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TREK7 is back! - TREK7 FORTRAN Multi-User Game (PDP-10/VAX) Revived

by Hans-Ulrich Hölscher

The Star Trek simulation game TREK7 was written in FORTRAN by Donald M. Ecclestone in the early 70ties for the PDP-10. The game was ported to VAX computers running VMS in 1978 by the author with the help of Dan Gahlinger. For some years TREK7 fell into a deep slumber until in 1993 Dan Gahlinger decided to revive it, but some severe bugs remained, hindering any successful round of game. Last year I began to work on the problems still present in TREK7. After detecting and fixing more than 60 bugs (mostly caused by transcription errors) step by step, the game is playable again now. Dan Gahlinger backed out of the project and I am the maintainer of TREK7 now. For details see: https://gunkies.org/wiki/TREK7 Former TREK7 players please give me a shout! Ulli The VAXorcist

3 years

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MIT Lisp Machine and ucode recovered

by Eric Moore

Originating in 1960, Lisp is second only to Fortran as the oldest programming language still in use today. Historically used for research, artificial intelligence, and mathematics, Lisp remains relevant in these fields, as well as in quantum computing research and other cutting-edge applications. In the mid-1970s, researchers sought high-performance, single-user, interactive machines due to the constraints of running their code on large multi-user mainframes. Such machines would allow for more efficient and flexible research and development. Richard Greenblatt at the MIT AI Lab spearheaded the development of the first dedicated Lisp machines, including the successful CONS machine and later CADR machines. MACSYMA, a symbolic mathematics program written in Lisp which consumed significant resources on the PDP-10 running ITS, was a key motivator for the Lisp Machine's creation. LispM hackers in residence, including Daniel Weinreb (DLW), David Moon (MOON), Richard Stallman (RMS), John L. Kulp (JLK), Mike McMahon (MMcM), and others, were responsible for the overall system development. Kulp designed the legendary Space Cadet keyboard, known for its unique key arrangements and symbols, and Moon and Weinreb wrote the first and second Lisp Machine editors (EINE, ZWEI) respectively. Brad Parker developed the first working CADR simulator (usim), which emulates the MIT CADR, and with the Lisp Machine microcode running on top, allows users to explore the historic system and its unique features. Until recently, only up until system 78 of the LISP operating system and microcode from MIT could be emulated. Alfred M. Szmidt (AMS) received copies of backup tapes containing systems 98 and 99, dating from 1983 and 1984, respectively, and was able to get them running after a decade of effort. The bootstrap process was an impressive hack, due to the Lisp Machine's use of network booting and a mixture of compiled and uncompiled code. Szmidt has now iterated the distribution to system 100 with all of his fixes included. This marks the first time in 35 years that anyone can use this environment, designed to support AI and computational research at the cutting edge. The windowing and graphical feel of the environment stand out, and the Lisp machine and CADR processor allow users to dive deep into the operating system's inner workings. The line between compiled and source code is thin, and users can open and read almost everything. The CADR machine served as the foundation for commercial products sold by LISP Machines, Inc., founded by Richard Greenblatt, and Symbolics, founded by MIT AI Lab ex-administrator Russell Noftsker. The emulator provides a glimpse into the height of 80s MIT hacker culture by booting to MIT System 100. Find more information and try the system out yourself via AMS's announcement post: https://tumbleweed.nu/r/bug-lispm/forumpost/7475d8a3db Or visit https://tumbleweed.nu/lm-3 -Eric

3 years

3
4
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3.5' 1.44 & 720K compatible Read/Write FDDs

by D. Resor

Is there a list of floppy disk drives which could read and write both 3.5" 1.44mb and 720k diskettes? A product line of musical instruments (General Music/Ahlborn-Galanti) I service use 3.5" 720K DD floppy disk drives. I've never had any problems formatting or backing up data files prior on other instruments. Tuesday, I attempted to format a floppy disk using the instrument's internal FDD prior to backing up the data files. After the format an error appears "corrupted data". Which could mean so several different things from a bad floppy drive, etc. I currently have one box of Sony MFD-2DD 3.5" 720K Double Density Floppy diskettes which were bought new a few years ago, kept in their box, and stored in a dust free place. I've used them prior for the same purpose with no problems. I'd like to be able to verify at home that the diskettes haven't all suddenly gone bad. Thanks Don Resor

3 years

4
5
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Call for Speakers - VCF Southwest (VCFSW) coming to Dallas in June!

by Eric Moore

Hello Vintage Computer Enthusiasts! VCF SouthWest (VCFSW) is returning to Dallas after a long hiatus! We will be gathering June 23rd to 25th, details at https://www.vcfsw.org/ We are seeking speakers, exhibitors, vendors, sponsors, and volunteers! We already have some great speakers and panels lined up, and are looking for people with stories to tell about computing in Texas especially. Details and a sign up form are on the website for signing up as an exhibitor or vendor, and speakers can contact the organizers at vcfsouthwest(a)gmail.com Vendor and exhibitor tables are $50 each, and we have a limited number of tables available inside. After the inside tables are sold, we will consider selling outdoor vendor spaces if there is demand. Sponsor packages are available, starting at $250. This includes prime vendor space if desired, and placement of the sponsors logo and promotional materials proportionate to the amount of the sponsorship. Please contact us with any questions, ideas, or concerns. Thank you for being awesome and supporting the vintage computer community!

3 years

1
0
0 0

ATA-3 50-pin IDE

by Steve Lewis

Is anyone familiar with the 50-pin IDE interface, which I think is called ATA-3? It is from around 1997-2002. Normally IDE is 40-pin, or in laptops might be a 44-pin. But in a COMPAQ Presario 1220, I've come across its hard drive that is using this 50-pin interface (two rows of 25-pin that are quite small/tightly spaced - moreso than even PCMCIA). I believe it is different (electrically) than the 1.8" 50-pin interface. I ordered a CF-to-50-pin adapter that is intended for those 1.8" drives, and it won't work on this ATA-2 port (system won't boot with it inserted). However, all my CF cards are larger than 2GB - so I'm not sure if that was the issue (don't think so, I think even with 8GB or larger it would still at least try to boot). The 2GB drive in this Presario (with the "weird' 50-pin IDE) contains Windows ME and Office 2000. That's cute, but I'm not so interested in that - I was hoping to image that drive for archive, then install something else (OS2). But I can't find any "ATA-3 to normal 40-pin IDE" adapter. I think the "6 extra pins" on this 50-pin (relative to normal 44-pin laptop drives of those days) -- 2 of those pins (5-6) aren't used (maybe a kind of key) and the 4 others (1-4) are vendor specific. So I may just be out of luck here in upgrading or replacing this drive with a more modern solution. But wanted to run it by the crew here before giving up. Thanks, -Steve / v*

3 years

7
8
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Looking for IBM 2723

by Peter Ekstrom

Hey all, So, being the new owner of a AS/400 9401-150, I am looking for a 2723-9406 LAN card for it. Does anyone have one they wouldn't mind parting with by chance? -Peter

3 years

1
0
0 0

Re: LS120, LS240, Floptical Drives and DD, HD, ED, and ?TD? drives

by Ali

> Most likely, the 3-mode drive. 8x1024 sectors on each track, giving a > capacity of about 1.23MB. Many PCs of the era could also handle the > drives, which would change spindle speed from 300 to 360 RPM. 3 mode > drives were manufactured right up until the end, but usually were > configured as 2-mode (720/1.44) unless jumpering changes were made to > the drive. Chuck, Yes, R. Stricklin (Bear) verified it as such. So have you ever seen a Tri Density drive? Or was it just a paper announcement that never made it out of the lab? I'd figure if anyone may have seen one it would be you ;) -Ali

3 years

3
15
0 0

Need a 1.2mb 5.25 floppy

by Chris Zach

Oi. So after finally getting things going I started copying the Pro/380 OS files to a bunch of 1.2mb floppies. Great. However after a bit I started getting errors, and found that the disks were getting gouges in the tracks. Sure enough disassembly of my 1.2mb Teac showed that debris had become embedded in the disk head and cleaning is not possible. Terrific. Tossing the drive, this is not the first time I have had this problem with these disks so I am dumpstering all of the old floppies and just bought 40 new ones in sealed boxes. However I'm now in need of a 1.2mb floppy drive. Anyone have a good working spare that I can beg/borrow/buy in the MD area? Thanks! CZ (I really should have pitched these disks; they came from a basement with an oil heater for 20 years and are quite honestly garbage. Only thing worse were disks from Solarex which literally had silicon dust on them that chewed any drive. Oh well, live and learn)

3 years

11
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Re: Sun/Tronic House

by Smith, Wayne

I did some research as to where Dean and Molly (Mary Alice) Hendrickson lived and the address I come up with is 20 Interlaken Road, Greenwich, CT 06830. There is no street view on Google but from the satellite photo it looks like it could be the same house as I seem some of what appear to be similar curved features on the roof. From: Tarek Hoteit via cctalk [mailto:cctalk@classiccmp.org] Sent: Friday, March 24, 2023 10:23 PM To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org Cc: Tarek Hoteit Subject: [cctalk] Sun/Tronic House Hi. I came across an article about the "Sun/Tronic House" in the July/August 1981 issue of Computers and Programming magazine. The article references the Apple 2 as the computer that controls everything in the house that also relies on solar energy. The house, per the article, is (or was) in Greenwich, Connecticut. I also found a photo of the house at https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.1000bit.it/storia/apple/suntronic_h… I am curious to know if the house and the Apple IIs are still there. Anyone has a clue? (A copy of the magazine is at https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://archive.org/details/sim_computers-and-p… 1_4 page 38). -- Regards, Tarek Hoteit

3 years

2
1
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LS120, LS240, Floptical Drives and DD, HD, ED, and ?TD? drives

by Ali

In the golden age of the floppy before its downfall caused by CD-R, CD-RW and flash USB a number of new technologies were introduced to allow for cheap removable storage (Yes MO drives existed but they were expensive). Many of the tech were a great step forward. For example the LS-240 drives from Panasonic/3M (Imation) allowed reading and writing to 120MB, 240MB, 1.44MB, and 720KB disks. They were also compatible with weird formats like IBM's XDF and even allowed the storage of 32MB on a standard 1.44MB floppy disk. To be backwards compatible they used a separate read/write head for regular floppies. However, none of the formats with backward compatibility read or wrote to 2.88MB ED disks. Anybody know why? Was it a licensing issue or the perception that ED compatibility wasn't really required or desired? Or was it technical? I am not sure if ED drives already made use of two read/write heads (one for 720/1.44 and one for 2.88) or just one? If it is the former one could see how it would be hard to have three separate read/write heads in one unit... On a separate note: was a TD (Triple Density) drive ever produced? Apparently the technology existed all the way back in 1989 and would have give 12.5MB on a standard physical sized (3.5") floppy: https://www-computerwoche-de.translate.goog/a/hitachi-maxell-bietet-nec-neue -12-5-mb-floppy-an,1155888?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wap p (original in German) -Ali

3 years

7
12
0 0

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