Re: The Science Generations

[attila@primenet.com]

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In <199612071749.JAA08668@comsec.com>, on 12/07/96 
   at 09:49 AM, Eric Blossom <eb@comsec.com> said:

::> Indeed, in the 1970s I was using H-P 9825s and DEC PDP 11/34s, but 
::> the teenagers of that decade were, if they were fortunate and 
::> energetic, using PETs, Apple IIs, and the like.

::Right On!  PDP 11's rule!!!

::My favorite one was an 11/34 with "Hardware Floating Point" that had a 
::GT-43 vector display processor as a coprocessor.  
::
        that's what I thought until my 11/44 rolled in!   

::You'd build a double 
::buffered display list of vector instructions for the coprocessor, 
::using your handy dandy fortran program, and then let it rip.  As long 
::as you weren't trying to do hidden line removal, or draw more than 
::about 200 vectors, you could get smooth, real-time wire frame 
::animation.  We had it hooked up to a couple of knob boxes and some 
::nice three axis joy sticks connected to 10 bit A/D's.
::
        you're showing your age, too!  

        remember the old, old Logo before the IBM PC --ran on an 11/34?  
    and the sandbox for the turtle. I still had an 11/34 when my 
    youngest son was 2-3; and he would spend hours driving the turtle 
    with its headlight in the sand, trailing its umbilical cord until 
    he would hopelessly entangle it 

        --and the old DEC Gigi keyboard which was only produced for 
    educational sales --I managed to acquire a salesman's demo.

        I still have the Gigi, the special color monitor, and the
    source code tape from U of Toronto via DEC --compiled it on V6
    UNIX if I remember, then Berkeley 3.9  for the 11/44 I had just
    acquired which was obsoleted by a pair of Vaxen in about a year.

        am I showing my age, yet?

        BTW, I think I can still read 9 track tapes.  The old Pertec
    800/1600 is still racked with a minivax with Ultrix V7. anyone
    still wish to play with that old dinosaur?

- --
  Cyberspace is OUR Freedom.  
    FUCK your CDA! and, FUCK your WIPO, too.
        -attila


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