Emulation or the real thing?

From: Jerome Fine <jhfine_at_idirect.com>
Date: Tue Oct 20 07:40:36 1998

>david_a._vandenbroucke_at_hud.gov wrote:

> For what purpose? I like to have the older boxes and mess with them
> from time to time. I get most of my real work done on new machines.
> Emulators are a lot easier to store!

Jerome Fine replies:

I also like to use the original hardware, but I also am a bit wary
of how long the original hardware can last since I don't want to
be directly involved in the maintenance other than swapping
boards. So, as with the above answer, I also will start to rely
on emulators.

QUESTION: In general, how long would a seldom used system
(about 2 * 5 hour sessions twice a week or about 500 hours
a year) tend to last? I am referring to BA23 and BA123
PDP-11 systems to be very specific. The answer need not
be in years, but in probable decades if that is the best way
to approximate the answer. Namely, I am wondering if
I can HOPE/expect 1 or 2 or even 3 or 4 decades of
future use from a BA23 or BA123 system. Also, the
VT100s and VT320s seem to be lasting. What about
the terminals?

Of course, the same sort of question can equally be applied
to the emulator software - how long can a given application
program be expected to run on the current PC hardware/
software environment. I suspect that the answer is much
less, but at least software can be modified once with many
copies easily made and distributed even more easily. But
hardware, once it breaks, is often more difficult to fix
and each system must be maintained individually, a much
more difficult task and in the long run - 50 years - likely
impossible.

Comments on the question and all of the other aspects
are very much appreciated. While I have a great deal
of experience with software, my intuition about hardware
is very limited!

Sincerely yours,

Jerome Fine
Received on Tue Oct 20 1998 - 07:40:36 BST