30 Nov
2016
30 Nov
'16
9:45 a.m.
On Wed, Nov 30, 2016 at 08:48:07AM -0800, Brad H wrote:
Haha. I don't know if I'd call using all that iron to run Christmas lights
'practical', though it is very cool. I'm just trying to get out of the home
computer collector mindset. We buy machines that can do all sorts of
things, especially games with graphics. And when we're done we can simply
move them aside or tuck them in a closet. A PDP with racks and all that,
not exactly portable. :) So I wondered what PDP guys did to keep interested
and how much they actually used the machine over the course of, say, a year.
For me it is really about the learning experience. And boy is there much to
learn. It's very interesting to see what is different and was is similar
between various operating systems and architectures (and decades).
Learning the history makes you appreciate what you have and understand why
some things are the way they are. Deaign decisions made 30-40 years ago
that affect your every day life.
I've dedicated my garage to the hobby. It's a mere 20 square meter so I can
only fit about ten racks or so.
/P