7 Feb
1998
7 Feb
'98
7:50 a.m.
From: Sam Ismail <dastar(a)wco.com>
Subject: More books for the library
I added another 37 volumes to my vintage computer
library yesterday.
By far the most valuable from a historical standpoint
is the book
_Computer Power for the Small Business_ from 1979....[snip]
Some of those books are pretty good, years ago I passed by many of them
but nowadays they deserve a second look.
It contains information on systems we know much of,
such as the Atari's,
Apple, PETs, Radio Shack, etc. But it also has blurbs on systems that
I've not seen mentioned anywhere else (at least not in a way that is
looking back on these systems with a historical perspective) like the RCA
Cosmac VIP, the Sol-20, Exidy Sorcerer, Heathkit H-8 and H-11, Intecolor
8031.
The best part is the descriptions of systems I've
never knew about before.
Has anyone ever heard of an Outpost computer? Its a fully integrated
package with keyboard, display and 5.25" drive, but its almost three feet
wide, with the two 5.25" drive bays to the side of the display! How about
the PeCos One from APF Electronics.
Is that the "imagination machine?" Never saw one, the production run
must have been short-lived.
I have a pong machine made by APF but
who would've thought they once made computers? How about The Renaissance
Machine (aka Compucolor II)?
I saw it in a computer store in 1980, I recall it was pricy, nice
display, real crisp for the time, no hint of any decent games
whatsoever...
[snip]
Here's an interesting tidbit. Apparently Data
General made a line of
computers dubbed "The Digital Group". According to this entry in the
table, they were systems based on the Z-80, 8080A, 9080A, 6800 and 6502
processors; they had 2K of main memory; they used cassettes for storage.
Can anyone verify this?
Really cool cases, seen lots of pictures, no actual unit though...
001010111010100100100101001001011011001001011001101011010100101110100100100011
Speaking of old publications, does anyone remember the the album (12"
record) titled something like the "First Philidelphia Computer Music
Festival" it was distributed by Creative Computing, had music for a
variety of sources including some astounding stuff from Bell Labs and
the like (a computer sythesized Daisy tune, cathedral organ sethesis of
Fuge in D minor, etc.) as well as more contemporary for the time
computer stuff (Cosmac ELF three-voice tunes, etc.) All of it was
pretty extraordinary given the time it was recorded, to some it may seem
old compared to today's 'sythesisers on a card'...
001010111010100100100101001001011011001001011001101011010100101110100100100011
From: "Max Eskin" <maxeskin(a)hotmail.com>
Subject: Nostalgia
I have to comment on a few things that have recently
been posted here.
One is the addition of 37 books to a vintage library. How many books
do you people have? One would need a bill gates-type house to store all
of these old computers and books! I live in an apartment, and envy
people who can- I am trying to sort out a few tens of manuals!
It is not always the quantity but the quality too... I also live in an
apartment and have to be somewhat selective of what I get... Many of my
books are in storage... Maybe when I lin the Lottery I can buy a museum
for it all...
What was the first publishing program anyway?
For micros, I would have to say the original Print Shop by Broderbund
Software,
it was a landmark achievement in my books... Wow graphics, text with
free-form design! I didn't say it was the best but one of the first
most popular publishing program for home use...
Also, how many different home/small office computers
have
been made, do you suppose? Now, it's just Intel and Mac :(
Untrue Amiga is still in production (Gateway 2000 now owns em). I am
sure there are others, you limit yourself by saying that... There are
hundreds of brands/models...
Lastly, I wanted to know if there was any place where I
could actually
sit down at an old machine and play with it for half an hour, just to
get the feel for it. P.S. How big was the IBM 370?
Well where do you live? Maybe someone on this list lives nearby...
Heck I'd be tickled to have someone come over and look at my machines
while I fill their ear for an hour or so... Other than that there is
shows like the Vintage Computer Festival.
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