February 2019 - vcf-midatlantic

Cool -- Bill Gates...
by Evan Koblentz 26 Feb '19

26 Feb '19

Bill Gates did a Reddit AMA and was asked what TV shows he likes to watch. He said he liked The Americans. Most of the vintage computers on that show came from us. :) https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/aunv58/im_bill_gates_cochair_of_the_… -- Evan Koblentz, executive director Vintage Computer Federation www.vcfed.org evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 VCF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

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MOS LSI chips time frame
by Ben Greenfield 26 Feb '19

26 Feb '19

Hey All, I’m doing some research on North American Aviation/Autonetics artifacts and while researching simply Metal Oxide Semiconductor or MOS. Here are some image artifacts https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0YG4TcsmGWIVSf <https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0YG4TcsmGWIVSf> So the text on the back of the sales package clearly references anticipating the possibilities 1968 will bring. I was searching MOS LSI and of course I find exhibit “A” for the problems of claiming first in technology development. http://firstmicroprocessor.com I was hoping some one could comment on the development of MOS processeses in general to give me context. I also wanted to share what I think are some pretty cool artifacts. Thanks, Ben

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Warehouse fun
by Stephen A Edwards 25 Feb '19

25 Feb '19

Thanks, again, Evan, for the fun at the warehouse last Thursday. As a neat freak with a love of vintage computer stuff, it was nearly perfect for me. There is a *lot* of stuff in the warehouse, but lots of it isn't museum quality and really shouldn't be there (how many broken TI-99/4a's does anybody really need?). It was extremely satisfying sorting out the wheat from the chaff and organizing things into standard boxes on standard shelves and away from the random, waterlogged boxes people donated things in. All in all, this was a great experience. I highly recommend it if you can make the time (I happened to be in the neighborhood, which almost never happens) and enjoy reducing entropy while getting a history lesson. The OCD part of me loved starting with a bunch of teetering piles of mismatched boxes on the floor and ending with all the boxes gone and replaced with newly assembled rolling shelving units. Speaking of which, I just bought a couple for myself. Also: consider what needs to happen when you donate something. Someone needs to sort through it, decide what, if anything, is worth keeping, and then figure out where to file it. If you really want to be generous, do some of that sorting yourself before you donate it. For example, floppies with personal data (e.g., pirated software) on them really aren't something anybody's interested in.

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OT: Still available: Chromebook free to good home
by Evan Koblentz 25 Feb '19

25 Feb '19

Nobody claimed this, so I'm posting on Facebook too. Still available until stated otherwise. On Sat, Feb 23, 2019, 7:13 PM Evan Koblentz <evan(a)vcfed.org> wrote: > Two people here in the group chipped in and gifted me a new Chromebook > that can run Linux and Android apps (nifty!), so I'm paying it forward: my > old (2014) Chromebook should go to a good home. It works perfectly; it's > just slightly less capable. Lightweight, awesome battery life, closest > thing that exists today to a Tandy Model 100. One request: I want it to go > to someone who needs it, not just someone who is curious about them but has > plenty of resources. > > Email me off-list. > >

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free: "vintage" Sony Vaio laptop
by William Dudley 24 Feb '19

24 Feb '19

I have a Sony Vaio PCG-818. It's from about 1998, and has the following spec: Pentium II 300MHz 13.3" 1024x768 LCD 192MB RAM (the maximum that it will take) 500MB hard disk (a replacement for the original 6GB drive). 2 PCMCIA slots, one USB port, and modem but no other networking. serial, parallel, and VGA ports DVD-ROM drive. This isn't the original drive; I may have the original drive in my stash. comes with (dead) battery, 19V brick power supply. If you want/need, I can throw in a PCMCIA Ethernet interface. The computer currently boots into a version of "DSL", Damn Small Linux. Unfortunately, it's such old software that the web browser can't view most web sites, as it doesn't support https. I'm offering this as-is in case anyone collects old x86 machines or old laptops. The computer is in Jackson, NJ. I can ship or I can bring it to VCF East. Bill Dudley This email is free of malware because I run Linux.

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C64 Replacement chips
by Jeffrey Brace 24 Feb '19

24 Feb '19

There was some discussion at the last workshop about places to find replacement chips for C64, but no one posted any of them to the workshop wrap-up report thread. So where can I get replacement PLAs? Someone mentioned that there are new ones being made. Also RAM chips for C64. Any other generic chips that can be purchase inexpensively? I already know where to find VIC and SID, which I believe you can only replace with originals. I have gotten some from eBay. Of course I can do my own search through eBay etc., so I'm looking for recommendations for good places and warnings against ordering from bad places. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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Looking for “modem lights” program
by Richard Cini 24 Feb '19

24 Feb '19

Guys — I have my 11/23 working with an emulated TU58 connected to a serial port. Does any one know of a port activity indicator program for the Windows system tray? Long ago, you remember, when using a modem there was the little modem icon with red/green LEDs. I’m looking for that to monitor the serial port. I found one shareware program but it only shows the status of the handshaking signals and not RX/TX. Thanks! Rich Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>

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VCF East -- Sunday keynote speaker :)
by Evan Koblentz 23 Feb '19

23 Feb '19

VCF East keynote lineup is all set: - Friday, May 3: Steve Bellovin, whose work led to USENET - Saturday, May 4: Ken Thompson, co-inventor of Unix - Sunday, May 5: Joe Decuir, co-inventor the Atari VCS, Atari 800, and Commodore Amiga <grunt>Evan do good?</grunt? -- Evan Koblentz, executive director Vintage Computer Federation www.vcfed.org evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 VCF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

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Security camera installation underway / Museum report (Saturday)
by Evan Koblentz 23 Feb '19

23 Feb '19

Yesterday was a good one for us. Martin and Neil installed four dome-style security cameras on our museum ceiling. We may install two more to get clearer images of the long aisles. They worked a full day from about 9AM through 5PM. Martin tested the cameras on a bench before installing them. Neil and I put an observation monitor on the side of the network rack facing the docent's desk. Dan J. also helped with the monitor by using CDL's drill press to create some cable management in one of the rack side panels. :) That monitor will display live video from each camera in a separate window. This was part 1 of the camera installation. Part 2 will happen on Saturday, March 2, when we run all the cabling (it's PoE) through the attic. Martin will also revamp our main Cisco switch configuration. (There is a temporary switch sitting on top of the rack. We used it for testing. That's going away.) Part 3, schedule TBD, will be installation of a network video recorder. Our goal is to record whenever we're open to the public and also whenever it senses motion during non-open hours. We also had about 15 visitors in several groups yesterday. They all seemed to be very interested. Jeff B. pointed out today that I didn't sweep up the sawdust from when we drilled holes for the camera mounts ... sorry man. My mistake.

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 23 Feb '19

23 Feb '19

Quiet-ish day at the museum. We had four groups of visitors, all families with moderate interest. I cleaned the workbench and moved some miscellaneous things to the warehouse. -- Evan Koblentz, executive director Vintage Computer Federation www.vcfed.org evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 VCF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

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