IBM mainframe goes for 99 cents

From: David V. Corbin <dvcorbin_at_optonline.net>
Date: Sun Feb 27 08:16:26 2005

>>>
>>> Probably one of the last people alive to use the PDP-8 in a
>>> commercial production setting....

I was still supporting (and developing new code for) PDP-8' based
Test equipment for an electronics firm until the very late 1980's
['88 or '89].

Starting in '85 we had begun migration to one of 3 alternatives:

1) PDP-11 Based
2) PC Based
3) Intersil (6120?) Clone machines [protected other hardware investments
that were too difficult/expensive to re-engineer to the other platforms.

The last "true" PDP-8 came off the line just before 1990 rolled around, but
the Intersil (actually it was a PCM-12 model!) machines were still in some
use when I left the firm in 1992.

Of course there are STILL PDP-8's in "commercial" use, but they seem to
finally be running down.
Received on Sun Feb 27 2005 - 08:16:26 GMT

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