In my opinion, the statement below is true when it all started with personal curiosity about using a computer. Once the computer became a means to make money, the utility of using computers got intermixed with money and business. Greed took over most of the tech world except for the few that embraced personal computers as personal computersand not to make money off the masses. - Tarek

No slur intended, My eyes are bad and mu typing worse. On Sun, Nov 23, 2025 at 11:47 PM Jim Davis <jim.p.davis(a)gmail.com> wrote:

there are two aspects to "ownership". hardware and software. 1. you can still run all the old software (e.g. pet basic", IMSAI) under an emulator on a modern computer running either windows (no control) or linux etc (open source). and now for free, not having to buy the hardware which with inflation would be $1000 to $5000 2. hardware: it depends: 2a. my greatest joy was upgrading the hardware (and software to support) my TRS-80 model 1. All I bought from radio shack was a m1 keyboard with level 1 basic 4k ($300), and level 2 basic as a spare part (iirc $80). many intermediate steps, but eventually 64k inside the keyboard, 3 speed, ctl key, tri color led, s-100 adapter, s-100 cards for disk controller, printer and modem (no expensive interface), and other enhancements (like a fix for cassette operations). I never got around to using the extra 16 k to run native CP/M, partly because I would have had to learn and customize the cp/m severely. The extra 16 k memory i programmed as a printer buffer (remember how slow dot matrix printers were). I was prepared to upgrade to 256K in the keyboard but when I got an IBM PC clone,.I did not have the time to program it as a virtual disk (the only reasonable use for it). I programmed in hex, writing an install program for the hex that included labels to automatically correct addresses and relative jumps when I added or deleted instructions. 2b. hardware: i could modify a modern computer's emulator to include my hardware changes, but that would be at least an order of magnitude more work than the hardware changes were. 2c. you can get a usb to printer port (parallel) adapter to do some things with your emulated IMSAI or Pet that you could have done then.. you can emulate floppy disks, and read/write 3.25" ones (if standard shugart). There have been adapters for 5.25 floppies, if enough demand, should become available again and maybe even for 8 inch (my wish list). 2d. you can use modern hard disks, sdc cards, etc with old computer software emulators 2e you can buy off the shelf hardware to adapt some old computers (real or emulated), including the trs-80 coco to internet access etc. btw, the RS coco has the largest base of current users I have seen. and hardware upgrades for old computers to give them more power. So you can get much of the historical feel of the first micros with modern computers. all with open source or at least included in the required hardware (e.g. for internet adapters) <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail> Virus-free.www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

Pearl clutching and lamenting about what I don't know is sad.Unless TPM 2.0 cuts off any path but windows, Free O/S will flourish. On Mon, Nov 24, 2025 at 12:03 PM ben via cctalk &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; wrote:

I have all the parts to assenble a TEK 6205, but I lack a breath-of-life bootstrap tape. On Sun, Nov 23, 2025 at 8:13 PM ben via cctalk &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; wrote:

On 11/24/25 02:30, Jim Davis via cctalk wrote: I cloned a Logical Microcomputer Co. 16032 computer on wirewrap cards and interfaced to a memory unit from an MRI scanner.  It was GLACIALLY slow, like it took FIVE clock minutes to load emacs!  I sold the hardware at a VCF show a couple years ago.  Last VCF I sold a bunch of Nat Semi 16032 development boards in a Multibus card rack that was a multiprocessor accelerator for a VAX 780.  It took about 7 of these to roughly double the VAX's speed. Jon

On Thu, Dec 4, 2025 at 10:18 AM Adrian Godwin via cctalk &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; wrote: There was also an 32016 second processor for a normal BBC micro, sometime badged 'Cambridge Coprocessor'. It came in the normal 'cheesewedge' case and IIRC had 1MByte of memory The ACW was based on a BBC B+ mainboard. It was fitted in a case with a Microvitec colour monitor chassis, PSU, 80-cylinder floppy drive, SCSI (or was it strictly SASI) interface which was connected to an ST412 interface board and thence to a hard drive. The 32016 board was plugged into the Tube connector on the B+ board, but was much larger than the one in the 'cheesewedge' case and could take up to 4MBytes of RAM. FWIW I have an example of each. I also have a Whitechapel MG1 which is 32016-based. I don't recall an 8086 second processor for the BBC micro in the Cheesewedge case (there was an internal 80186 second processor board for the BBC Master). I only remember 4 such second processors -- 65C02, Z80, 32016 and ARM 1. Yes, I have all 4. -tony

On Thu, 4 Dec 2025 11:01:40 +0000 Tony Duell via cctalk &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; wrote: When I did my industrial placement at UKAEA Culham Labs, Oxon., in 1987, I shot jealous looks at the scientists who had been given MG1 workstations. As a member of the software applications group, I had to make do with a Lynwood Alpha terminal, with a less exotic Zilog Z8001 processor. I remember Whitechapel coming in to show off their colour workstation too, though it wasn't long before Sun workstations started appearing all over the place instead and I spent as much time as possible on one of them. Paul.

On Thu, Dec 4, 2025, 6:32 AM Paul Flo Williams via cctalk < cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; wrote: When I began my undergrad at QMC in 1986 Stern Hall had just been outfitted with 20-30 MG1's. They were amazing machines for the time period though I remember by my third year a whole bunch were unusable because the keyboard had failed (and WCW were some version of defunct).

On Thu, Dec 4, 2025, 7:41 AM Tony Duell &lt;ard.p850ug1(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote: I recall that in my third year, someone, was trying to get students interested in a final year project; making an adapter so a PC/AT keyboard could be used. My recollection was 20% of the lab was unusable. Since QMC people were involved with the founding of WCW you'd have thought they'd have had some way to figure out this Keytronics aspect. ~shrug~

On Mon, 2025-12-08 at 17:49 -0600, Jay Jaeger via cctalk wrote: Do you plan to build an IBM 1401 also, or just use compatibility mode in your IBM 1410? I don't remember whether the only difference between IBM 1410 and IBM 7010 was speed. If there were other differences, do you plan to build an IBM 7010? Or if the only differences were extensions in the IBM 7010 while maintaining complete IBM 1410 compatibility, would you upgrade your IBM 1410 to IBM 7010?

A diy TTL system build in 1976 http://www.ibmsystem3.nl/hjs22/ (Click through the security warnings) On 11/24/2025 5:13 AM, ben via cctalk wrote:

ive got this motorola 6800 system from about 1975 https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50199901793_f074af16c0_b.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50199903443_7c7caa4228_b.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50200713557_6d8270d128_o.jpg On Mon, Nov 24, 2025 at 3:00 AM Henk Stegeman via cctalk < cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; wrote:

Looking at the date stamps on the chips late 1976 On 11/24/2025 10:16 AM, Adrian Stoness via cctalk wrote:

I have the self-titled "Bill-1" 8008 based computer made up of boards from Litton Data Systems. I haven't looked at it in years but now that I have a little more knowledge in vintage computing, I'll have to take a look at it soon and see if there's anything I can get going. https://vintagecomputer.ca/the-bill-1-8008-based-computer/ On Mon, Nov 24, 2025 at 2:33 PM Adrian Stoness via cctalk < cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; wrote:

On 11/23/25 22:13, ben via cctalk wrote: I built a 32-bit bit slice processor out of AMD 2903 and 2910 parts.  See: https://pico-systems.com/stories/1982.html I did write a micro assembler for it and ran a few test programs.  But, the work ahead of me (interfacing memory and an I/O bus, writing 360 microcode and coming up with a Pascal compiler and writing my own OS and editor, etc. was just too daunting and I gave up on it. Jon

 Built an 8080 barebones system in 1979 (or maybe 1980). Wirewrapped on old 44-pin Vector boards that I redrilled by hand for the DIP sockets. Initially 1K RAM, one 1702A EPROM, one parallel I/O port, an EBCDIC keyboard from some piece of IBM gear, and a switches/lights front panel. Video from a SSM VB-1B S-100 card to a surplus 9" CCTV monitor. I keyed in WADUZITDO by hand once or twice... that's a neat programming language in just 256 bytes. Eventually I sold the VB-1B card and moved on to bigger and better microcomputers ;) Last year I pulled it out from under the bench and upgraded it to a serial interface (for my ADM-3 Dumb Terminal), added a 2716 and an updated monitor program. I think I'll add WADUZITDO in the "huge" ROM space :) On 11/24/25 21:38, Bill Degnan via cctalk wrote:

I wish I knew what you guys were complaining about. You can dowhatever you want to your machine. This thread sounds like a bunch of old guys complaining because they can’t understand whats going on. Get off my lawn! Sent from my iPhone

I think the hex leds are dot array. On Mon, Nov 24, 2025 at 10:35 PM Jim Davis &lt;jim.p.davis(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote:

It seemed snappy at the time. I had a tek 4027 color terminal with programmable char sets. I did one for rogue, It looked beautiful, My masterpience was the nurse. Why did rogue have a nurse? On Tue, Nov 25, 2025 at 10:05 AM ben via cctalk &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; wrote:

On 11/23/25 22:13, ben via cctalk wrote: LGB-30, drum memory from an LGB-21. Maintenance panel for a Honeywell Multics, 6180 IBM 9370-10 XT-370, AT-370

Hi: In the mid '80s I was involved in a project that required processing weather satellite radar data - a.k.a. DIFAX - and I designed and built the prototype board that interfaced to the satellite receiver. It used a pair of Motorola VME boards containing a total of 3MB of DRAM, an MC68020 processor at 12.5 MHz and an MC68881 floating point processor. The development work was written in assembler on an HP workstation. The production board was also my design and was a single board system that was used in HP 300 systems, in every weather centre in Canada. For two years, until the systems were replaced, every time that a TV station presented weather radar displays, the data had gone through my hardware and software. [It was great fun to design the board and the software that ran on it... I just wish that I'd retained the listings of the boot ROM, as it was able to detect the one failing CPU in all 200 boards!] A few years ago I received the prototype hardware from an ex-colleague who had kept some of the artifacts from the company that we'd belonged to, and it was a thrill to see it again. From: "ben via cctalk" &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; To: "cctalk" &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; Cc: "ben" &lt;bfranchuk(a)jetnet.ab.ca&gt; Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2025 8:13:48 PM Subject: [cctalk] who has a computer of your very own Who has strange or one of a kind computers out there? I have a 18 bit homebrew (cpld) with 256Kb ram and just a bootstrap loader.

On 24/11/2025 9:57 am, Tony Duell via cctalk wrote: Simple enough that a student in Helsinki could write a complete UNIX- compatible operating system for it. :) Julf

On 24/11/2025 1:16 pm, ben via cctalk wrote: Interesting - never heard about that one! Yes, definitely. I was part of organizing the first (and next-to-last) USSR UNIX conference. One funny part was a bunch of Russian academics arguing over how to best port UNIX to one of their mainframes. Bill Joy was also attending, and Sun Microsystems donated something like 3000 slightly obsolete Sun workstations to the Russian universities. He walked up to the microphone and commented "you realize those workstations run circles around that mainframe...". This was also when you couldn't export the Apple LaserWriter or the Yamaha DX7 music synthesizer to the USSR (because they had processors that were too powerful), not to mention the UNIX source code. So at one point one of the guys at the local university we were visiting pointed to a shelf of magnetic tapes and asked "which version would you like?" :) Julf

On 24/11/2025 2:33 pm, ben via cctalk wrote: Your opinion is noted. Heh, maybe you should look again. :) UNIX is extremely important fro all of computing. It formed the basis for the first portable operating system standard (POSIX), and UNIX and/or the descendant of UNIX runs on the vast majority of servers that form the Internet, as well as on billions of mobile phones. That might have been the peculiar situation at your university. At most places it was the opposite - students were allowed to use the UNIX machines, but not the IBM mainframes. Julf