Museum Report 7/16 & 7/17
I forgot to mention in the workshop report that I was also giving tours to visitors both Saturday and Sunday. There was about a dozen visitors each day. It was nice to have other VCF members around who could help add more information to the tours. They could add more in depth knowledge about systems that they have worked on. For example Bill I. showed parts of the analog EAI machine and explained in more detail the mechanics and composition. == Jeff Brace
did you get into the UNIX PC? On Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 5:22 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
I forgot to mention in the workshop report that I was also giving tours to visitors both Saturday and Sunday. There was about a dozen visitors each day. It was nice to have other VCF members around who could help add more information to the tours. They could add more in depth knowledge about systems that they have worked on. For example Bill I. showed parts of the analog EAI machine and explained in more detail the mechanics and composition.
== Jeff Brace
-- @ BillDeg: Web: vintagecomputer.net Twitter: @billdeg <https://twitter.com/billdeg> Youtube: @billdeg <https://www.youtube.com/user/billdeg> Unauthorized Bio <http://www.vintagecomputer.net/readme.cfm>
Yes! I got the login and password from Evan. Then Jonathan G. and David ?. helped me figure out the command to properly shutdown: sync;sync;sync;shutdown. I just wanted to check that the machine worked so that I could demo it to visitors. I just wonder what I could demonstrate to them that is interesting. I also have to research the significance of that machine. Evan put it in the museum for a reason. On Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 5:29 PM, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
did you get into the UNIX PC?
On Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 5:22 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
I forgot to mention in the workshop report that I was also giving tours to visitors both Saturday and Sunday. There was about a dozen visitors each day. It was nice to have other VCF members around who could help add more information to the tours. They could add more in depth knowledge about systems that they have worked on. For example Bill I. showed parts of the analog EAI machine and explained in more detail the mechanics and composition.
== Jeff Brace
-- @ BillDeg: Web: vintagecomputer.net Twitter: @billdeg <https://twitter.com/billdeg> Youtube: @billdeg <https://www.youtube.com/user/billdeg> Unauthorized Bio <http://www.vintagecomputer.net/readme.cfm>
I just wanted to check that the machine worked so that I could demo it to visitors. I just wonder what I could demonstrate to them that is interesting. I also have to research the significance of that machine. Evan put it in the museum for a reason.
Demoing the graphical environment would probably impress people, for a machine of its age. I don't know if the museum's UNIX PC has the Ethernet option, but there's a TCP/IP stack for it and whatnot. Thanks, Jonathan
On 07/19/2016 05:46 PM, Systems Glitch via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I just wanted to check that the machine worked so that I could demo it to visitors. I just wonder what I could demonstrate to them that is interesting. I also have to research the significance of that machine. Evan put it in the museum for a reason.
Demoing the graphical environment would probably impress people, for a machine of its age. I don't know if the museum's UNIX PC has the Ethernet option, but there's a TCP/IP stack for it and whatnot.
If it does, don't demonstrate it. The IP stack crashes the whole OS frequently. That won't show off very well. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
On 07/19/2016 05:32 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Yes! I got the login and password from Evan. Then Jonathan G. and David ?. helped me figure out the command to properly shutdown: sync;sync;sync;shutdown.
I just wanted to check that the machine worked so that I could demo it to visitors. I just wonder what I could demonstrate to them that is interesting. I also have to research the significance of that machine. Evan put it in the museum for a reason.
The big deal with the UNIX PC is that it's a full-blown UNIX system on a desktop for less than $10K, when such a thing was unheard of. It runs SVR2 on a 68010 at 10MHz. The base configuration was 512KB of RAM and a 10MB hard drive. This was enough to run the whole OS and get work done. The original spec was a 5MB hard drive, but as far as I know that version never shipped, as 5MB wasn't enough to install even the first release of its OS. The graphics are 720x348 monochrome, the same as the ubiquitous Hercules video system at the time. The graphical environment, called "ua" (User Agent), is quite advanced for the time, and for its memory footprint. It was done for AT&T by Convergent Technologies. As a matter of opinion, this machine has the finest keyboard I have every used on any platform. I worked in a store in NJ which received some of the first released UNIX PCs. We had a regular churn of academic types who had seen the press release and came in to ogle it. Contrary to popular belief, it has nothing at all in common with the 3B2 family, other than the name of the company that sold it. Overall the machine was groundbreaking in many ways, and way ahead of its time. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
Thank you Dave for a concise technical explanation! It is also helpful to have personal anecdote's like yours to tell visitors. :) I also will have to explain to visitors what is UNIX, how it was important, who invented it etc. On Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 5:53 PM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On 07/19/2016 05:32 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Yes! I got the login and password from Evan. Then Jonathan G. and David ?. helped me figure out the command to properly shutdown: sync;sync;sync;shutdown.
I just wanted to check that the machine worked so that I could demo it to visitors. I just wonder what I could demonstrate to them that is interesting. I also have to research the significance of that machine. Evan put it in the museum for a reason.
The big deal with the UNIX PC is that it's a full-blown UNIX system on a desktop for less than $10K, when such a thing was unheard of.
It runs SVR2 on a 68010 at 10MHz. The base configuration was 512KB of RAM and a 10MB hard drive. This was enough to run the whole OS and get work done. The original spec was a 5MB hard drive, but as far as I know that version never shipped, as 5MB wasn't enough to install even the first release of its OS. The graphics are 720x348 monochrome, the same as the ubiquitous Hercules video system at the time. The graphical environment, called "ua" (User Agent), is quite advanced for the time, and for its memory footprint.
It was done for AT&T by Convergent Technologies.
As a matter of opinion, this machine has the finest keyboard I have every used on any platform.
I worked in a store in NJ which received some of the first released UNIX PCs. We had a regular churn of academic types who had seen the press release and came in to ogle it.
Contrary to popular belief, it has nothing at all in common with the 3B2 family, other than the name of the company that sold it.
Overall the machine was groundbreaking in many ways, and way ahead of its time.
-Dave
-- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
On 07/19/2016 05:53 PM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
It runs SVR2 on a 68010 at 10MHz. The base configuration was 512KB of RAM and a 10MB hard drive. This was enough to run the whole OS and get
... and managed to get to SVR3.2. Hadley Rd, S. Plainfield NJ managed to get SRV 4.1 running on it but it was never stable. That machine and that keyboard was one of my favorites. -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry@linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies
On Tue, 19 Jul 2016, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Yes! I got the login and password from Evan. Then Jonathan G. and David ?. helped me figure out the command to properly shutdown: sync;sync;sync;shutdown.
These young whippersnappers just don't understand the value of a triple-sync. :-) Mike Loewen mloewen@cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/
On 07/19/2016 07:48 PM, Mike Loewen via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
On Tue, 19 Jul 2016, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Yes! I got the login and password from Evan. Then Jonathan G. and David ?. helped me figure out the command to properly shutdown: sync;sync;sync;shutdown.
These young whippersnappers just don't understand the value of a triple-sync. :-)
The earliest machine I've worked with was the Unix PC with SRV2. I've not had to use anything more than dual sync (sync, sync, SOH). On SVR3.2 it's shutdown -h now (the -h is the halt and now is as long as I could wait ;-) ). -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry@linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies
On 07/19/2016 08:38 PM, Neil Cherry via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Yes! I got the login and password from Evan. Then Jonathan G. and David ?. helped me figure out the command to properly shutdown: sync;sync;sync;shutdown.
These young whippersnappers just don't understand the value of a triple-sync. :-)
The earliest machine I've worked with was the Unix PC with SRV2. I've not had to use anything more than dual sync (sync, sync, SOH).
Actually none of us ever HAD to do anymore than zero syncs. A final sync() is done before the filesystem is umounted. Doing a sync at all, especially more than one, is nothing more than superstition. I myself use two. =) -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
Originally, if I recall correctly, it was: sync sync sync halt Yea, later on, all that fancy "shutdown -h" really made the sync's unnecessary. But, can you really trust the jerk who wrote the shutdown routine? Slightly changing subjects, I don't recall ever seeing the system in question. The first 68K *nix box I ever played with was a Masscomp. An MC-500 if memory serves. Is that the machine we're talking about here? Bill S.
On Tue, 19 Jul 2016, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
On 07/19/2016 08:38 PM, Neil Cherry via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Yes! I got the login and password from Evan. Then Jonathan G. and David ?. helped me figure out the command to properly shutdown: sync;sync;sync;shutdown.
These young whippersnappers just don't understand the value of a triple-sync. :-)
The earliest machine I've worked with was the Unix PC with SRV2. I've not had to use anything more than dual sync (sync, sync, SOH).
Actually none of us ever HAD to do anymore than zero syncs. A final sync() is done before the filesystem is umounted. Doing a sync at all, especially more than one, is nothing more than superstition.
I myself use two. =)
-Dave
I regularly use two on Xenix 3.2 on the Tandy 6000. :-) Mike Loewen mloewen@cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/
participants (7)
-
Bill Sudbrink -
Dave McGuire -
Jeffrey Brace -
Mike Loewen -
Neil Cherry -
Systems Glitch -
william degnan