11 Sep
2007
11 Sep
'07
3:52 p.m.
On 11/09/2007, Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> wrote:
Most people who use computers don't know what a "chip" is. If you are
capable of identifying an integrated circuit from its part number, you
are a veritable electronics guru compared to 5.9999999 billion people.
> Why
can't they just open the box and look at the circuitry?
> If it's got a UART, and maybe some 1488,1489 chips, then it is serial,
> etc.
On Tue, 11 Sep 2007, Liam Proven wrote:
[Laughter]
Hang on... that *was* a joke, right?
Perhaps an exaggeration, but even with my total lack of knowledge of
electronics, how else can I identify the ports on an unknown machine?
A few chips are fairly obvious, such as 6845, UARTs, etc. A man bought a computer and a printer; took them to a
computer store for
interfacing; after six weeks without success, he shot and killed the owner
of the store. I had read about it in a newspaper. When I mentioned it to
Joe Campbell, he dug up an account (Infoworld?) of it to include in either
his "RS232 Solution", or in "C Programmer's Guide to Serial
Communication"
I don't have convenient access in the next few weeks to my books, notes,
etc. Sorry.
Remarkable. Not heard that one before.
OTOH, I have set up many a serial printer. RS232 was a complete pain
in the **** and I am very glad to see it die. Start bits, stop bits,
word length, parity, baud rate - hateful. Apple could do it right in
1984; there was no good reason for everyone else in the industry to
screw it up.
--
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