Jerry Eckert wrote:
>
> Jerry Callen wrote:
> >
> >DOS/360 became available for IBM 360s (with as little as 16KB of memory...)
> >in June 1966.
>
> It's hard to imagine a 360 with only 16 KB of memory. IIRC, the PDP-11/20
> (circa 1972) even had more memory than that.
<old fart mode>
Fans of computer prehistory really should read "IBM's 360 and Early 370
Systems", by Pugh, Johnson & Palmer.
It's hard to remember just how dear main memory was before the advent
of DRAM. My earliest computer-related job (in 1973) was as a computer
operator for a 360 Model 30, with all of 16K of memory. Midway thru the
summer (it was between my freshman & sophomore years of college) we upgraded
to a Model 40, with a whopping 48K of memory. This allowed us to run
Remote Job Entry (RJE) to a Univac 1108, used by the engineering
department, AT THE SAME TIME that we ran batch jobs! This was truly
amazing. We ran DOS; everyone knew what you couldn't REALLY run OS/MFT
with less than 64K of memory.
The remote connection involved a 2701 Communication Controller (about the
size of a large console-model TV) and Paradyne modem (about the size of a
large boom-box), at the unbelievable data rate of 4800 baud over a dedicated
line. It often worked.
</old fart mode>
[I'm typing this, of course, into a 233MHz laptop with 144MB of DRAM,
connected to the internet via cable modem. But I don't have any batch
jobs running.]
-- Jerry Callen Mobile: 617-388-3990
Narsil FAX: 617-876-5331
63 Orchard Street email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cambridge, MA 02140-1328
PGP public keys available from http://pgp.ai.mit.edu
fingerprints:
DH/DSS key ID 0x1806252C: 7669 A4CD 759A 6EB7 AF04
C10D B659 2A4B 1806 252C
RSA key ID 0x99F7AAE5: D265 DC9C 13FD 6110
30F5 1874 A206 24B1
**********************************************************
To unsubscribe from this list, send mail to
[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the following text in the
*body* (*not* the subject line) of the letter:
unsubscribe gnhlug
**********************************************************
