< Not trying to be a snob here, but true "Front Panel Theory" can only be
< practiced on a computer where the 'innards' are exposed. Most
< microprocessors are too integrated to support a "real" front panel. This
< one of the reason they died out fairly quickly in the micro world but li
< for quite a while in the mini-world.
Wrong, wrong wrong. They died because of a multitude of things one being
ROM monitor is cheaper to implement than 16-22 switches and more flexible.
That and after you've baned the loader in 5 times and basic still isn't
up and your finder hurt... Plus it made the machine intimidating and
complex looking compared to say a KIM-1
The 8080 altair had one and it was quite useful but there were more
switches and TTL on the board than the CPU, RAM and IO combined!
Allison
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