On 6/5/2012 12:29 AM, Richard wrote:
In article<4FCDA873.1030407 at mail.msu.edu>,
Josh Dersch<derschjo at mail.msu.edu> writes:
I'll be pedantic and note that the Tektronix
4051 isn't really a
terminal, it's a general-purpose computer (with BASIC built in). But
I'm sure it could also act as a pretty decent terminal with the right
software :).
There's a continuum between classic "glass tty"
terminals on one end
and full blown personal computers on the other. Tektronix wasn't the
only manufacturer to recognize this. Add local storage and some sort
of operating system (BASIC in ROM will do) to a terminal and you have
a personal computer.
Sure, but the 4051 doesn't really sit in the "slightly modified
terminal" mold -- it didn't come with RS-232 connectivity built in (it
had GPIB and a pointer input, IIRC). RS-232 was an optional add-on, as
was the software that allowed it to behave as a terminal. The 4051 was
a built to be a computer first, and was sold as a "Graphic Computing
System."
(
http://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/text/Tektronix/Tektronix.4051.…)
It may possibly have started at Tek as a "hey, let's take a 401x
terminal and make a computer out of it" but I don't really understand
why that means the end result is considered a Terminal in any way (or
why it's useful to categorize it in such a way). (And in this case, did
any other Tek terminals prior to (or after?) the 4051 use a 6800?
Wouldn't the lack of any such beast point to the 4051 as being
purpose-built as a computer, and not the evolution of a terminal design?)
- Josh
On the terminals wiki I have a category for terminals like this:
<http://terminals.classiccmp.org/wiki/index.php/Category:Local_Processing>
There is also that middle ground where the terminal has local storage,
but no local programming environment:
<http://terminals.classiccmp.org/wiki/index.php/Category:Local_Storage>
Most terminals that had local processing had local storage, but not
always. Some were intended to be locally programmable by downloading
a program from the host.