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

From: Richard Erlacher <edick_at_idcomm.com>
Date: Wed Apr 24 22:22:45 2002

Hey! I did say the mass storage interface had to be internal to the
"computer" and not necessarily the mass storage devices. Now, there can be
varying definitions as to what internal means. If it's a mainframe, then the
campus is the enclosure, while if it's a desktop, it's pretty obvious what
that is.

Besides, though I didn't originally point this out, some of you guys have, as
toys, some of those very machines that you're pointing out aren't really toys.
Are you guys trying to have it both ways?

Dick

----- Original Message -----
From: "Christopher Smith" <csmith_at_amdocs.com>
To: <classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2002 2:48 PM
Subject: RE: "Toy" computers (was Re: Micro$oft Biz'droid Lusers)


> > -----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 - 22:22:45 BST