27 Jun
2008
27 Jun
'08
12:43 a.m.
On Thu, Jun 19, 2008 at 10:00 PM, Jim Brain <brain at jbrain.com> wrote:
jlb31348 at uxa.cso.uiuc.edu here.
Nice to meet you. Unlike mine, your old login produces some Google
hits (Power Glove!) *Somewhere* I've got a greenbar printout from the
lineprinter in 8 English with my login on it (and I don't know what
else.) If I ever find it I will probably keel over from the extreme
nostalgia overdose.
It was a Sequent. The machine ran in the basement of
the Illini Union,
where there were some nice Xterminals to use.
Wow - that does sound vaguely familiar, even if I probably didn't know
what an Xterm was then. What then was in 8 English? Anything? One
of the other ux_ boxes? I always thought the admin in the center of
the room sat in front of some large-ish machine. But it's been a
while...
housing area, while the rest of the lab machines (not
specific class labs,
but general use labs) were manage by CSO, which became CCSO in 1991 or so.
(I don't know the expansion).
Computing Services Office. I am holding in my aging hands the August
1991 "Computing Handbook for Students (and Everyone Else) by Mike
Randal" that was given to me when I started at UIUC. CSO was part of
DCL (Digital Computer Lab) at the time. I remember visiting DCL a
couple times. About all I remember is the odd construction of the
building, a lab somewhere inside with an Amiga 500 and a NeXT, and an
office marked "Data," and my friend saying "Oh, so that's where he
works." (Hey, ST:TNG was big at the time.)
Inserted in the above book in a "Free Account Info Sheet" which gives
instructions on connecting to UXA (If you are in 8 English, enter
"uxa" at the "cisco1>" or "cisco2>" prompt!) It also
gives the
Mossberg terminal server # (they were named after brands of shotguns,
if I recall correctly.)
Another quaint passage:
"Dont Fool Around With the Networks
...At the U of I, what goes on in the network forums (mail, Net News,
talk, chat, etc.) is largely self-regulating. There is no censorship
or even monitoring of the contents of network traffic. People have
better things to do."
I should scan this sheet - even though most of this list has no idea
what I'm talking about :)
I knew friends that adminstrered labs at CCSO. I took
a job administering
the dorm lab at Allen Hall, and was backup for the Lincoln Area Residence
I was in the "six-pack" (Howard Hall.) Our lab was in the snack shop
near by and not 24/7, so I'd go to the other end of campus and spend
all night in the PAR/FAR labs. My class attendance suffered.
Concerning UIUC Plato machines:
By the time, the Plato machines were on their way out, though Physics
students still used them for labs, and they were also available at the
University High School, just North East of campus. Most of the machines,
Sometime in High School (1988-1991) we had a science class trip to
UIUC for "Engineering Open House." During one of them, I got to use a
Plato session. I have no idea what it did, but I never forgot the
orange plasma and hulking terminal. To this day I feel lucky to have
even seen one.
Thanks for the trip back in time, Jim. Apologies to the list for
localized nostalgia :)
--
j