Anybody here been around long enough to remember the 386 b..

[T]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

Compaq actually beat IBM to market with it, it was a feather in their
cap tat day.

Man, how things have changed over time; they spread out shrimp, no
prawns, ice sculpture, (where there dancing girls? Maybe.)

Nowadays it's a spot on some TV show that masquerades as a magazine and
is really an advertisement.

It was a really big deal back then, the 386. It had people running
around training folks on the architecture and pipe lines and this new
idea; a cache. What's that?

Ah, the good old days.


TBerk

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

Anybody been around here long enough to have used an IBM XT as his or her first
office computer?

Anybody been around long enough to have worked with and cursed IBM's
MicroChannel computers or Compaq's and other EISA bus computers with their
hare-brained configuration diskettes?

Anybody been arould here long enough to have written programs in FORTRAN using
punched "IBM" cards? ... Ben Myers

On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 17:58:01 GMT, T <tberk@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>
>
>Compaq actually beat IBM to market with it, it was a feather in their
>cap tat day.
>
>Man, how things have changed over time; they spread out shrimp, no
>prawns, ice sculpture, (where there dancing girls? Maybe.)
>
>Nowadays it's a spot on some TV show that masquerades as a magazine and
>is really an advertisement.
>
>It was a really big deal back then, the 386. It had people running
>around training folks on the architecture and pipe lines and this new
>idea; a cache. What's that?
>
>Ah, the good old days.
>
>
>TBerk

 

[Eugene]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

Ben Myers wrote:

> Anybody been around here long enough to have used an IBM XT as his or her
> first office computer?
>
> Anybody been around long enough to have worked with and cursed IBM's
> MicroChannel computers or Compaq's and other EISA bus computers with their
> hare-brained configuration diskettes?
>
> Anybody been arould here long enough to have written programs in FORTRAN
> using
> punched "IBM" cards? ... Ben Myers
>
> On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 17:58:01 GMT, T <tberk@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>Compaq actually beat IBM to market with it, it was a feather in their
>>cap tat day.
>>
>>Man, how things have changed over time; they spread out shrimp, no
>>prawns, ice sculpture, (where there dancing girls? Maybe.)
>>
>>Nowadays it's a spot on some TV show that masquerades as a magazine and
>>is really an advertisement.
>>
>>It was a really big deal back then, the 386. It had people running
>>around training folks on the architecture and pipe lines and this new
>>idea; a cache. What's that?
>>
>>Ah, the good old days.
>>
>>
>>TBerk
I started on a C64 and then had an Amiga then a 286 (which actually was one
of the very few to have cache, it was fun out benchmarking the guys that
bought 386's)

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

386, that is new compared to the first machine I used. How about a 8086
powered AT. Or a binary programmed machine? I have a portable machine in
the other room
all set to go. OS discs included (DOS 3 or 4 ) it has a total of 1 meg
of memory and an 8088 processor.

--
Steve Williams

"T" <tberk@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:J0TGd.2701$8Z1.1357@newssvr14.news.prodigy.com...
>
>
> Compaq actually beat IBM to market with it, it was a feather in their
> cap tat day.
>
> Man, how things have changed over time; they spread out shrimp, no
> prawns, ice sculpture, (where there dancing girls? Maybe.)
>
> Nowadays it's a spot on some TV show that masquerades as a magazine
and
> is really an advertisement.
>
> It was a really big deal back then, the 386. It had people running
> around training folks on the architecture and pipe lines and this new
> idea; a cache. What's that?
>
> Ah, the good old days.
>
>
> TBerk

 

[T]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

Ben Myers wrote:
> Anybody been around here long enough to have used an IBM XT as his or her first
> office computer?


I was the guy in the back of the store adding the extra chips to the
mother board so I could then add the AST multi i/o which brought the
full RAM up to 640k. Oh, and pulling the blank on one side to add a
half hight WD 10 or 20 meg HD. 8])


>
> Anybody been around long enough to have worked with and cursed IBM's
> MicroChannel

Well, at least we retain _some_ things like smaller mouse and keyboard
connectors, the 3.5" diskette, etc, etc. PS/2, the future of computing.
Just don't loose your cmos battery power.

> computers or Compaq's and other EISA bus computers with their
> hare-brained configuration diskettes?
>

Talk about poor vendor/ 3rd party support.

> Anybody been arould here long enough to have written programs in FORTRAN using
> punched "IBM" cards? ... Ben Myers


OK, punch cards were my Dad's thing.

I used to repair Kaypros & Morrows though, the Grand Daddies of the
Original Luggable Compaq.


TBerk

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

I had an XT dual floppy machine made by Leading Edge, the "Hemingway" model.


<ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers)> wrote in message
news:41ec144d.23067263@nntp.charter.net...
> Anybody been around here long enough to have used an IBM XT as his or her
> first
> office computer?
>
> Anybody been around long enough to have worked with and cursed IBM's
> MicroChannel computers or Compaq's and other EISA bus computers with their
> hare-brained configuration diskettes?
>
> Anybody been arould here long enough to have written programs in FORTRAN
> using
> punched "IBM" cards? ... Ben Myers
>
> On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 17:58:01 GMT, T <tberk@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>Compaq actually beat IBM to market with it, it was a feather in their
>>cap tat day.
>>
>>Man, how things have changed over time; they spread out shrimp, no
>>prawns, ice sculpture, (where there dancing girls? Maybe.)
>>
>>Nowadays it's a spot on some TV show that masquerades as a magazine and
>>is really an advertisement.
>>
>>It was a really big deal back then, the 386. It had people running
>>around training folks on the architecture and pipe lines and this new
>>idea; a cache. What's that?
>>
>>Ah, the good old days.
>>
>>
>>TBerk
>

 

[hh]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

Yeah, right. The good old days of $50/mb RAM, 25MB hard drives for $300, all
that great stuff.
HH

"T" <tberk@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:J0TGd.2701$8Z1.1357@newssvr14.news.prodigy.com...
>
>
> Compaq actually beat IBM to market with it, it was a feather in their cap
> tat day.
>
> Man, how things have changed over time; they spread out shrimp, no prawns,
> ice sculpture, (where there dancing girls? Maybe.)
>
> Nowadays it's a spot on some TV show that masquerades as a magazine and is
> really an advertisement.
>
> It was a really big deal back then, the 386. It had people running around
> training folks on the architecture and pipe lines and this new idea; a
> cache. What's that?
>
> Ah, the good old days.
>
>
> TBerk

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

Yeah, wrote some simple math solving programs in Fortran while at VA Tech back
in 1976 or so--and had to use punch data cards several years later to enter
data on from a marketing study for the Chevolet Chevette. Spent several
all-nighters entering that data....

Dale Johnson

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

In article <41ec144d.23067263@nntp.charter.net>, Ben Myers <ben_myers_sp
am_me_not@charter.net> writes
>Anybody been around here long enough to have used an IBM XT as his or her first
>office computer?
>
>Anybody been around long enough to have worked with and cursed IBM's
>MicroChannel computers or Compaq's and other EISA bus computers with their
>hare-brained configuration diskettes?
>
>Anybody been arould here long enough to have written programs in FORTRAN using
>punched "IBM" cards? ... Ben Myers
>
>On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 17:58:01 GMT, T <tberk@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>

1968 punched cards, paper tape and magnetic tape (you know like on
Doctor Who) and 24 K, yes K of core memory (you know the doughnut shaped
things)..... (discs, what was a disc? Not even sure that Frisbees had
been invented). Programmed it in Algol.

1971 The first big mainframe I worked on was an IBM 360/50 with 256K of
memory. I think we ran something in the region of 6 partitions on it.
We had two of them, a production machine and a development machine.

Had to wait until circa 1985 for my first desktop, think it was an
Olivetti 80286. 10MB disc and 640K RAM. Anyone remember playing
Sopwith when the boss was not looking?

>>
>>
>>Compaq actually beat IBM to market with it, it was a feather in their
>>cap tat day.
>>
>>Man, how things have changed over time; they spread out shrimp, no
>>prawns, ice sculpture, (where there dancing girls? Maybe.)
>>
>>Nowadays it's a spot on some TV show that masquerades as a magazine and
>>is really an advertisement.
>>
>>It was a really big deal back then, the 386. It had people running
>>around training folks on the architecture and pipe lines and this new
>>idea; a cache. What's that?
>>
>>Ah, the good old days.
>>
>>
>>TBerk
>

--
Nicholas David Richards -

"Où sont les neiges d'antan?"

 

[mark]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

Ben Myers wrote:
> ...
> Anybody been arould here long enough to have written programs in
FORTRAN using
> punched "IBM" cards? ... Ben Myers
>

Yep, FORTRAN II on an IBM 1620... magnetic core memory, punch cards,
the whole works back in college. I also used an IBM assembler called
"SPS" (Symbolic Programming System) because, then as now, assembly
language executed MUCH faster (and also made it possible to do things
that those taking the FORTRAN class declared to be "Impossible!",
heh-heh! And then there was the trick of seeding pre-punched cards into
the input hopper of the keypunch machines that so that the phrase would
later appear in the error list received by the hapless fellow DP101
student: ERROR F7 UNRECOGNIZABLE STATEMENT: YOU BLEW IT, STUPID!
Ah, yes, I remember it well....

Mark

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

Well, then, you are also a true veteran of the computer industry, unlike these
wet-behind-the-ears newcomers who became enamored with the IBM XT running an
Intel 8088.

.... Ben Myers

On 19 Jan 2005 14:46:55 -0800, "Mark" <MarkE7376@yahoo.com> wrote:

>
>Ben Myers wrote:
>> ...
>> Anybody been arould here long enough to have written programs in
>FORTRAN using
>> punched "IBM" cards? ... Ben Myers
>>
>
>Yep, FORTRAN II on an IBM 1620... magnetic core memory, punch cards,
>the whole works back in college. I also used an IBM assembler called
>"SPS" (Symbolic Programming System) because, then as now, assembly
>language executed MUCH faster (and also made it possible to do things
>that those taking the FORTRAN class declared to be "Impossible!",
>heh-heh! And then there was the trick of seeding pre-punched cards into
>the input hopper of the keypunch machines that so that the phrase would
>later appear in the error list received by the hapless fellow DP101
>student: ERROR F7 UNRECOGNIZABLE STATEMENT: YOU BLEW IT, STUPID!
>Ah, yes, I remember it well....
>
>Mark
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

Ben Myers wrote:
>
> Anybody been around here long enough to have used an IBM XT as his or her first
> office computer?
>
> Anybody been around long enough to have worked with and cursed IBM's
> MicroChannel computers or Compaq's and other EISA bus computers with their
> hare-brained configuration diskettes?
>
> Anybody been arould here long enough to have written programs in FORTRAN using
> punched "IBM" cards? ... Ben Myers
>

Can remember using a Hewlett packard 9845 with resident basic, twin
micro cassette drives and an add on external 8" floppy drive that was as
big as some PC's nowadays.

Alec

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

My first micro was an Epson QX-10. Very advanced in some ways,
instantly obsolete in others (like using a Z80 cpu).

When I got a clue, my first "PC clone" was the original Compaq
Portable. I remember spending several hundred dollars to upgrade from
256k RAM to 640k on the motherboard, including the "Plus" BIOS. My
first modem was a Hayes 1200b internal, for $495. It was the only one
that worked with Kermit and the Miami U software.

And yes, I used Fortran 77 back in the early 80s at MU, but it was via
terminal (Televideo 920s IIRC) on campus, or dial-up and Kermit from
home. The IBM VM batch language was pretty nice; I managed to whip up
some batch files to automate the edit/compile cycle, and dedicated
some macros to certain PF keys. Most of the other guys were wondering
why it didn't work so hard... Heh.

Actually (I collect antique computers) I have a Portable, a Plus, a
Portable II, and a Portable 386. No Portable III yet. Also have the
original Deskpro, and a Deskpro 286. Now, if I can only get my hands
on a Deskpro 386...

Alas, there was one on eBay last month. I didn't HAVE the money last
month, naturally! Argh.

I missed out on MCA and EISA though. Darn...

While I'm here... Does anyone know of anybody who has Compaq MS-DOS
3.31? I'd love to get a copy for the large hard drive support, and the
special mode commands unique to Compaq MS-DOS. I think 4.x and later
were more like generic MS-DOS.

For some reason, my Portable 386 thinks it's monochorome only, and the
Setup program I have doesn't seem to have an option to change that. I
tried selecting video card, or default video mode (whatever it was,
about two months ago) and the proggy kept telling me I had to change
it somewhere else.

Now, I know it worked fine in graphical mode when I first got it, but
I mucked something up playing with the config files. I don't honestly
remember if there was a special driver loaded or anything like that
when I first got it. I never had this problem with the Portable and
the Deskpro. Ah, well...

On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 19:46:08 GMT, ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net
(Ben Myers) wrote:

>Anybody been around here long enough to have used an IBM XT as his or her first
>office computer?
>
>Anybody been around long enough to have worked with and cursed IBM's
>MicroChannel computers or Compaq's and other EISA bus computers with their
>hare-brained configuration diskettes?
>
>Anybody been arould here long enough to have written programs in FORTRAN using
>punched "IBM" cards? ... Ben Myers
>
>On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 17:58:01 GMT, T <tberk@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>

 

[hh]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

1200 baud? Thats modern. Try 300. Used that with an Atari 850 to send
columns from home to the ATEX main frame at my newspaper, circa 1978.
HH

"Casey Tompkins" <ctompkins@cinci.rr.com> wrote in message
news:rmh0v0t8ct5kq34hhh06s40dfgut799bne@4ax.com...
> My first micro was an Epson QX-10. Very advanced in some ways,
> instantly obsolete in others (like using a Z80 cpu).
>
> When I got a clue, my first "PC clone" was the original Compaq
> Portable. I remember spending several hundred dollars to upgrade from
> 256k RAM to 640k on the motherboard, including the "Plus" BIOS. My
> first modem was a Hayes 1200b internal, for $495. It was the only one
> that worked with Kermit and the Miami U software.
>
> And yes, I used Fortran 77 back in the early 80s at MU, but it was via
> terminal (Televideo 920s IIRC) on campus, or dial-up and Kermit from
> home. The IBM VM batch language was pretty nice; I managed to whip up
> some batch files to automate the edit/compile cycle, and dedicated
> some macros to certain PF keys. Most of the other guys were wondering
> why it didn't work so hard... Heh.
>
> Actually (I collect antique computers) I have a Portable, a Plus, a
> Portable II, and a Portable 386. No Portable III yet. Also have the
> original Deskpro, and a Deskpro 286. Now, if I can only get my hands
> on a Deskpro 386...
>
> Alas, there was one on eBay last month. I didn't HAVE the money last
> month, naturally! Argh.
>
> I missed out on MCA and EISA though. Darn...
>
> While I'm here... Does anyone know of anybody who has Compaq MS-DOS
> 3.31? I'd love to get a copy for the large hard drive support, and the
> special mode commands unique to Compaq MS-DOS. I think 4.x and later
> were more like generic MS-DOS.
>
> For some reason, my Portable 386 thinks it's monochorome only, and the
> Setup program I have doesn't seem to have an option to change that. I
> tried selecting video card, or default video mode (whatever it was,
> about two months ago) and the proggy kept telling me I had to change
> it somewhere else.
>
> Now, I know it worked fine in graphical mode when I first got it, but
> I mucked something up playing with the config files. I don't honestly
> remember if there was a special driver loaded or anything like that
> when I first got it. I never had this problem with the Portable and
> the Deskpro. Ah, well...
>
> On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 19:46:08 GMT, ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net
> (Ben Myers) wrote:
>
>>Anybody been around here long enough to have used an IBM XT as his or her
>>first
>>office computer?
>>
>>Anybody been around long enough to have worked with and cursed IBM's
>>MicroChannel computers or Compaq's and other EISA bus computers with their
>>hare-brained configuration diskettes?
>>
>>Anybody been arould here long enough to have written programs in FORTRAN
>>using
>>punched "IBM" cards? ... Ben Myers
>>
>>On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 17:58:01 GMT, T <tberk@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

IBM XT was actually my third office computer.
1. TRS-80 Model I (NewDOS/80)
2. TRS-80 Model II (TRSDOS, Lifeboat CP/M, P&T CP/M)
3. Kaypro II (CP/M)

We used Borland's Sidekick (TSR) to simulate task swapping. We also
used Hercules's RAMfont (monochrome & InColor) cards to display "fonts"
on WordPerfect 5.1

The bank I worked at did "upgrade" to Micro-Channel. They were easier
to manage on the network. Otherwise they were just expensive &
underpowered.

My first programming class was FORTRAN-77 on a Univac-1100 series
machine (36 bit processor). Since I was/am a lousy typist, punch cards
were lots of fun

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

In article <1106336628.933539.110160@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
rzenilman@yahoo.com writes
>
>My first programming class was FORTRAN-77 on a Univac-1100 series
>machine (36 bit processor). Since I was/am a lousy typist, punch cards
>were lots of fun
>

Late night fault finding of production programs was fun (well maybe
not). The card room with its card punch machines and their operators
were locked away. So we had to use a mechanical hand punch. Punching
cards by hand was fun (three fingered salute). If you made a mistake
you could correct it by licking your index finger, picking up a chard on
the end of your dampened finger and pressing it back into the offending
hole (I kid you not). You would not get away with that now.
--
Nicholas David Richards -

"Où sont les neiges d'antan?"

 

[ercillor]

You people are really making me feel old (73 in December 2009). Of course we all remember punch cards! That's when programs came back from the keypunch gals in long boxes and had a certain 'heft' to them (the programs, not the gals) and when only those which hadn't been serialized -- that little number in the right hand side -- were the ones which fell and shuffled themselves all over the place.

360 Channel Programming was lots of fun. I can still remember the difference between the 'Data Chaining' bit, and the 'Command Chaining' bit in the CCW Chain, and, oh yes, the 'Silly' bit or 'SLI' ('Suppress Length Indication') which was used to suppress a Wrong Length Indication when the record you read was not the same byte length as what you'd requested.

I used to be a real young, cocky, whippersnapper of a systems programmer. No longer as obnoxious as I used to be though... It's hard to be obnoxious when you need to ask directions to the men's room every once in a while. That's when one really learns the difference between core and volatile ram.

NOW, can any one of you young whippersnappers tell me how to set up a RAID 1 configuration under XP MCE? I'm trying to put together a repository for CD's and DVD's accessible to other nodes on my LAN.

Thanks,
Eric

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

Ben Myers wrote:
> Anybody been around here long enough to have used an IBM XT as his or her first
> office computer?


I was the guy in the back of the store adding the extra chips to the
mother board so I could then add the AST multi i/o which brought the
full RAM up to 640k. Oh, and pulling the blank on one side to add a
half hight WD 10 or 20 meg HD. 8])


>
> Anybody been around long enough to have worked with and cursed IBM's
> MicroChannel

Well, at least we retain _some_ things like smaller mouse and keyboard
connectors, the 3.5" diskette, etc, etc. PS/2, the future of computing.
Just don't loose your cmos battery power.

> computers or Compaq's and other EISA bus computers with their
> hare-brained configuration diskettes?
>

Talk about poor vendor/ 3rd party support.

> Anybody been arould here long enough to have written programs in FORTRAN using
> punched "IBM" cards? ... Ben Myers


OK, punch cards were my Dad's thing.

I used to repair Kaypros & Morrows though, the Grand Daddies of the
Original Luggable Compaq.


TBerk