Exploring early GUIs

[Noel Chiappa]

    > From: Lars Brinkhoff

    > it was AI rather than MC.  As I'm sure you know, AI had the Rubin 10-11
    > interface

Really? (I expect you're correct, mind.) I just remember one day MC wasn't
running as normal, and I was told it was because CHEOPS was in some
tournament, and MC had been taken offline so that it could focus on the game.
So I assumed CHEOPS was connected to MC (and had indeed wondered why/how, when
I wrote that message, with the Rubin interface being on AI).

    > communicating over Chaosnet.  At least, that's how I interpret the code
    > in MacHack.

Again, probably right. It was pretty early, but I guess the CHAOSNET was
already running then. My guess is that AI didn't do much but act as a
communication node between CHEOPS and MC, for that.

    > There is some debate over whether the CONS had a display of its own, and
    > if so whether it could draw to a bitmap.  Do you remember?

Not explicily, but I would tend to guess 'no'; I would tend to guess that they
were still in the mindset where it was a specialized co-processor, like
CHEOPS. I certainly don't recall a 'CONS display' in the room where the first
CADR display was; but that doesn't mean much. (Actually, I'm not positive
there was a CADR display in there the night I recall Moon trying to get it
running; for sure a Knight TV console, and he may have been using it to run
something on it to poke at the CADR.)

    > they have a hard time pinpointing a birthdate for the CADR. Do you have
    > a recollection when, even what year, the first boot attempt was?

Sorry, no; it only stuck in my memory because I was later taken at having
beeen there for the early CADR work; I think that night I only barely knew
what a CADR was. (I was kind of amused that Moon's audience that night was
someone from LCS... :-) I mean, it was pretty early, but I have no idea of
even what year it was.

     Noel