Starting to go through my boxes of POS stuff. I know of course that 3.2
is out there (minus the Pro/Communications option which has a bad disk
in the distro) however are these disks out there now?
Pro/Venix 1.0 on floppies
POS V2.0a on floppies
POS version 1.5 (with test diskette, maintenance application, a thing
called Pro/Pre labelled "Diskette system", system overview and
instruction disks)
POS V1.7 (I have that here somewhere)
Pro/Basic Version 1.0 and 1.2
SPSS/X For Professional (this is a really interesting one, anyone heard
of this?)
If so let me know and I won't copy them. If not I'll go over to the
mighty Deskpro/XE and start sucking the data off for archives....
Thanks!
Chris
(Hoping to find old drivers or scaffolding or something that will give
me a hint into how DEC ported POS)
I want to buy an old computer from a guy I don’t know in Houston (I’ll pay shipping to CA), but it’s a lot of money, and I don’t want to lose it - what are my options?
Thanks-
Steve.
Be aware that clicking on a malicious url can result on malware or spyware being installed on your machine without any further action on your part. All browsers have vulnerabilities. The most famous of these was the older version of Pegasus by NSO back in the 2014-2016 timeframe. These so called 1-click exploits are well known to bad actors. It’s a continuous cat and mouse game between exploit writers and infosec. For the interested, look at this report regarding Apple and the “Trident” series of exploits from 2016.
https://info.lookout.com/rs/051-ESQ-475/images/pegasus-exploits-technical-d…
—-Todd
P.S. Exploits have evolved considerably since Trident and now include 0-click exploits. See Google’s Project Zero for instance.
Copied all the files onto my Gotek, it's SO EASY to just turn a dial to
select a disk!
Anyway, loaded all the files, but when I try to run them it says it's
missing PROF77 Common. My guess is that's the same block as F77OTS, but
how does one load a common block with a different name? I forgot....
Directory DU0:[SPSS]
28-JUL-2023 18:06
ANVTSK.TSK;1 173. C 28-JUL-2023 18:01
NPTTSK.TSK;1 189. C 28-JUL-2023 18:02
SRVTSK.TSK;1 167. C 28-JUL-2023 18:02
SPSTSK.TSK;2 576. C 28-JUL-2023 17:59
TTSTSK.TSK;2 116. C 28-JUL-2023 18:00
SPSS.INS;2 3. C 28-JUL-2023 18:00
RPTTSK.TSK;1 190. C 28-JUL-2023 18:02
SPSS.TSK;1 136. C 28-JUL-2023 18:03
SCATSK.TSK;1 117. C 28-JUL-2023 18:03
SPSS.MNU;1 7. C 28-JUL-2023 18:03
SPSS.HLP;1 124. C 28-JUL-2023 18:03
PARTSK.TSK;1 130. C 28-JUL-2023 18:03
SPSS.MSG;1 18. C 28-JUL-2023 18:04
SPRTSK.TSK;1 98. C 28-JUL-2023 18:04
SPSS.ERR;1 69. C 28-JUL-2023 18:04
TEST1.LST;1 21. 28-JUL-2023 18:05
GSS77.SAV;1 123. 28-JUL-2023 18:05
TEST2.LST;1 27. 28-JUL-2023 18:05
TEST3.LST;1 21. 28-JUL-2023 18:05
TEST1.CMD;1 1. 28-JUL-2023 18:05
TEST2.CMD;1 2. 28-JUL-2023 18:05
TEST3.CMD;1 6. 28-JUL-2023 18:05
Total of 2314./2325. blocks in 22. files
$ run spss
INS -- Common block not loaded PROF77
Over the weekend I picked up a Pro/350 from the System Source swap. The
good news is I traded something of similar size for it, and more
importantly I didn't bring anything else home :-)
Anyway, it's a pretty basic system with 10mb ST412 drive, 128k memory on
board, 256kb memory expansion, disk controller, floppy controller and
RX50 (with the usual loose pad, glued back in), and a video card WITHOUT
the extended bitmap option.
Brought it home, pulled everything, checked the power supply (good), got
the drive spinning, and since drives like this tend to be precious I
sucked the data off it using a Gesswin emulator (best money I have
spent). Sucked the data off with no errors, thus everything is preserved
for eternity. I'll take a look at the drive and see about using a bit of
watch oil on the shaft to lubricate the bearings and put this disk back
into a "usable" category.
Even better: Fired up and compiled xhomer on my Raspberry Pi CM3+,
loaded the image, and sure enough: There is a POS 2.0 install on the
disk, with a really neat app called "Prostar/300"
Seems to be an office tool for real estate office, specifically farm
management, investment, and amortization. Even better it looks like all
the data was stored on Floppies (now long gone) so no PII issues. And
there is a word processor built into the app along with the normal PROSE
editor.
I'll tool around with it for a bit, then put the disk image up on
crystel.com. An interesting application, can be easily transferred to a
real disk using a gesswin emulator or put it on xhomer. :-)
Pretty nice application from 1986 vintage, I can see this being used in
offices around the midwest.
Chris
Around the middle of the 1980s, Lego made a robotics system for 8-bit
computers, including the Apple II, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, and IBM PC.
The system includes a hardware interface (set #9750, "Interface A"), a
card or cable (differs for each computer; the PC-ISA card is set #9771),
and various electronic Lego bits (sensors, lights, motors, etc., the
main set of which is #9700.)
I recently acquired several of the PC-ISA version. I am selling these as
a bundle: 1x-9750, 1x-9771, 2x-9700. The price is $400 + s/h from New
Jersey.
Full details about the sets are on my website, www.brickhacks.com. The
site isn't finished and some links will not work, but the meat of it is
all there. I'll also be posting how-to videos on YouTube
(@TechnicallyEvan) but I can't promise when that will happen -- I'm very
busy in real life.
All of the manuals are on the Internet Archive, under the "vintage Lego
robotics" collection.
Interested buyers should send me a private message to evan(a)snarc.net.
I have a pair of IBM 8" disk drives - they are from an 1980 IBM 5120
I simply won't have the time to give them the attention they deserve for
many years. They seem mechanically ok (they spin) but I don't know much
more about them, or how "universal" they might be as 8" floppy disk drives.
I think I do have to cut them from the transformer they are connected to
(couple thick red wires), but otherwise they have all the original power
harness stuff as well.
Thinking just cost of shipping plus rounded to nearest $10 or $100. They
are about 20lbs (together, and I would like to keep them together - there
is a pin/clip that is used to latch them together, but I do think they can
be separated fairly easily).
Message me if any interest. If you do need/want them for another 5120
project, I can probably include some adapter cards.
-Steve
So, I was trying to contact "Pete" at vintage-icl-computers.com several
times during the last years. Obiously, the site and/or the person is dead,
no reaction whatever.
I'm hoping that someone on this list might be able to help me:
I still have a Digico Micro 16V computer that, one day, I'd like to
restore. On the ICL site above I can see that they have (had?) the service
manual/schematics for the system, and I would really love to get a scan
(or at least high resolution photos) of these. Does anyone here maybe have
them or can provide me with some pointers? Oh BTW, software (e.g.
papertape images) would be great, too :-)
Christian
I am looking for a basic or commercial IMSAI SIO 8080 Comm Program that
uses SIO serial connector 2 for modem communications. Something I can
start from a ROM monitor running from the console running through serial
connector 1.
My system is using the original 8080, I want to avoid the cp/m z80 route.
Bill
