Well . . . not to suggest that I'd consider eating that paper snackie . . .
I've seen lots of dollars made with VIC-20's and C-64's, by guys who could
imagine a solution to a problem which could be implemented via the printer
port and a little bit of code. While the things were really plentiful at
the local thrift store, they cost $5 for the computer and $5 for the power
module. It seems to me that the internal bus was sufficiently accessible
without sawing or drilling the case to allow an enteriprising individual to
build custom hardware which harnessed the otherwise wasted ability of one
of these gems, to control a 3-axis milling table, or something on that
order. The first time was probably painful, but I haven't thrown away my
manuals . . .
Dick
----------
> From: Sam Ismail <dastar_at_ncal.verio.com>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp_at_u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Re: Classic Computer Auctions List
> Date: Wednesday, January 27, 1999 1:52 PM
>
> On Wed, 27 Jan 1999, John Foust wrote:
>
> > At 10:21 PM 1/26/99 -0800, Sam Ismail wrote:
> > >To demonstrate that old
> > >hardware that can be picked up for pennies can be combined to attain
> > >amazing amounts of computing power.
> >
> > Amazing? How many orders of magnitude difference in horsepower
> > between a C-64 and a $600 Best Buy Intel box? Perhaps I'm being
> > unromantic, and I certainly have too many old computers of the
> > XT/AT/486 variety, but I just don't "get" many of these distributed
> > computing projects. (I do leave my spare contemporary computers
> > working for the RC5 project at distributed.net, but that's another
> > story.) Take 10 computers at 1 horse each, and they're still not
> > equal to one contemporary (cheap) computer at 10 horses. Sure,
> > there's hack value in doing it, but mostly for people with too
> > much time on their hands, or for people who aren't paying for the
> > electric bill or the room to put them in. Hack away, sure - but
> > claim they're doing "useful" work?
>
> So when this is pulled off successfully and we demonstrate the value of
> this project, will you eat a print-out of this e-mail (on a standard 8.5
x
> 11 piece of paper) in front of the VCF crowd?
>
> Sellam Alternate e-mail:
dastar_at_siconic.com
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
> Always being hassled by the man.
>
> Coming in 1999: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0
> See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details!
> [Last web site update: 01/15/99]
Received on Wed Jan 27 1999 - 15:37:22 GMT