21 Sep
1998
21 Sep
'98
3:13 a.m.
Less S/370s out there? I would think, since they are
more recent vintage,
there would be more. Any reason why? I'll keep my eyes peeled for you though.
I think is simply the prestige of the S/360s. After all, they are probably
the single most influential computer family of the 1960s. The S/370s just
do not have the same magic in their name.
Yeah, even my beige box 9370 is boring as heck to look
at :-( (It's a CMOS
version of the S/370 from 1987/88.) No interesting front panels, can't
tinker with hardware much at all, etc. Pah!
Even the last of the machines tagged "System/370" started to lose their
panels. By the time the 3033 and 4331 came out (mid to late 1970s), the
panels were gone. IBM used the same cabinets until recently switching over
to the black and red (very sharp looking) S/390s.
S/370 panels are amazing. Unlike the S/360 panels, they are black with all
sorts of color coding, and liberal use of the hexadecimal knobs for
setting the registers.
I would like to find a picture of any old S/370 on the Web, but I have not
come accross one yet.
Christian Fandt, Electronic/Electrical
Historian
Lets give Chris a big hand for being an Auction helper at the Antique
Wireless Association meet in Rochester, NY just a few weeks ago. He did
not drop too many things.
William Donzelli
william(a)ans.net