Time-sharing services were pretty common in the early 70s when powerful
computers were difficult to afford for even medium-sized companies. Dec
pdp-10s were often used. The company I worked for in the UK at the start of
the 70s used a computer bureau called TSL (Time Sharing Limited) who offered
both an interactive Focal-like language and compiled Fortran. The terminal
was a standard 10cps teletype with paper-tape reader/punch.
Careful checking of input was needed because of the high costs involved. As
an example I recall making a single error in a several thousand line circuit
analysis program (we were designing early integrated circuits using it) and
the resulting failed compilation cost £80 ($140) - quite a lot of cash in
1972!
The username and password from those days is so burned into my brain that I
still frequently use them today!
As recently as 1981 I was managing a multi-terminal IC design department
time-sharing over a muxed 2400b line to a CDC supercomputer for Spice
analyses with the output on the noisiest drum printer I've ever sat beside!
Thankfully an in-house Vax then appeared.
Bob Adamson
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Richard A. Cini [mailto:rcini_at_optonline.net]
>Sent: 17 July 2004 16:51
>To: CCTalk (E-mail)
>Subject: Early timesharing/BBS systems
>
>Hello, all:
>
> I was at VCFe yesterday and I have to say that the speakers and
>demonstrations were great. Sellam did a fantastic job and where the event
>was located at the Sun facilities worked out perfectly. One demo that I
>missed was the ARPANET dial-up simulation which wasn't there when I left
>at
>3:30.
>
> Anyway, this demo brings-up an interesting question. What kind of
>dial-up
>systems existed in the 70's before consumer-oriented services like
>CompuServe? I remember the DowJones and CompuServe sign-up packs at
>RadioShack in maybe 1979 (I joined CIS in 1988. I even remember my ID:
>70153,3367). I also remember in high school (around 1983) using a
>DECwriter
>to dial into the timesharing computer (at 300 baud; I don't know the host
>system) at one of the local universities.
>
> Just curious. Thanks.
>
>Rich
>
>Rich Cini
>Collector of classic computers
>Build Master for the Altair32 Emulation Project
>Web site: http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/
>/************************************************************/
>
>
>
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Received on Tue Jul 20 2004 - 02:50:42 BST