Bill:
{...}
> 2. Submission & storage: UUEncoded image file e-mailed to "repository";
> ROM/EPROM chips sent by snail mail and returned. All submissions should have
> as much info about the source computer as possible (board revisions, date of
> mnaufacture, etc.)
>>I think that anything doing with the chips (purchasing, programming,
>>shipping) should be left to the person that needs them. Sure, not very
>>many people on the list have programmers, but there are enough kind souls
>>that would do the programming. Anyway, having a policy concerning
>>shipping and supply may turn into a big headache.
I don't think that this would be a problem. I don't anticipate that many
people would want it this way (we are all hardware hackers {in the nice
sense}, after all). Even so, as long as a person doesn't want Fedex delivery,
how bad can it be??
> 4. Cost: nominal (cost of postage and EPROM).
>>Doing any more may actually be legally shakey.
I don't think so. See one of my earlier messages on this topic. If you're
posting a ROMimage, you have already "paid" your licensing fee because you own
the machine. I'm just replacing a defective copy with a working copy (sort of
like exchanging a defective diskette dor a working one). We're not "creating"
or "copying" for distribution. Also, we can limit it to pre-PC machines.
Chances are that these manufacturers are either out of business or no longer
support the machine.
>>Additional thought...
>>How will additional required information be tied to the ROM images (as in
>>manufacturers part numbers, revision levels, serial numbers,
>>corresponding hardware information, etc.)? ROMS (and PALs) often change
>>as the circuits get minor "improvements" (ECOs).
I don't know yet. I'm grappling with this now. There are all sorts of issues
with this: parts are house numbered, or not numbered at all. Maybe we can go
by unit serial number, date-of-manufacture stickers, and pc-board
identifications (such as "Revision A" or the like).
-------------------------------------------------
Rich Cini/WUGNET
- ClubWin Charter Member (6)
- MCPS Windows 95/Netowrking
> Also have these:
>
> the Encryptor, Jones Futura Corporation, Model ENC 100-1
> California Computer Systems, Model 2832 [has this big, black 3"x3" square
> and 3/8" thick block of resin on it, have no idea what it's hiding]
>
> Any idea what this stuff is?
>
>
> Sam
I was reading in the Atari Game Systems FAQ that the 7800 carts are
encrypted with a special encryption and only those encrypted games get
access to the 7800's advanced video resources (otherwise it just gets
2600 resources)... This was a measure by Atari to make sure to get a
share of the profits from 3rd party game developers. There could be a
slight possibility this is an encryption unit for the 7800 game
system...
Currently no one knows (or is saying they know) how to encrypt 7800
carts.
Larry Anderson
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Hey, that mailing list fudged part of my first line as their command
which reported in error and refused to post it here. :(
Q. Hold on, I would like to express my opinions...
"Home Computer" term is invented by corporations to supposely help
define their markets and totally miss it all the time because users
needs is usually higher than their corporates' computers by factor of
1.5 to 2. At same time tries to pull off a coup on "home" users by
selling stripped down with loads of cut corners and oft-nonstandard
parts machine at horrible prices. Case in point: PCjr. PCjr and
orignal 2 piece PS/1 (sold at 1000 bux cdn but you get no HD in it,
introduced 1990's but users right away dumped them by pallets barely
2 years after. Yuk!) Side note: I traded few things to get this PS/1
2011 and used it for a while but sold it cheaply to a user who have
modest needs than I. (for me, I can't manage well without hard drive
attached even all the down to XT but not for apple II's their floppy
drive is very fast enough to forgo hd, very impressed but at that
time too expensive for my taste but now they are so cheap now.)
So there was a bad taste to this name "home computers" in general.
Similar types of computers did well in many areas but
happened to lack important areas that killed it. Ironically, better
to build DIY similar capablies 386, 80mb, 1mb, desktop/mono vga and
still easily interchangable than that darned PS/1 2011 models. When I
read about many machines and few "home computers" as called toys but
I was mistaken when I saw and heard that "toy", boy, they're mistaken
and I was taken too for a while! Indeed they were used for anything
within their capablies so I accept anything that has CPU in it at
same time useful and expandable should be decent computers, no more
or less. :)
C64, PET's, apples and such has just right stuff to keep users
happy.
In closing, corporations always underestimate "home" users.
But now they are not pushing this word and crippled machines anymore,
now selling them in general to any users execpt for corporations who
needs turnkey system just to do very specific jobs like weak machine
strictly for WP use, alphas for servers and heavy graphics, fast
processor for programming but that is getting blurred that most users
can afford them and can put them in their homes.
Ok, now I could respond to yours... :)
> I've seen a couple of posts in here that declare, in very firm terms
> indeed, that machines like the MicroVAX and PDP's are not "home" computers.
Suppose, Digital did not cared a whit and cut prices on that and we
would be sure many would have one in home if they're small enough and
easy on power requirements. Linux is there now and NT can be run on
alphas but bit late and cost is fast appoaching to affordable levels
where getting a pentium pro machine is not only option.
>
> For the sake of discussion in this list, and computer hobbyists in
> general, I would like the world to know that I define 'home computer' as
> any machine that you can:
>
> * Comfortably fit through your door...
>
> * Doesn't test the load limits of your target floor...
>
> * Power and run without tripping your main breaker...
>
> * (most importantly) Have fun restoring and working with... in your home!
>
> Which just goes to show that such terminology is so relative, there's
> little point in debating it. Why waste the bandwidth over something as
> trivial as a difference in wording?
>
> (No, I'm not trying to start a flamewar; I posted this because I'm
> concerned that the current thread regarding 'home' computers may erupt into
> one!)
>
> Caveat Emperor!
Anyone know where I could get a replacement disk drive for a Digital
PDT-11/150? This is a machine with an LSI-11 processor and two 8 inch
floppy drives that runs RT-11. I've got two machines but one has a
floppy that doesn't work. I'd like to find a replacement drive if
possible.
Thanks in advance,
David Betz
--
David Betz
dbetz(a)xlisper.mv.com
DavidBetz(a)aol.com
(603) 472-2389
I've seen a couple of posts in here that declare, in very firm terms
indeed, that machines like the MicroVAX and PDP's are not "home" computers.
For the sake of discussion in this list, and computer hobbyists in
general, I would like the world to know that I define 'home computer' as
any machine that you can:
* Comfortably fit through your door...
* Doesn't test the load limits of your target floor...
* Power and run without tripping your main breaker...
* (most importantly) Have fun restoring and working with... in your home!
Which just goes to show that such terminology is so relative, there's
little point in debating it. Why waste the bandwidth over something as
trivial as a difference in wording?
(No, I'm not trying to start a flamewar; I posted this because I'm
concerned that the current thread regarding 'home' computers may erupt into
one!)
Caveat Emperor!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272)
(Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin(a)wizards.net)
http://www.wizards.net/technoid
"Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own
human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."
- "Fumbling the Future" by Douglas Smith and Robert Alexander
- "Halcion Days" By???
I would like to add these two titles to my HOME COMPUTER BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Does anybody have the name of the publishers and the year of publishing?
Thank you
enrico
--
================================================================
Enrico Tedeschi, 54, Easthill Drive, BRIGHTON BN41 2FD, U.K.
tel/fax +(0)1273 701650 (24 hours) or 0850 104725 mobile
website <http://www.ndirect.co.uk/~e.tedeschi>
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visit Brighton: <http://www.brighton.co.uk/tourist/welcome.htm>
Sam Ismail <dastar(a)crl.com> writes:
> California Computer Systems, Model 2832 [has this big, black 3"x3" square
> and 3/8" thick block of resin on it, have no idea what it's hiding]
>
> Any idea what this stuff is?
Well, no. I pulled a CCS catalog (dated Feb 1981) and took a look,
and the only 28xx card was the 2810 Z80 CPU.
As I read the catalog, though, I might expect 28xx to mean some sort
of processor or coprocessor. Or maybe not; CCS weren't entirely
consistent with their numbering scheme and the sample sizes weren't
that large.
-Frank McConnell
> Even the kaypro, while fairly
> fast has the slowest screen on the planet. I
I beg to differ. The slowest screen on the planet is the Pro350.
Roger Ivie
ivie(a)cc.usu.edu
actually, ive heard the plural for unix to be unices, rather than unixen, or
also expressed as *nix, for the different flavours of unix out there. the
hacker's dictionary is great though, just to read the words and their
origins. i've now got everyone at work to use the term "virtual friday" which
i picked out of the dictionary! =D
<< > Is VAXen the plural of VAX ? Why?
Play on words. Like the plural of 'Ox' is 'Oxen', plurals of many things
involving computers that end in 'x' end in 'xen'. As VAXen, Unixen (for
the many variations on the Unix OS such as Venix, Linux, BSD, Solaris,
AIX, Xenix, and several others. You'll also see more than one box (as in
CPU) referred to as 'boxen'. Check out _The New Hacker's Dictionary_,
2nd Edition, from MIT Press, also available in many forms on the Net as
the "Jargon File". Currently (and for a long time now) maintained by
Eric S. Raymond. Try <http://www2.dictionary.com/dictionary.jargon/>.
(Actually, recommended to everybody who ever wonders what one of us old
farts is talking about).
--
Ward Griffiths >>
david
WAHOO! I am in as Root! And I ain't gonna tell you what it was!
Now, anyone know what the Streaming Tape Drive device is called?
I can boot with this (an old Adaptec SCSI board) installed.
I also have 2 CB811 cards but only one seems to come up with a light,
the other one just flashes?
*** CB811 -- (C) Copyright 1986 Computone Systems, Inc.
(C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Texas Instruments Inc.
I can not boot with either or both of these installed. I haven't tried
real hard, maybe the console port changes with these in. But I also don't
hear all the beeps if these are in.
Here's my last bootup record
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sat Jun 28 23:11:07
*** CB811 -- (C) Copyright 1986 Computone Systems, Inc.
(C) Copyright 1987, 1988 Texas Instruments Inc.
Can't find any CB811 boards
Texas Instruments print screen v1.01
SPA initialization complete
Streaming cartridge tape v2.00[A] (int=3,dma=3,base=00000220)
Irootdev 1/40, pipedev 1/40, swapdev 1/41
JKL0L1L2L3disk[W] drive 0: cyls = 918, heads = 15, secs = 17
nswap = 5610, swplo = 0, Hz = 50
L4maximum user process size = 8655k
L5MNOPmem: total = 8064k, reserved = 4k, kernel = 1088k, user = 6
Sat Jun 28 23:11:08
972k
kernel: drivers = 4k, 0 screens = 0k, 600 i/o bufs = 600k, msg bufs = 8k
QRSTUVWXYZdisk[W] drive 1: cyls = 918, heads = 15, secs = 17
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have looked and can not find any docs on the CB811's or the Tape Drive
8-( 8-( 8-(
Anybody know anything about either of these?????
BC
