Setting up a VAXstation

[Tony Duell]

> 
> In 08/10/2007, Tony Duell <ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> > > I don't know how to change the oil on most of my bikes, let alone
> >
> > I[ve yet to meet an engine where you don't change the oil by removing t=
> he
> > drain plug on the bottom of the sump....
> 
> And if you don't know what a sump plug is, how to find one, how to
> remove one, how to refit one? If you don't know when to do it or what
> to replace the oil with? If you don't know what to catch the oil in or
> how to refill it?

Ah, ut you said '_most_ of my bikes' (emphassis mine). The point being 
that if you can do it on one engine (OK, 2 strokes are a notable 
exception), you can do it on any. 
> But I personally have no use for a multiuser host machine and never
> have had. A mini or even an old mainframe might be /interesting/ but I
> have absolutely no function that it can perform for me, so there's not
> much point in having one. I didn't aspire to own one when I was a kid
> and I don't now. For me, computers got interesting when they could
> display graphics, and they got pleasant and fun to *use* when they got

So obviously all the graphics systems for 1970s minis (and indeed 
_calculators__) esist only in my imagination. That'll save me a lot of 
space :-)

Seriosuly, there were some rather nice graphical display systems for 
PDP11s,VAXen and other minis. Made both by DEC and 3rd parties. 

> GUIs and could multitask. I'd love to know more about some of the

I don;t know if you call a PERQ a minicomputer (to me it is, the CPU is a 
large boarf of simple logic chips, not a microprocessor), but that had a 
multitasking GUI. 
> Let it go. You have your interests, I have mine. I'm not telling you
> you're wrong; I admire your skills and knowledge. Please stop telling

Err , couple of messages ago you described me a 'bl**dy daft'. I hardly 
think that's appropritate..

-tony