Motherboard (Was: The Burroughs B5900 and E-Mode

[tony duell]

> "Motherboard" was around then, although Burroughs might not have used it.
> Burroughs might very well have been more inclined to call it "backplane".

I generally use the term 'motherboard' for the sort of thing you find in an 
IBM5150 or Apple ][ -- that is a board with a lot of electronics on it and the
edge connectors for daughterboards (I/O cards, etc) whereas I use the term
'backplane' for what I have in a PDP11 or PERQ, etc, just connectors wired together
(maybe with some simple logic) and almost everything on plug-in boards.

Incidentally, the HP150 has the procrssor and video boards, along with 2 optional
I/O boards going in from the rear of the case and plugging into a PCB of connectors
(and IIRC a simple printer interface). Due to its position HP call it the 'frontplane'. I have
never seen that term used anywhere else (I assume it's also applicable to the HP120
but I have never seen any technical info for that machine).

-tony