11 Dec
2010
11 Dec
'10
1:37 p.m.
The guys that designed this machine knew how to make
it human friendly.
I don't know of any other machine of that era that did this, or even had
a software controlled power supply.
THe PERQ 1/1a have software-controlled power swithces. You turn them off
by a suitable OS command which flushes the disk buffers (if necesary),
parks the hard disk heads, and then turns off the machine. These machines
pre-date the Lisa.
Probably a bit later, but the Torch XXX and Whitechapen MG1 have software
controlled power siwches too. In the case of the former you touch the
power swithc (atually touch contacts) on the front of the case, it sends
an interrupt to the servcice processaor which tells the main 68K to flush
the buffers and then turns the machine off. The MG1, I think, is similar
to the PERQ i nthat you shut it down with an OS command.
-tony