HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: pt@geovision.gvc.com (Paul Tomblin)
Subject: Re: you know you've been hacking too long...
Keywords: hacking long absurd msdos TM
Reply-To: pt@geovision.gvc.com
Organization: Not officially GeoVision Systems Inc., Ottawa, Ontario
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 02:40:25 GMT

tzs@stein.u.washington.edu (Tim Smith) writes:

>Anyway, he was participating in a one-night stand with a woman.  The next
>morning when he woke up, he thought that she was a PDP-11 and was trying to
>figure out how to boot her.  Now that's someone who hacks too much.

>Even better, the next time this happened to him (!), he thought the other
>person was a VAX, and couldn't figure out where to put the floppy.

If you don't know where to put your floppy, then it isn't much of a one
night stand....

[No 3.5 inchers here - I've got an old but still servicable 8 incher.]

-- 
Paul Tomblin, pt@geovision.gvc.com or {uunet,revcan}!geovision!pt
(This is not an official opinion of GeoVision Systems Inc.)
"No matter what you've lost - be it a home, a love, a friend - like the 'Mary
Ellen Carter' rise again." - Stan Rogers - "Mary Ellen Carter"
From: zzassgl@uts.mcc.ac.uk (Geoff Lane)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Mean-looking iron: design decision or just cool stuff?
Date: 30 Sep 92 08:25:51 GMT
Organization: Manchester Computing Centre, Manchester, England, M13 9PL.

In article <BvDKvs.M5q@rice.edu> dboyes@is.rice.edu (David E Boyes) writes:
>I just got my first look at the poster photos of a CM-5 --
>Thinking Machine's latest super-powered warp-accelerated widget.
>My first thought was: 
>
>  "Damn, that machine looks *mean*."
>
>David Boyes



Whereas the KSR1 seems to have been constructed to look like something out
of the set for ST:TNG :)


It does use a Next as the operator consol though...








-- 
Geoff. Lane. | Internet: zzassgl@uts.mcc.ac.uk | Janet: zzassgl@uk.ac.mcc.uts
UTS Sys Admin,  Manchester Computing Centre,  Oxford Rd,  Manchester, M13 9PL
I'm too sexy for my .sig
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: IQTI400@INDYCMS.IUPUI.EDU (macphil)
Subject: Re: dirty tricks
Organization: IUPUI
Date: Sun, 04 Oct 92 14:11:44 EST

In article <1992Oct02.003355.23812@bigbrd.agchem.redwater.iol.ca>
p45dpmg@bigbrd.agchem.redwater.iol.ca (Peter Graw) writes:
 
>Some of my favorite pranks:
>Heard that on a multics system, sending the right mail would
>introduce a virus that would wakeup, demand a cookie, and go back to sleep.
>Of course, before it would be quiet and go to sleep, the user
>had to type 'cookie'. Couldn't figure out how to do it when I got to
>multics, maybe the hole had been covered (or it was a myth. Anyone know?)
 
"Cookie Monster" was manifested in a lot of ways.  I wrote my own
version back on the school's VAX for long-unattended terminals.
Every 'x' minutes, the user was prompted for a cookie and the number
of prompts doubled every cycle so after awhile, they spent a long time
watching "Gimme a cookie" scrolling on their screen.
From: csa31@seq1.keele.ac.uk (B.M. Cook)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: The joy of Algol68 (was Re: Null Statements)
Date: 28 Sep 92 09:28:24 GMT
Organization: Keele University, England

From article <9209251506.AA00735@dacke.thep.lu.se>, by magnus@THEP.LU.SE (Magnus Olsson):
> 
> Speaking of Algol 68, does anyone know if there are still any 
> Algol 68 compilers available for modern hardware?
>

I have a compiler for Transputers (using the RS front end).

I'm seriously considering porting to SPARC and '386  - is there any interest
out there?

There is a compiler for PC's (not per the RS standard).

email me for more information - barry@cs.keele.ac.uk
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: wethater@rodan.acs.syr.edu (William E. Thater)
Subject: Re: Quiche Eaters and Fortran
Organization: Syracuse University
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 09:56:36 EDT

In article <1992Sep28.102853.2138@cheops.qld.tne.oz.au> logier@cheops.qld.tne.oz.au (Rob Logie) writes:
>logier@cheops.qld.tne.oz.au (Rob Logie) writes:
>
>
>Thanks to the people who replied.  I now have a new copy of the article,
	Yes, but I *didn't* see it the first time, so could some kind
soul send it to me [wethater@mailbox.syr.edu]?

	Thank you;
Bill Thater
From: 12100z@d1.dartmouth.edu (Tom Buskey)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Zilog System 8000
Date: 5 Oct 92 19:46:12 GMT
Organization: School of Indiscriminate Grappling
Newsreader: MS Windows WinVN

Some time ago I saved a Zilog System 8000 model 31 from the dump.
It's about 4 feet high, and is on wheels.  It runs a Z-8000 CPU, has 1MB
memory, 16 serial ports, 2 parallel ports, a 17MB DC600 type tape drive,
and a non-existant hard drive.  I can plug it in, see 4 error lights go on,
and watch 3 go out as it checks everything.  The 4th stays on because the
disk is missing.  I got a complete set of System III manuals and hardware
manuals, but no software.  Right now, the beast makes a nice microwave cart.
 
Does anyone else have one of these?  Any parts?  Any knowledge of the thing?
I like having a dead mini around, but it'd be better to have a working one.
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: jcmorris@mwunix.mitre.org (Joe Morris)
Subject: Re: IBM 3021 Data Cell
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 15:57:33 GMT

rhg@cpsolv.CPS.COM (Richard H. Gumpertz) writes:

>I am sitting here looking at (the media cartridge of) an IBM 3021 Data Cell.
                              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^        ^^^^
                              It's called a "subcell".      Nope, "2321".
>It contains 200 2" by 12" magnetic strips.  Does anybody remember what the
>storage capacity of these devices was?

Roughly 200KB per strip if I recall properly.  Ten strips to the folder,
20 folders per subcell, ten subcells per 2321.  (I say "folder" but I can't
recall the proper term for the grouping.)

>By the way, I've decided that the correctmodern terminology for the data cell
>might be "floppy drum": after all it is a floppy medium that is wrapped
>around a drum for access!

The proper term for these abominations is not repeatable in either polite 
company or USENET.  They were excellent -- as examples of a good idea
gone wrong.

OBstoryI'vetoldbefore: Robert Rannie used to hand out used data cell strips
at SHARE with the announcement that they contained 200K of official
Atomic Energy Commission secrets, and anyone who could figure out how
to read them deserved to have the data.

Joe Morris / MITRE
From: barmar@think.com (Barry Margolin)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Mean-looking iron: design decision or just cool stuff?
Date: 30 Sep 1992 16:56:26 GMT
Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA
NNTP-Posting-Host: telecaster.think.com

In article <BvDKvs.M5q@rice.edu> dboyes@is.rice.edu (David E Boyes) writes:
>I just got my first look at the poster photos of a CM-5 --
>Thinking Machine's latest super-powered warp-accelerated widget.
>My first thought was: 
>
>  "Damn, that machine looks *mean*."
>
>I had a similar reaction to the CM2. Since a lot of the Thinking
>Machines folks hang out here, can you tell us whether this is an
>intentional design feature, or does it just happen this way?

Outside designers were brought in to help us design the CM-5.  I believe
one of them was the artist who designed the Vietnam Memorial Wall in
Washington, D.C.  The CM-5 won a design award.  I don't know offhand
whether "mean" was the intended look, but they were clearly trying to make
a statement with the look of the machine.  Our management is extremely
conscious of the interplay between form and function.
-- 
Barry Margolin
System Manager, Thinking Machines Corp.

barmar@think.com          {uunet,harvard}!think!barmar
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: What ever happened to Motorola 88000 chips
From: rivero@mdcbbs.com (Michael Rivero)
Date: 6 Oct 92 12:13:33 PDT
Distribution: world
Organization: M&E (Division of EDS), Cypress CA

  I recall hearing about Motorola's follow-on to the 68000 series
of CPU's, the 88000 series. It featured (initially) a CPU chip
paired with twin memory managers running as cache's and IP units
or somesuch. Sounded like a fascinating chip set, but it sorta faded
away. Did the RISC revolution kill them off or what?



-- 
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
|  Michael Rivero rivero@mdcbbs.com  "Middle-aged Mutant Ninja Animator" |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|   "I want my name in the press.  Why? Because I can make a lot         |
|    of money! I figure if I'm going through all this pain and           |
|                   suffering, I'm getting a Ferrari!"                   |
|                                                                        |
|     Amy Fisher, just prior to her plea bargain for attempted murder.   |
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
From: magnus@THEP.LU.SE (Magnus Olsson)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: That darn Bug story
Date: 29 Sep 92 19:44:25 GMT
Organization: Theoretical Physics, Lund University, Sweden

In article <26322@castle.ed.ac.uk> ercm20@festival.ed.ac.uk writes:
					     ^
		Is this node named after the Edinburgh Festival?

>Compared to all the languages I've seen discussed recently IMP seems to
>suffer from the problems of almost none of them with the exception of
>being a little verbose to type. 

[ Interesting description of some features deleted ]

This sounds interesting - could you possibly post some more details
about this language? And what do you think where the reasons for its
not sufering from the problems of other languages?


Magnus Olsson                   | \e+      /_
Dept. of Theoretical Physics    |  \  Z   / q
University of Lund, Sweden      |   >----<           
Internet: magnus@thep.lu.se     |  /      \===== g
Bitnet: THEPMO@SELDC52          | /e-      \q
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: xexeo@dxcern.cern.ch (Geraldo Xexeo)
Subject: Net.Celebrities -> 101 entries!
Organization: CERN European Lab for Particle Physics
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 17:44:21 GMT

There is a new version of the Net.Celebrities file in

  hplaa02.cern.ch

Current version is 

  Version 1.101.5

I couldn't resist to have a version with more than 100
entries :-).

Thanks to all that collaborate and to those who send
correction to their own entries. Most of these 
self-written entries are very good. Also entries
written by friends are funny.

If you send me an entry in the correct format, I will
add it to the file usually in the same day.

  Thanks to you all,

            Jerry


-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geraldo Xexeo      |internet: xexeo@dxcern.cern.ch | "Cristo Redentor,    
CERN - PPE Division|bitnet:   gxexeo@cernvm.bitnet |  Bracos abertos sobre a
1211 Geneve 23     |decnet:   vxcern::xexeo        |  Guanabara...
Switzerland        |FAX:      (41) (22) 785 - 0207 |  Rio, eu gosto de voce!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.computers:14664 rec.games.int-fiction:374
From: lupe@ukw.uucp (Lupe Christoph)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: Re: Screen colors (Was Re: Zork/Dungeon)
Date: 1 Oct 92 21:59:54 GMT
Organization: cic

nickel@cs.tu-berlin.de (Juergen Nickelsen) writes:

>In article <1992Sep30.125808.15973@husc3.harvard.edu>
>goodridg@husc8.harvard.edu (Andrew Goodridge) writes:

>[...]
>> My problem is my youth. I'm only 22; I was 7 or 8 when Zork was
>> worked on.  I'm not very regretful; I got to see 16 million colors
>> before I was 19.  But it means I'm starting at a disadvantage.

>(Sorry, pet peeve:)

>Where did you see 16 million colors? Not on *one* screen at a time, I
>suppose, or I'd like to see that screen.

Maybe he just went outside? :-P
-- 
| ...!unido!ukw!lupe  (German EUNet, "bang")     |  Disclaimer:            |
| lupe@ukw.UUCP       (German EUNet, domain)     |  As I am self-employed, |
| suninfo!alanya!lupe (Sun Germany)              |  this *is* the opinion  |
| Res non sunt complicanda praeter necessitatem. |  of my employer.        |
From: grog@lemis.uucp (Greg Lehey)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: dirty tricks (was: The funniest bug)
Date: 26 Sep 92 10:14:42 GMT
Organization: LEMIS, W-6324 Feldatal, Germany

In article <Sep23.173713.77725@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU> ld231782@LANCE.ColoState.Edu (L. Detweiler) writes:
>I think as long as the message as a whole cannot be misconstrued, no harm
>done.  What we are looking for is a few seconds of frightened astonishment,
>but minutes of severe panic!

Indeed. But don't underestimate the power of your victim to
misconstrue the situation. Years ago, working for a large German
department store, I was modifying the standard (Tandem) command
interpreter so that it would produce meaningful error messages instead
of nonsense like

 FILE SYSTEM ERROR 011

(yes, that's really what it said if you mistyped a file name). So I
added a database facility and wrote a little program to change the
messages, all the usual stuff. One morning, far too early, I got it
running, and changed the message for this particular error number to
read

  Please enter `fup purge ! *'

(i.e., for Unix people, rm -f *). I had a little giggle about this (it
*was* early in the morning), and then the project leader came over to
my desk and said, "Mr. Lehey, I think I've done something stupid".
Taught both of us a lesson, and proved that it had been the right
decision to make a backup every night.

-- 
Greg Lehey                       | Tel: +49-6637-1488              
LEMIS                            | Fax: +49-6637-1489
Schellnhausen 2, W-6324 Feldatal, Germany
From: dougm@cns.caltech.edu (Doug McNaught)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Syntax and Semantics : -) (was Re: That darn "Bug" story)
Date: 27 Sep 92 22:57:51
Organization: California Institute of Technology
NNTP-Posting-Host: bradbury.cns.caltech.edu
In-reply-to: gray@ml.csiro.au's message of 23 Sep 92 23:48:34 GMT

In article <1992Sep23.234834.11923@ml.csiro.au> gray@ml.csiro.au (Randall Gray) writes:
   In article 92Sep22214210@bradbury.cns.caltech.edu, I write:

   >  Wrongo, my friend; in Pascal, the semicolon is a statement
   >separator, not a terminator--you don't need one before an "end". VAX
   >Pascal compiles the above code just fine (and displays the correct
   >buggy behavior).

   I *love* the phrase "correct buggy behaviour"!

  Yeah--now the question that's bugging me is:
What's the difference between that and "buggy correct behavior"? Is it
something like "broken as designed"?
-doug
--
Doug McNaught              |"Sadder still to watch it die/ Then never to have
dougm@cns.caltech.edu      | known it/ For you, the blind who once could see/
doug@midget.towson.edu     | The bell tolls for thee..." --Neil Peart
  Nobody approves my opinions! Not even me, sometimes. Read at your own risk.
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: rorschak@daimi.aau.dk (Jesper Lauridsen)
Subject: Re: Thoughts
Organization: Danish Trainspotter Society
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 21:57:48 GMT

lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner) writes:

>In article <0TuqRB2w165w@quest.UUCP> srhqla!quest!kdq writes:

>>Yes, it must come as quite a shock for people who are used to having to
>>hit the reset button every few minutes to realize that most Mac owners
>>don't know where their power switch is.

>Please tell me where the power switch on Mac owners is; there are a number
>of these people I want to switch off.

Someone already has.
-- 
I have things to do and News to read
From: barmar@think.com (Barry Margolin)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Mean-looking iron: design decision or just cool stuff?
Date: 1 Oct 1992 08:36:03 GMT
Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA
NNTP-Posting-Host: gandalf.think.com

In article <1992Sep30.153220.1@mdcbbs.com> rivero@mdcbbs.com writes:
>  We had a German film crew come through to do a documentary on the work we
>were doing, and the first thing they said when they saw the CM-2 was," Das is
>der WHOPPER!"; the movie,"Wargames" having just recently opened in Germany!

I've heard this before, but I've never seen the resemblance.  Sure, they
both are big boxes with lots of lights on the face, but lots of other
sci-fi movie computers have lots of lights.  If I remember correctly, WOPR
had multicolored, lighted tiles filling the face.  The CM-2 just has an
array of red LEDs.
-- 
Barry Margolin
System Manager, Thinking Machines Corp.

barmar@think.com          {uunet,harvard}!think!barmar
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: notarus@uiuc.edu (Mark Notarus)
Subject: What's an NCR 1632??
Reply-To: notarus@uiuc.edu (Mark Notarus)
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 17:49:37 GMT


This has gotta be a wierd question.  :)

 I just bought a used NCR 1632....apparently it's a 68010 processor, and
is running SYS5r2....

 And that's about all i really know about it.  The price was right, but 
i have some simple questions.

  Does NCR support it?  Can i get an updated release of UNIX for it?
even SYS5r3 would be nice, but r4 preferably...

any information someone can provide would be eat.. thanks!

mark

-- 
These are my opinions. These are only my opinions. If this had been a real
honest-to-george CCSO opinion, it would have had someone else's name on it.
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: tom_vanvleck@taligent.com (Tom Van Vleck)
Subject: Re: Quiche Eaters and Fortran
Followup-To: alt.folklore.computers
Organization: Taligent, Inc.
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 16:23:33 GMT

koos@kzdoos.hacktic.nl has posted a minor modification of the original
version
I wrote in 1982. There have been many other fine & funny additions by other
hands since that time.

Yes, I had specific Real Programmers in mind for several of the entries.
For instance, my original had "Real Programmers can get the scissors off
the
phone cord," a reference to a hack that was popular before the advent of
the
modular plug. My colleague Noel Morris used to pop into an office & knot
the
phone cord through the scissors handle with a magician's knot that looked
impossible to undo.

tom_vanvleck@taligent.com
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: mch@sqwest.wimsey.bc.ca (Mark C. Henderson)
Subject: Re: What ever happened to Motorola 88000 chips
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Surrey, British Columbia, CANADA
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 03:57:50 GMT

In article <1992Oct6.224854.14746@cybernet.cse.fau.edu> michaelb@cse.fau.edu (Michael Rogero Brown) writes:
>In article <1992Oct6.121334.2598@mdcbbs.com> rivero@mdcbbs.com (Michael Rivero) writes:
>>  I recall hearing about Motorola's follow-on to the 68000 series
>>of CPU's, the 88000 series. It featured (initially) a CPU chip
>>paired with twin memory managers running as cache's and IP units
>>or somesuch. Sounded like a fascinating chip set, but it sorta faded
>>away. Did the RISC revolution kill them off or what?
>>
>Motorola's 88K series is totally separate from the 68K.  In fact the 
>88K is a RISC processor series.  There are 2 or 3 different versions
>and they are being used as CPUs in some computers.

In particular Data General sells computers with 88K chips in them (Aviion).
I can't think of any others off hand, other than the defunct Tektronix
XD88 workstations.

Mark
-- 
Mark Henderson, SoftQuad Inc, 108-10070 King George Hwy, Surrey, B.C. V3T 2W4
Internet:   markh@wimsey.bc.ca, mch@sq.com
UUCP: {van-bc,sq}!sqwest!mch Telephone: +1 604 585 8394  Fax: +1 604 585 1926
RIPEM public key available by Email or finger markh@wimsey.bc.ca
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: sbakerjr@cc.curtin.edu.au
Subject: Re: hacking too long
Organization: Curtin University of Technology
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 04:48:52 GMT

I was looking for a street in the local road directory and it suddenly
occurred to me that it would be a brilliant idea to include a ^Qf function 
in street directories.

Turbo C users may understand...

JoHnNo

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: mdw@theory.TC.Cornell.EDU (Matt Welsh)
Subject: Re: Bumper sticker
Organization: Cornell Theory Center
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 16:12:02 GMT

In article <15858@mindlink.bc.ca> Charlie_Gibbs@mindlink.bc.ca (Charlie Gibbs) writes:
>     Seen on a car last weekend:
>
>          I <heart> DOS
>
>     Scary.

This is PC Computing magazine's bumper sticker that they stuck into each
August (?) '92 issue. I am a complete UNIX junkie, and unfortunately my
friends know this... I was away with my SO for a weekend, and had left my
car back at home. When I returned, one of the jokesters had plastered the
"I <heart> DOS" on the back bumper of my car!

Another friend of mine had the idea to white-out the <heart> on the bumper
sticker and draw in its place a <club>.   :)

mdw

-- 
Matt Welsh    mdw@tc.cornell.edu        +1 607 253 2737
Systems Programmer, Cornell Theory Center
  "Yow! Up ahead! It's a DONUT HUT!!"
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner)
Subject: Re: That darn Bug story
Reply-To: lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 05:57:28 GMT

In article <7410@charon.cwi.nl> dik@cwi.nl (Dik T. Winter) writes:
>In article <1992Sep25.200621.8837@news.columbia.edu> lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner) writes:
> > In article <4987268@zl2tnm.gen.nz> don@zl2tnm.gen.nz (Don Stokes) writes:
> > >deand@bcarh823.BNR.CA (Dean Dillabough) writes:
> > >>  as an error. Many Pascal compilers were designed to accept the empty
> > >>  statement to make it easier on the programmer.
> > >
> > >I didn't think that making things easier for the programmer was one of the 
> > >design goals for Pascal.
> > 
> > It's grotesquely obvious that it was designed to be done in one pass, to
> > make it easier on the programmer WHO WROTE THE COMPILER.
> > 
>This is a wrong representation of course.  The null statement has nothing
>to do with the ease of the programmer of the compiler (Urs Amman, ETH,

I was addressing the statement, not the specific remark about null statements,
but the statement about the goals of the language in general, i.e., that it
sacrifices certain alternative features, such as FORWARD being unnecessary, to
allow a one-pass compiler.  This was one of my early arguments against certain
hll's, and also certain assemblers.  Are languages designed to help programmers
or is it the other way around?  If a language is designed for ease of
implementation, not use, then the only programmer who benefits is the
compiler writer.

cjl
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: tzs@stein.u.washington.edu (Tim Smith)
Subject: Re: you know you've been hacking too long...
Keywords: hacking long absurd msdos TM
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 20:06:16 GMT

I'm not going to say who this is about so don't ask.  He does read the net
sometimes, and has forgotten that I know about this.

Anyway, he was participating in a one-night stand with a woman.  The next
morning when he woke up, he thought that she was a PDP-11 and was trying to
figure out how to boot her.  Now that's someone who hacks too much.

Even better, the next time this happened to him (!), he thought the other
person was a VAX, and couldn't figure out where to put the floppy.

--Tim Smith
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers