Gee... now I could have SWORN that I did not send that original reply to
the list... B^} But since it has started down this path... (and its just
been ONE of those days...)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
On Tue, 17 Aug 1999 allisonp_at_world.std.com wrote:
>> ...For someone doing s100 and wanting a real FP machine that would be
handy.
>> Though I'd only want the box and PS so I could put in one of those
>> Godbout smart frontpannels with the octal keypad and one of their low
>> noise backplanes.
And on Tue, 17 Aug 1999 jimw_at_agora.rdrop.com foolishly replied...
> Well... if it did not have to be an IMSAI chassis specifically, I've got a
> number of S100 chassis from various vendors stacked in the warehouse that
> could be had reasonably...
> Say... trade for neat PDP-8 stuffies or similar? B^}
And then Tue, 17 Aug 1999 allisonp_at_world.std.com wrote:
>Smoking wacky weed? I have two NS*, one Altair, a CCS, Compupro and one
>of my own nightmares (split bus so there are three s100 busses that only
>share power). Then there were a dozen or so Intergrand and TEI cases
>I practically gave away.
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To the first question, (last paragraph) actually no. I'm quite loopy
enough without any external/artificial assists. So, excuse the random
attempt to respond to what I obviously misintrepreted as a possible item of
interest. (first quoted paragraph, second sentence) Apparently my context
filter failed...
And while I'm starting down the course of vying for the designation of
semi-quasi-official John Dvorak stand-in for the VCF (a person that we all
love to hate but he is much nicer in person), I'm going to take issue with
another quote seen floating around in the last couple of hours:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
On Tue, 17 Aug 1999 someone wrote: (in the imsai 2 thread)
<Anyway, why does it have to be one transformer? Why not a 12-0-12 for the
<16V lines and a 6V one for the 8V line (those should produce DC voltages
<within the range of any normal S100 board regulator). Such transformers
<are trivial to obtain.
And then someone replied:
Then you'd end up with the piece of crap altair supply...
--------------------------------------------------------------------
<VENT WARNING - proceed at your own risk>
Ahem... (with regard to the last line immediately above) Get Stuffed!
[ nothing personal, note lack of smilies, I'm addressing the comment, not
the writer ]
Now, a quick comment in attempt at explanation before the flames come
sailing my way.
To all the people who constantly hold up the Altair (in particular), and
other similar items of the period as "crap", I would like to ask one question:
If a capable group of people (please note the non-specific reference here)
were available and were such hot $#!* in 1975, why didn't they produce
something better???
Twenty-Five years after the fact it is far too easy to pronounce judgements
on the past, judged against the current 'state of the art'. But was
anything learned from it?
In comparison to todays cars, the Model T was CRAP but I don't see it
constantly being held up to ridicule. It, like the Altair and many other
early developments were done with the materials and skills that were
available AT THE TIME to the PEOPLE who got off their duffs and DID IT!
And all indications are that much was learned from it, as evidenced by the
rapid followups by improved units like the IMSAI, the SOL, and even the
ALTAIR 'B' series.
In every revolution, someone has to be the first... and guess what? RARELY
are they the shining example of the art that it seems like some expect that
the Altair and its ilk should have been. More often, they are the
unskilled visionaries, the hacks, the garage bands, the hobbyists, or even
just someone out to make a quick buck and bail.
Maybe this is why it has been so hard to get people really interested in
the HISTORY behind computers. It has just happened all too fast, and there
has not been enough time for the whole art (science if you prefer) to gain
any respect.
Too few people out there today who are involved with computers at some
level (leaving out the techno-millionaires who made their chunk and split
or just don't care anymore) can recall a time when there were not computers
in the home of the school. To them the computer is just another commodity
item. Another appliance...
Or we get the people that came from the jobs that some of up would died for
back then. Working with 'real computers', built by well trained (I like to
believe) people in 'real companies', with a 'real goal' ahead of them...
Reality check folks, that was a whole other world from the reality that
some of us grew up in!
Small wonder that today it is hard to get the "real" organizations
(museums, corporations, etc.) interested. The people who give a D_at_#n
aren't in the popular demographic with all of the easily accessible money,
so they don't exist to the 'bean counters' who actually drive the show from
behind the guilded curtains.
So, (not that anything I will ever say is likely to stop anyone) call it
what you will, but to some few of us who were still in awe of computers
back in 1975, and the Altair or some similar device was the first computer
that we could ever call our own, it was magic!
</VENT>
...and thanks again to Sellam for having the cajones to make things like
the Vintage Computer Festival happen! (does he fit in the 'unskilled
visionary' catagory?) B^}
-jim
(some days I'm just so tired of the whole thing I'd trade it straight
across for a bowling alley in some nice quiet town)
---
jimw_at_computergarage.org
The Computer Garage - http://www.computergarage.org
Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174
Received on Tue Aug 17 1999 - 23:15:18 BST