"Toy" computers (was Re: Micro$oft Biz'droid Lusers)

From: Christopher Smith <csmith_at_amdocs.com>
Date: Wed Apr 24 15:48:33 2002

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ethan Dicks [mailto:erd_6502_at_yahoo.com]

> If he means "no internal mass storage interface", he might

...but what is "internal?" If the storage interface is in
a separate rack, does that make the machine a toy?

After that, what is a "storage interface?" A common 'IDE' disk
will plug nearly directly into an ISA bus. Does that mean that
any system with an ISA bus could not be a "toy?" We could further
assume that most busses could be adapted in similar ways to drive
mass storage devices, and claim that no computer with any bus which
could do this can be a toy.

> have something
> of a point. Ignoring audio cassette, I can think of few
> computers more
> complicated than a traditional "single-board" computer that
> lack an in-
> cabinet mass storage interface. The PET, VIC-20 and C-64 all

Well, again, which cabinet?
 
> interfaces. Non-
> Zorro-equipped Amigas (A1000, A500, A500+) have floppy but
> not hard disk
> interfaces in-box, but the A600 and A1200 have 44-pin
> internal IDE ports.
> Does that make the A500 a toy, but not the A600?

What about the Mac plus which had a SCSI interface, but Apple
discouraged its use (preferring, rather, that you plug your
hard drive into the floppy interface, IIRC)...

> I would propose that the label "toy" might be suitable for
> machines that
> have external disk controllers _and_ an external network interface (if
> any; I'll bend and accept a serial port as a network
> interface if it runs
> some network protocol - SLIP, PPP, LocalTalk, DDCMP...) I'm not sure
> how to classify single-boards, though. By the nature of them being

Transputers might also be tricky.

> Mind you, I love toy computers. They have been fun and profitable for
> me. Others, though, need that "bittybox" label to glorify whatever
> they like at the expense of others. Let's at least agree on what
> constitutes a "toy", even in the most general of terms.

I'd say anything that runs windows primarily. *duck*

Chris


Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL

/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'
 
Received on Wed Apr 24 2002 - 15:48:33 BST