- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

zoomfloppy on WIn 10 computer
by william degnan 04 Sep '17

04 Sep '17

I have a system with Win XT that I had been using a my ZoomFloppy computer, but when the new version came out and it was Win 10 compatible I attempted to install on my PC with Win 10. It worked, but I found that now the X-Cable component of the software suit thinks my CBM 8050 with Jiffy DOS 2.7 is a 8250. It still works but it mis-identified the drive. Also, I have to use D0 only, I can't get it to recognize D1 (the left drive). For me that's ok, but I was wondering if anyone else had similar experiences with their use of the Win 10 Bill

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OT: EBS, nevermind
by william degnan 03 Sep '17

03 Sep '17

Never mind, I found this page, which I did not see earlier. https://cloudacademy.com/blog/amazon-ebs-shink-volume/ Bill

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OT: Amazon EC2 Question - Safely reduce EBS Size?
by william degnan 03 Sep '17

03 Sep '17

Please contact me off list with replies. I have a server hosted on Amazon that has 750Gb allocated to it, and I don't need that much space and I'd like to cut it back to cut costs. Whenever I read about EBS they give examples about to increase the size, but I could not find anything about reducing the size. For example here is a page that shows the expand process https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/amazon-ebs-update-new-elastic-volumes-chan… So my question - anyone here ever successfully *reduced* an elastic volume on a production server? Is it a "smart" process that knows to adjust the hard drive volume? How does it work? Does it ask you which partition to shave down, should you unallocate the space first then do the volume reduction, etc? Please contact me off list with replies. Bill

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Looking for Help to make a MP/M Disk Image
by Herb Johnson 03 Sep '17

03 Sep '17

Bill's MP/M system with S-100 cards, has cards built by MSC (Measurement Systems and Controls). I'd also like docs for S-100 cards with that brand. Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Looking for Help to make a MP/M Disk Image
by william degnan 03 Sep '17

03 Sep '17

Hi, After a lot of effort I repaired a Systems Group 2800 S-100 computer by tracing the electrical faults related to old caps and a 7805 regulator. Now it boots to the hard drive. The system boots up and asks PASSWORD PLEASE- I have tried various passwords but none work. I found a binary of the MP/M OS that came with the SG 2800 here: http://www.cpm.z80.de/binary.html (search page for "Systems Group System 2800") Is there anyone here who can make me a bootable 8" disk by using this binary? In the meantime I am going to see if I can make a generic MP/M disk boot that will work this system, but it would be nice to get the disk the computer came with running. I don't have the skills to use the appropriate assembler, it has been years since Dan Rogantis's class on building a CP/M (MP/M) disk from a binary of the disk files. I suppose I could just copy them to a CP/M disk but I doubt it will boot. If I keep at it I can probably get it to work but I will accept help if this is an easy project for someone else. Suggestions? Thanks Bill

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Fully working Apple Lisa 2 for sale in North Jersey
by Adam Michlin 02 Sep '17

02 Sep '17

Hi Everyone, I am helping a friend sell his working Lisa 2. He would prefer not to ship (for obvious reasons) and would like to avoid Ebay (for obvious reasons, as well). He is asking $2,700 and I may be in a position to facilitate the deal and, for example, perhaps bring it to the museum. Unfortunately, donation is not an option (and was the first thing I asked). Pictures are available at: http://ceos.io/lisa/ Please contact me directly off list if interested. -Adam

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W.J Eckert Punched Cards Method is Scientific Computation Thomas J Watson / IBM
by Stephen 01 Sep '17

01 Sep '17

Speaking of little bits of computer history up for sale, just seen this:- W.J Eckert Punched Cards Method is Scientific Computation Thomas J Watson / IBM Copied from the listing:- A very rare early computing book and FAR rarer than the 1984 reprint. PUBLISHED IN 1940 BY Thomas J Watson / IBM, includes solving astronomical problems with punched card readers and sorters AND SOME PHOTOS Solution of differential equations for astronomy Around 1933 Eckert proposed interconnecting punched card tabulating machines from IBM located in Columbia's Rutherford Laboratory to perform more than simple statistical calculations. Eckert arranged with IBM president Thomas J. Watson for a donation of newly developed IBM 601 calculating punch, which could multiply instead of just adding and subtracting.[4] In 1937 the facility was named the Thomas J. Watson Astronomical Computing Bureau. IBM support included customer service and hardware circuit modifications needed to tabulate numbers, create mathematical tables, add, subtract, multiply, reproduce, verify, create tables of differences, create tables of logarithms and perform Lagrangian interpolation, all to solve differential equations for astronomical applications. In January 1940, Eckert published Punched Card Methods in Scientific Computation, which solved the problem of predicting the orbits of the planets, using the IBM electric tabulating machines, based on the punched card. This slim book is only 136 pages, including the index. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401379672686 Stephen Walters Professional Celebrity Photographer / G7VFY www.facebook.com/mister35mm Tel 07956-544202

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OT: WarGames: The Dead Code
by Joseph Oprysko 01 Sep '17

01 Sep '17

It's 2017, and I just found out about the sequel to the Original WarGames movie. Apparently it came out in 2008. I found it a bit humorous, that up in Canada running part of the power grid was Joshua (WOPR), it looked a bit different than the first movie. Plus everything was cellphones and WiFi... but no IMSAI 8080 or acoustic couplers, but they did do a pringles can WiFi directional antenna booster. The other kind of interesting thing, was that Philadelphia was the initial target. -- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?

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Anyone want to bid on J.P Eckert's letters
by Christian Liendo 31 Aug '17

31 Aug '17

They talk about the ENIAC Patent, starting bid $750 https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/55302575_jp-eckert-receives-patent-on-…

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Apple //c equipment in Erie PA
by Eric Rangell 30 Aug '17

30 Aug '17

Hello all, My name is Eric Rangell and I live in Downingtown, PA. My parents live in Lakewood NJ so I am looking forward to visiting the museum in Wall in November. My first computer was an Apple //e when I was 13 years old in 1983. I learned programming in Basic, Pascal, and assembly language in my teens, which led to a degree in Information Systems and a job on Wall St, where I worked with COBOL, helped get the company through Y2K, then branched into Client/Server: Powerbuilder/Sybase, Java, C, C# .NET/SQL Server, HTML/JS. After that job I did consulting for a university where I built a class for remedial music theory in Java, Php, Mysql, and Unix. My current position is a solution architect in the pharma industry where I try to keep up with Azure and VSTS while coordinating testing and FDA validation of systems. So retrocomputing is a hobby that helps ground me in something familiar. I am revisiting a MIDI system I developed for myself on the Apple //e and learning about efforts by archive.org to preserve floppy disk images. I have recently become interested in the ideas of Ted Nelson - Xanadu and Zigzag. When I was recently forced to dive into Javascript it was Doug Crockford's video series that helped me explore it. I am impressed with how people got things done under the constraints of old hardware, and can appreciate the unique talents that this community has. Thanks, Eric

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