Generic old-systems use (was: Re: Old UNIX Systems)

At 15:41 -0500 5/30/13, <Erik> wrote: 1a) NeXT 040 cube, backup Mathematica platform for when our department license server won't serve my daily-driver PowerBook G4 (is that machine itself on-topic? This list gets long if so) a license. Things run slower, by a factor of about 100, but they still generally run. Because: I own machine and Mathematica license, so am pretty sure no upgrade/license server issue is going to stop me calculating. As long as my laptop is on the 'net somewhere, I can VPN to the NeXT and get numbers back over the terminal interface (or retrieve plots via sftp). Newer hardware for backup Mathematica is not hard, new license is expensive. 1b) as above, running distributed.net. See http://stats.distributed.net/misc/platformlist.php?project_id=8&view=tco Pretty sure all the M68k/NeXTStep work units are mine (however I'm not territorial, somebody else with a cube or 'station is welcome to help me put those MIPS/OpenBSD guys in the rear-view mirror...) Because: machine is always on (see above), might as well put those CPU cycles to use. No power-save mode like on my laptops. 2) Powerbook 3400, drives an HP flat-bed scanner (which is SCSI interface) and plays games. Because: Scanner quality rocks, don't want to buy new scanner, no SCSI interface on any new machine I own (and not sure about drivers if there were). Don't want to buy new scanner; new scanner linearity probably is not as good anyway. 3) (?) LaserJet 4M+, only working printer at home. Because: per-page cost is very low, print quality is fine for everything we need at home. House wired for ethernet, so no problem with connectivity; even laptops speak 802.11 to DSL hub which puts packets on ethernet to the printer. Printer is paid for and even a "cheap" new printer will chew through toner faster than I like. 4) iMac G3, secondary web-surfing machine at home If wife or kids are on the iMac flat-screen, I can still do my banking/book club/check weather radar on TenFourFox (THANK YOU, Cameron! 10-4-Fox-ROX!) http://www.floodgap.com/software/tenfourfox/

5...n) Education/Nostalgia machines *Finally* beginning to understand machine language, thanks to the TRS-80 Color Computer's 6809. Want to learn VMS/(Alpha/VAX) to see what a real OS looks like. Love the dual-architecture Rainbow. etc. etc. etc. But I suspect this isn't the "use" you were looking for... -- - Mark 210-379-4635 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Asteroids headed toward planets inhabited by beings that don't have technology adequate to stop them: Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.