How did you get started?

I wonder how many others on this list don't even own a non-classic computer? I think all the machines I use would count, even the much-hacked AT I use for most general computing these days still has the original IBM motherboard (although with a 486 kludge-board in place of the 80286) and I/O cards built from row upon row of TTL chips My IBM XT (true-blue) runs my EPROM programmer, GAL programmer, cable tester, I2C tester, etc. My PC/AT runs my PIC programmer, and does a bit of word processing. For real programming I have a PDP8 on my desk (:-)), a PDP11 in a 6' rack in the corner, and a PERQ alongside it. Then there are plenty of other machines (CP/M, OS9, etc) that I can get out and set up in a couple of minutes when I want to use them. If I was given the latest Pentium PC, with all the current options (I'm so old-fashioned, I have no idea what is current in the PC line any more ;-)), I'd probably sell it and take the money to the next radio rally (Hamfest) and buy all the classic computers, test equipments and boatanchor radios that I could find. Modern PCs are so badly built and documented that quite simply I don't want one. The older machines are still quite capable of doing useful work, and I see no reason not to use them. When I look at the software (and hardware) of 10-15 years ago, I realise how far _down_ we've gone since then. -- -tony ard12(a)eng.cam.ac.uk The gates in my computer are AND,OR and NOT, not Bill