test-drb April 2002

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

280 participants
1162 discussions

by caprio＠dcms.com

I'm new to this news group and the S-100 world so my appologies in advance for what may be stupid or common knowledge questions. I purchased an Imsai 8080 and would like to run some version of CP/M. Should I stick with Imsai's IMDOS, which we know works? If CP/M is doable What version would be the best choice? Does CP/M need some sort of BIOS like the PC? If so where do I get the BIOS source in order to burn an EPROM? Any help, pointers, URL's, etc wouldbe greatly appreciated. Thanks.

23 years, 1 month

Computers Manufactured in 1986

by blacklord＠telstra.com

----- Original Message ----- From: Christopher Smith <csmith(a)amdocs.com> Date: Wednesday, April 3, 2002 8:59 am Subject: RE: Computers Manufactured in 1986 > ... if you can find the expansions. :) Fair bit of stuff still out (I have some strange ones in my own connection - for eg. a Xetec controller with an extra 2 mb ram & a weird hard disk connector that plugged into the A1000's expansion (Zorro) port - same co. used to make Centronics i/faces for VIC's & 64/128's) > As for a more common system (more common than the Intergraph, not the > Amiga), a UnixPC with 1 meg of ram, and maybe 60MB of disk will give > you access to a really decent subset of available Unix (and possibly > MS-DOS) software. It will also have a decent development environment, > given the installation of a dev kit. THe A2000UX from Commodore was fairly respecatble (though somewhat undersold), not sure what version of Unix it ran, have to dig up my old dealer brochures. > > On the other hand, the Atari ST plays quite a few more games. :) > But the Miggy had more & in better quality :-) (And they're still being written for too.....) cheers, Lance ---------------- Powered by telstra.com

23 years, 1 month

Shoddy Hardware (Was: Re: WW fixtures (was Re: "New" PDP-8))

by dquebbeman＠acm.org

> But surely you have hardware shops that sell screws? Yes, but they require cash or credit... promises don't fly. > > in the U.S. Midwest for an office supply firm. The scene is > > set in a "typical" office... some shirts are having a meeting, > > when another shirt comes in and asks if "can we use the pen"? > > > > THE pen. The only pen in the office. > > Are you sure this is not some 3rd world country???? It often feels that way... Many firms have company credit cards. I think we grossed US$8M last year, and no such plastic exists in this firm, The 25 Dells that were bought? We have one employee who *loves* those points, rebates, and skymiles from large purchases. Then, he submits them for reimbursment. Yours Truly lives paycheck to paycheck and is running a monthly $100 deficit, that only the end-of-year bonus finally clears up. So, it's rare that I can purchase a needed item. I'm supposed to requisition it. Anything I buy that I don't get approved, I risk not being reimbursed. > > When I need a screw for a PC, I typically have to find a PC > > from which to remove a screw. Everything ends up with half > > the screws it was designed to use. > > Now many of my computers don't have any casing screws, but that's not > because I needed them for something else. It's because I want to be able > to work inside the machine. Well, yes, I have lots of those... my EPROM burner is a board in a 486 that lives sans-a-case... -dq

23 years, 1 month

The Future End of Classic Computing

by mythtech＠mac.com

>I guess I should have been a bit clearer. The DeCSS >lawsuit was not about posting source code, but about >posting a Windows executable version which was known >as "DeCSS." As stated by 2600 Enterprises in its >post-hearing brief: "Jon Johansen testified that . . >. he wrote the program for Windows rather than for >Linux in order to test it properly because Linux did >not then support the UDF file system used on DVDs." Um... can you explain then, if this is what the lawsuit was about, WHY it was deemed illegal to post or link to, copies of the SOURCE CODE for the DeCSS algorithm. After all THAT is what 2600 was arguing. They didn't disagree that an executable could be used to pirate a DVD. Nor did they flat out disagree that distributing it might not be such a hot idea... what they were fighting for, was the RIGHT to post and say anything you damn well please. If you stop people from posting source code, even if that source code when used serves no purpose other than to commit a crime... you are STILL crushing free speech. There should be no law to stop it... much as their should be no law stopping me from explaining in detail, if I so choose, how to commit murder and get away with it. There is no practical application for executing the knowledge of how to commit and get away with murder, but that doesn't mean that one should be stopped from sharing that knowledge. The moment someone puts the knowledge into use for illegal purposes... THAT is when the law should step up and prosecute someone. But since there are already laws in place that appear to cover the actual illegal activities... then things like the DMCA should just be repealed... they are redundant in places of stopping actual crime, and they cause things that should not be crimes, to now be listed as such. What amazes me is... it has been deemed in a court of law, that it is free speech and ok to publish detailed instructions on how to build an atomic bomb. But it is illegal to post instructions on how to play a DVD that I bought, on a computer that I bought, using an OS that I bought. You can't go around assuming that everyone, when given the chance, will be a criminal. Gee... NJ did that, and now they are 160 million in debt with their EZ-Pass system... why? Because they figured that they would be able to pay for the system from tickets issued to toll jumpers... but funny thing is, they have now found out the hard way, that 99% of the population of NJ is honest... and now the state is stuck with the bill to pay. -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>

23 years, 1 month

New Finds today and HELP needed on Apple card

by jrkeys＠concentric.net

Today was busy at doing a auction most of the morning and stopping at several thrift stores all afternoon. Below are some of my finds and a strange card. 1. Mac Performa 630CD (was $5.99) 2. Mac Performa 6110CD (was $7) 3. View-Master InteractiveVision console in the box it was used unit missing the VHS tape that comes with it. (was $18) 4. Laser 50 personal computer (was $2.92) 5. AT&T Globulyst 378TPC tower model 3348-4372 (was $8) 6. Two hp front cartridges (22706C and 22706M). (was 80 cent) 7. Where in Time is Carmen San Diego cartridge by Konami for the Nintendo NES in a box with a desk encyclopedia. (was 79 cent) 8. Six different CD's for the Panasonic 3 DO system. Looked all over store and asked the clerks if they had the game console. No Luck finding it there. (these were .99 to $1.99 each) 9. Several old monitors for $1 each. 10. Now this the card: It says in caps MOTOROLA M68HC05PGMR. One of the chips has a homemade label on it that says METER.MIK CKSUM BF73. There are 2 switches on one is a ON/OFF and the other looks like a reset switch. There is a number in bold white of 3189.Three wires are coming >from one side and they are purple, blue, and black in color. It looks like some kind of EPROM burner to me? Anyone have info on this card? (was $1.99)

23 years, 1 month

Shoddy Hardware (Was: Re: WW fixtures (was Re: "New" PDP-8))

by dquebbeman＠acm.org

> > Anyone notice how commodity PCs have screws that have clearly > > been *cast* onstead of *turned/Machined*? Everytime you thread > > one into a hole, you generate a nice supply of metal shavings. > > > > Not good. > > Just bad bag of that screws. Toss it and buy bag of decent screws. I should have been more specific... the screws to which I am referring are those commonly provided for securing the cards in their slots. And they shed metal not only from the screw but from the rear of the chassis they thread into. In fact, everytime you insert one of these, it has a 50% chance of rethreading the hole. Look at them carefully... they have a noticable taper. That's *one* way to encourage them to stay put. -dq

23 years, 1 month

3600 & 3640 at SRI surplus auction through 4/5

by red＠bears.org

Spotted on another list. Reply to Mabry directly. ok r. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 02 Apr 2002 16:10:51 -0800 From: Mabry Tyson <tyson(a)AI.SRI.COM> Reply-To: slug(a)AI.SRI.COM To: "slug(a)ai.sri.com" <slug(a)AI.SRI.COM> Subject: [SLUG] 3600 & 3640 at SRI surplus auction through 4/5 I just wandered through SRI's surplus auction. They've got a 3600 (s/n 583) and 3645 there, each very full of cards. Honestly, I don't know whether they work or not. These were machines that were government owned machines that are being auctioned off. I didn't notice any cables, monitors, keyboards, or mice with them. The auction ends on the 5th. If you want to bid, let me know and I'll give you further info, but I won't bid for you.

23 years, 1 month

Computers Manufactured in 1986

by blacklord＠telstra.com

----- Original Message ----- From: Gary Hildebrand <ghldbrd(a)ccp.com> Date: Wednesday, April 3, 2002 3:52 am Subject: Re: Computers Manufactured in 1986 > You forgot the first Amiga (1000)! And the commodore 64, Plus 4, and > commodore 16. > > The C64 was released in 1982 (20 this year!, The Plus/4 & C16 were (I think) 1984, so none of those qualify. The A1000 does though.... cheers, Lance ---------------- Powered by telstra.com

23 years, 1 month

Pr1marily Contented (Longish)

by dquebbeman＠acm.org

> "Douglas H. Quebbeman" wrote: > > Now that my Prime 2455 is fully operational again, > ... > > Ok, go for broke, swap in the remaining CPU board set, replace > > newly-provided CPU board interconnects (top hats) with my old > > ones... > > Thank you! Thank you! You've solved a twenty-year-old puzzle > for me and all the other Prime hackers at Westfield College. > You see, one day we were bored enough to read the Prime 750's > log book (must've been a day when the power failed or something) > and the Prime engineer had written the inscrutable: > > Rotated top hats > > Now, we didn't know what these gadgets were, but rotating them > seemed to be crucial to making our beloved Prime work, so we > just accepted it. Every time an engineer called, we'd look at > each other and say "He's here to rotate the top hats again". > > Now, at last, we know what they are! Any chance of a photo? heh, believe it or not, there are two different, unreleated things called "top hats" in some Primes... In my 2455, at the top, underneath the removable top skin, is a small +/- 12VDC power supply, called the "top hat PSU". But the 750 wouldn't have had those... in the link below, they are the three small rectangular vertically arranged; my 2455's boards run vertical in the cage: http://members.iglou.com/dougq/p2455/ICS&Cipher.html OTOH, in the 750, the boards went in horizontally, so you'd have seen the top hats left-to-right (at least that's how they were in the P400 and the P650). Glad I could help! Regards, -doug q

23 years, 1 month

(Private, To SteveRob, Using List, Direct Contact Fails)

by dquebbeman＠acm.org

> >From: "Douglas H. Quebbeman" <dquebbeman(a)acm.org> > >Reply-To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org > >To: "ClassicCmp List" <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> > >Subject: Pr1marily Contented (Longish) > >Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 23:23:03 -0500 > > > >Now that my Prime 2455 is fully operational again, I > >want to thank everyone who offered advice here. After > >giving up on repairing the power supply, I decided to > >buy one. > > I assuming you don't need the one I have set aside? Steve- You're one of several listers with whom it appears I have read-only contact with. My replies never seem to get through. If your PSU is a TLA10113-001, no, I don't need it; OTOH, if it's a 7778, then I *might* be interested, they are apparantly rather rare now. They put out the +/- 16VDC used by the older memory cards. There will come a day when someone will need one, and no more will be found. Can you at least check the numbers on it for me, so I can make an intelligent decision? Ok, then at least an *informed* decision... ;) -dq

23 years, 1 month

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test-drb April 2002