idea, as then > the > > > > front panel could be used with non-toy computer equipment. > > > > > > > > -- > > > > R. D. Davis > > > > rdd(a)perqlogic.com > > > > http://www.perqlogic.com/rdd > > > > 410-744-4900 > > > > > >

26 years

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