In article <01C73A84.F9BCC2E0 at MAGGIE>,
Steve Robertson <steerex at mindspring.com> writes:
I may also be interested in one or two. Exactly what
is a 2645A?
Heh heh.
HP made the 264x series of terminals in the 1970s. They look like
this: <http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=240>.
The 2645A is character only; the 2648A includes graphics. The system
chassis is basically a microcomputer: a backplane into which a bunch
of cards are fitted. Most of the major "chunks" of the architecture
are implemented as multi-board sets with an additional frontplane
connector that provided the board set with its own private
communication path. Most models had a cartridge tape drive mounted in
the cabinet so that you could have local storage of data and programs
through the terminal. The microprocessor in the terminal is an 8080
or 8088.
Its kinda funny how we recently talked about terminal hacks that
hijacked a terminal to turn it into a microcomputer system. The 264x
series from HP is an example of where a manufacturer did this
intentionally to their own terminal design in order to create a family
of terminals with functional variations all using the same chassis and
reusing most of the electronics through the board sets.
--
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