30 Nov
2016
30 Nov
'16
12:03 a.m.
Sent from my Samsung device
-------- Original message --------
From: "Ian S. King" <isking at uw.edu>
Date: 2016-11-29 7:19 PM (GMT-08:00)
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at
classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: Thinking about acquiring PDP stuff
On Tue, Nov 29, 2016 at 5:17 PM, Brad H <vintagecomputer at bettercomputing.net
wrote:
That sounds interesting.? I imagine they'd be worth even more than an 8/E?
Keep in mind that the 8/I is a fairly substantial investment in space and
weight.?
Also, if you want to add something, it's not as easy as plugging a
card into a backplane.? The 8/I requires wirewrap work.
--
Ian S. King, MSIS, MSCS, Ph.D. Candidate
The Information School <http://ischool.uw.edu>
Dissertation: "Why the Conversation Mattered: Constructing a Sociotechnical
Narrative Through a Design Lens
Archivist, Voices From the Rwanda Tribunal <http://tribunalvoices.org>
Value Sensitive Design Research Lab <http://vsdesign.org>
University of Washington
There is an old Vulcan saying: "Only Nixon
>could go to China."
I'm curious.. what do people do with these things? ?I've seen videos of some in
large racks being used to play music, etc. ?The rack ones seem like a a pretty substantial
investment in space for something that doesnt (or does it?) have much practical use
today.
30 Nov
30 Nov
12:09 a.m.
On Wed, Nov 30, 2016 at 12:03:22AM -0800, Brad H wrote:
I'm curious.. what do people do with these things? ?I've seen videos
of some in large racks being used to play music, etc. ?The rack ones
seem like a a pretty substantial investment in space for something
that doesnt (or does it?) have much practical use today.
Are you sure you are on the right mailing list?
Anyway, here is someone controling his christmas lights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1MDYYvw0cY
Cheers,
Pontus.
8:48 a.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Pontus
Pihlgren
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 12:10 AM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: Thinking about acquiring PDP stuff
On Wed, Nov 30, 2016 at 12:03:22AM -0800, Brad H wrote:
I'm curious.. what do people do with these things? ?I've seen videos
of some in large racks being used to play music, etc. ?The rack ones
seem like a a pretty substantial investment in space for something
that doesnt (or does it?) have much practical use today.
Are you sure you are on the right mailing list?
Anyway, here is someone controling his christmas lights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1MDYYvw0cY
Cheers,
Pontus.
Haha. I don't know if I'd call using all that iron to run Christmas lights
'practical', though it is very cool. I'm just trying to get out of the home
computer collector mindset. We buy machines that can do all sorts of
things, especially games with graphics. And when we're done we can simply
move them aside or tuck them in a closet. A PDP with racks and all that,
not exactly portable. :) So I wondered what PDP guys did to keep interested
and how much they actually used the machine over the course of, say, a year.
8:56 a.m.
I'm
curious.. what do people do with these things? ?I've seen videos
of some in large racks being used to play music, etc. ?The rack ones
seem like a a pretty substantial investment in space for something
that doesnt (or does it?) have much practical use today.
Are you sure you are on
the right mailing list?
Anyway, here is someone controling his christmas lights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1MDYYvw0cY Haha. I don't know if I'd call using all that
iron to run Christmas lights
'practical', though it is very cool.
Have you ever seen a Christmas lights system that was any more "practical"
than that?
How do we define "hobby"?
9:27 a.m.
On 11/30/16 11:48 AM, Brad H wrote:
> I'm curious.. what do people do with these things? I've seen videos
> of some in large racks being used to play music, etc. The rack ones
> seem like a a pretty substantial investment in space for something
> that doesnt (or does it?) have much practical use today.
Define practical use?
Most still can or do produce useful work. After all programming in C or
other language
on a PDP-11 or PC is about all the same things. One difference is the
PDP-11 is really
running unix. IF anything its no different than using an arduino to
blink a light.
What I do:
Use them to run old software that still does useful work.
Let me correct that....
Use them to run well tested and debugged old software that still does
useful work.
Amuse myself, enjoy the hardware I can fully understand down to the gate
level.
Marvel that unlike every PC I've had that crapped after a few years
these old machines
just keep doing their thing.
The above is significant as most of the machine I have were obtained
when they were still
current or relevant and they were fully functional. So maintenance has
been minimal to none.
There are a few that I built myself back in the mid to late 70s as well.
Allison
9:56 a.m.
Howzbout:
line the frame of the doorway and the raingutters with rows of lights,
with some of them grouped into rows of 8, 12, 16, 18, 24, 32, 48, 64, etc.
Put touch sensitive nailheads at various places, including alongside some
of the rows of lights.
Wire the touch sensitive nailheads to relays.
Maybe some programming so entering appropriate codes controls porch light,
garage door, etc.
Can any of your machines handle a second blinkenlights console?
(consisting of the entire front of your house?)
9:45 a.m.
On Wed, Nov 30, 2016 at 08:48:07AM -0800, Brad H wrote:
Haha. I don't know if I'd call using all that iron to run Christmas lights
'practical', though it is very cool. I'm just trying to get out of the home
computer collector mindset. We buy machines that can do all sorts of
things, especially games with graphics. And when we're done we can simply
move them aside or tuck them in a closet. A PDP with racks and all that,
not exactly portable. :) So I wondered what PDP guys did to keep interested
and how much they actually used the machine over the course of, say, a year.
For me it is really about the learning experience. And boy is there much to
learn. It's very interesting to see what is different and was is similar
between various operating systems and architectures (and decades).
Learning the history makes you appreciate what you have and understand why
some things are the way they are. Deaign decisions made 30-40 years ago
that affect your every day life.
I've dedicated my garage to the hobby. It's a mere 20 square meter so I can
only fit about ten racks or so.
/P
10:03 a.m.
On 11/30/16 9:45 AM, Pontus Pihlgren wrote:
For me it is really about the learning experience. And
boy is there much to
learn. It's very interesting to see what is different and was is similar
between various operating systems and architectures (and decades).
Learning the history makes you appreciate what you have and understand why
some things are the way they are. Deaign decisions made 30-40 years ago
that affect your every day life.
And thanks to the web, the primary sources are getting spread internationally.
It isn't something that was even thought about being taught in school at any deep
level
until VERY recently.
What you're learnin' here ain't gettin' taught in school.
11:34 a.m.
On 11/30/16 11:48 AM, Brad H wrote:
Haha. I don't know if I'd call using all that iron to run Christmas lights
'practical', though it is very cool. I'm just trying to get out of the home
computer collector mindset. We buy machines that can do all sorts of
things, especially games with graphics. And when we're done we can simply
move them aside or tuck them in a closet. A PDP with racks and all that,
not exactly portable. :) So I wondered what PDP guys did to keep interested
and how much they actually used the machine over the course of, say, a year.
Well using them to do work and also programming keeps it going and having
enough hardware to have one different one for each week of the year doesn't
hurt either.
I also do things like start with a Z80 system, a machine I know well and
then
say CP/M-2.2 OS and proceed to try and write a improved version that can
actually
do the one thing everyone wanted then, hierarchical directories, in a larger
disk space. When you consider things like ZRdos were improvements and
solved
the 8mb limit but not the flat directory issue in a compatible way. Will
it change
the world, no, but its an interesting exercise. To do so means
understanding
at the most fundamental levels OS and file system operation.
As to PDP-11s or any PDP-mumble not all are rack size! The small 11 I
have is
in a BA11VA (13x12x4 inches!) that's smaller than a lot of current PCs
save for
the terminal.
Never forget everything old is new again.
Allison
2710
days inactive
2710
days old
8 comments
5 participants
participants (5)
-
aek＠bitsavers.org -
ajp166＠verizon.net -
cisin＠xenosoft.com -
pontus＠Update.UU.SE -
vintagecomputer＠bettercomputing.net