My 1st "computer" was a development system for the Rockwell PPS4 pmos cpu. Next was a Motorola Exorciser for the MC6800 .... assembly was done on a DEC PDP8 & debugging on the Exorciser. Next a Millenium 2000 development system (later bought out by Tektronix) for the Intel 8080 and a n Intel MDS800, also for the 8080/8085. Then an HP 64 000 system for developing on multiple processors (8085, 68000, F8).
I didn't get a personal computer until 1982 when someone plopped an original IBM PC on my desk with DOS 1.0. All very nostalgic. A great time was had by all during those days. Programing down to the iron is very rare now. Justifiably so, but the skills learned on those machines are still quite useful (and I'm still using the skills , only on much better hardware). No more clock cycle counting and highwater marking the stacks though ;-). 73, Lenny W2BVH ----- Original Message ----- From: [email protected] To: "Kevin Cozens" <[email protected]>, [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2014 3:05:00 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Computers in the Stone Age I still have a working IMSAI 8800 with three SA-800 drives and an H19 terminal. I can boot CP/M and run Wordstar, several Basics, a Pascal and a C compiler. Plus, most of the CP/M-UG and SIG/M-UG disks. I also have an Altair 8800 and an Altair 8800 "Turnkey" (no front panel), along with several other S-100 cards. The Altair ran one of the first bulletin boards in the country (Ward Christensen CBBS) for AMRAD. I also have my first 5-slot IBM PC, and many versions of DOS. The Commodore 64 also had a Z80 card, which allowed you to run CP/M. How about a nice game of chess? 73, Terry, WB4JFI -----Original Message----- From: Kevin Cozens Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2014 2:19 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Computers in the Stone Age Someone wrote: > Desktop computers did not come into being until the advent of the IBM > PC in the 1980s. (Among?) The first desktop computers were the S-100 bus based machines. First, the Altair 8800 announced on the cover of Popular Electronics magazine in January 1976, and its later popular variant the IMSAI 8080. They were in boxes along the size of 17" rack mount sized boxes with high-amperage power supplies. Other early desktop computers that came along not long after were the Apple I and II lines, and the Commodore computers such as their PET. Josh W6XU wrote: > Maybe he's remembering running DR-DOS on the Apple II? Required a Z80 > card. PC-DOS/MS-DOS/DR-DOS were all for the IBM PC and compatible computers. The plug-in card for the Apple II and later computers that had the Z-80 CPU on it was so that you could run CP/M. I have one for my pair of Apple computers. The plug-in card and floppy disk system used with the Apple II could be thought of as the K2 of its day. It may seem quaint today but the disk system was a marvel of engineering in its simplicity and elegance. -- Cheers! Kevin. http://www.ve3syb.ca/ |"Nerds make the shiny things that distract Owner of Elecraft K2 #2172 | the mouth-breathers, and that's why we're | powerful!" #include <disclaimer/favourite> | --Chris Hardwick ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected] ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected] ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected]
