Thinking about acquiring PDP stuff

[allison]

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