HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: hollombe@polymath.tti.com (The Polymath)
Subject: Re: You know you've been hacking too long...
Keywords: workstation, hacking, risks
Organization: The Cat Factory
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 20:21:56 GMT

In article <1992Jul23.152757.1506@uniwa.uwa.edu.au> gudjm@uniwa.uwa.edu.au (D John McKenna) writes:
}> [...]
}> Just out of curiosity... out of all of you hackers who wear a digital
}> watch, how many have it in 24 hour mode?

Mine isn't because it's a b*tch to switch modes (the only thing Casio
skimped on).  According to the user's manual, it doesn't even have two
modes.  I found out about 24 hour mode the first time I had the battery
changed and it came back that way.  As far as I know, the _only_ way to
change modes is to open the case and diddle the battery.

(This is an old Casio AX-210, if anyone cares or has further info).

The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe, M.A., CDP, aka: hollombe@polymath.tti.com)
Head Robot Wrangler at Citicorp                   Turn the rascals out!
3100 Ocean Park Blvd.   (310) 450-9111, x2483     No incumbents in '92!
Santa Monica, CA  90405 {rutgers|pyramid|philabs|psivax}!ttidca!hollombe
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,comp.sys.att
From: aduell@nyx.cs.du.edu (Tony Duell)
Subject: Re: Dusty Machines
X-Disclaimer: Nyx is a public access Unix system run by the University
	of Denver for the Denver community.  The University has neither
	control over nor responsibility for the opinions of users.
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 92 18:30:55 GMT


Well, in one version of the DEC RK05 maintenance manual, there is a quote
something like: (from the section on cleaning the RK05 disk platter
itself).
" Dust can be removed by blowwing with the mouth. DO NOT spit on the disk
"
-tony 'PDP11 Hacker' Duell
ard@siva.bris.ac.uk


Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: iisakkil@lesti.hut.fi (Mika Iisakkila)
Subject: Re: Pronouncing Unix names
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology
Date: 30 Jul 92 15:23:13

Charlie_Gibbs@mindlink.bc.ca (Charlie Gibbs) writes:

>     A while back there was a thread discussing how to pronounce
>".cshrc".

I'd be happy to know how to type it. The day I manage to type .chrcs
(s*it!) without any errors, I'll consume generous amounts of alcoholic
beverages.

--
Segmented Memory Helps Structure Software
From: anonymous@hmivax.humgen.upenn.edu (Liz Broadwell)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Anyone want an eight-year-old Mac?
Date: 28 Jul 92 00:08:54 GMT
Organization: Society of Independent Newswaifs

Having invested in a new machine, a friend of mine is looking to dispose of her
companion of the past eight years, an Apple Macintosh.  Would any of you
collectors-of-antiques be interested in acquiring it on a best-offer basis? 
Software included; specifications available on request.


~ Liz Broadwell (anonymous@hmivax.humgen.upenn.edu) ~                        ~
~ Department of English                             ~ Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam ~
~ The University of Pennsylvania                    ~                        ~
~         I am but a lowly humanities type, lurking on the net . . .         ~
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: stirling@ozrout.uucp (Stirling Westrup)
Subject: Hackers in the Rough
Organization: Andre P. Ozrout
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 18:03:22 GMT
Summary: How to detect embryonic hackers?


I've got a question for the assembled multitudes here.  I've recently been
put in charge of a project which is going to end up hiring a couple dozen
just-graduated-from-university programmers at wages which even a student
would be hard pressed to survive on.  Despite all of this, my boss wants me
to hire good people.  He knows of the hacker mentality, and has told me to
look for it in the folks I'll be interviewing.  I know what to look for in
someone who is *already* a hacker, but what should I look for to detect a
proto-hacker?  Does anyone have suggestions for tests / questions / ordeals
to put to these folks to determine which are hackers in the rough?

-- 
||    BUNGEE SIDEWAYS!                              o   )))
||                                                 /-- ///
|P~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\_  \\\      __ -_
||    stirling@ozrout.uucp                                 ((( (_)T(_)
From: magnus@THEP.LU.SE (Magnus Olsson)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Unix Roots of DOS?
Date: 21 Jul 92 11:03:44 GMT
Organization: Theoretical Physics, Lund University, Sweden

In article <1992Jul21.011003.9565@colorado.edu> drew@caesar.cs.colorado.edu writes:
>more was bundled with DOS 2.x.  Unfortunately, it would only 
>take input from stdin, and not a file.

So what's the problem with typing more < foo.txt (more than having to
type an extra character)?

But I agree that MS-DOS 'more' is a hopelessly broken hack, only
vaguely reminiscent in functionaity to the Unix original. Fortunately,
there exist several excellent ports of 'less', which is better than
Unix 'more' anyway. I think the only one of the Unix-like filters in
MS-DOS that I've found really useful is sort - the others are just too
bletcherously broken.

-- 
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: jimf@centerline.com (Jim Frost)
Subject: Re: Unix Roots of DOS?
Organization: CenterLine Software, Inc.
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 15:37:20 GMT

lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner) writes:
>What compression utility stores individual files in less than one byte?

Any Huffman utility will do so for commonly occurring bytes (assuming,
of course, a fixed table that doesn't need to be in the file).

Whether or not this is useful is something for the theorists to talk
about.

jim frost
jimf@centerline.com
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: jcmorris@mwunix.mitre.org (Joe Morris)
Subject: half-inch tape: transport design
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 16:29:27 GMT

Since half-inch tape has appeared in threads here, I've got a question
that's been bugging me for decades: why did most of the mainframe drives
(especially IBM's 729 and 7330 drives on older equipment and 24xx drives
on the S/360) use threading patterns which brought the oxide into sliding
contact with the vacuum column walls?

The 729 and 2401 drives were very similar in design.  The tape path
looked something like this:

     supply reel                      takeup reel

          0xx                            xx0
        0 0 0x                          x0 0 0
          0  x                          x  0
             x    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx    x
           \ x   x/     (head)     \x   x /
            |x  x|                  |x  x|
            |x  x|                  |x  x|
            |x  x|   <- vacuum ->   |x  x|
            |x  x|      columns     |x  x|
            |x  x|                  |x  x|
            | xx |                  | xx |
            \----/                  \----/

Since the tape was wound with the oxide facing the reel hub, the result was
that the oxide scraped along the walls of the vacuum columns.  A routine 
chore for operators of tape-based systems was the once-per-shift (minimum!)
cleaning of the tape columns to remove the accumulated scraped-off oxide.

Not until the 3420 came out did the mainframe tape transports get a 
redesign which moved the supply reel to the right side, and brought the
tape down the *outide* of the reel so that the plastic backing material
and not the oxide came into contact with the vacuum column walls.

(The introduction of the 3420 also finally got rid of the horrid pinch
roller and prolay design of the 729/2400 and replaced them with a
vacuum captsan.)

Again the question: why were the older drives designed to put the tape
oxide in sliding contact with the vacuum column walls?

Joe Morris
From: jjh91r@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Jon. Hallett)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Today's Games Destined to be Classics
Date: 23 Jul 92 09:27:21 GMT
	<jbickers.0bdk@templar.actrix.gen.nz>
Organization: Southampton University Computer Science
In-reply-to: jbickers@templar.actrix.gen.nz's message of 17 Jul 92 23:21:39 GMT

In article <jbickers.0bdk@templar.actrix.gen.nz> jbickers@templar.actrix.gen.nz (John Bickers) writes:
[...]
>    Elite

Yes, I'll second Elite---the original Acorn BBC version, mind.  None
of the bad 16-bit clones.  I spent 1985 playing Elite.  Sad but true.
--
Jon.
From: berger@atropa (Mike Berger)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Cloned computers
Date: 31 Jul 92 15:22:34 GMT
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana

greg@Quotron.COM (Greg "Maddog" Knauss) writes:
>The recent talk of various Tandy clones made me wonder how much hardware
>has been knocked-off over the years.  These are the ones I know of:

>Original			Clones
>------------------------------- -------------------------------
>IBM (PC/AT/etc.)		[Billions and billions...]
>Apple II(+/e/c)			Franklin (1000/1200), Laser 128
>Tandy Color Computer		Dragon 32
>Tandy TRS-80			Video Genie
>Macintosh			[Rumored.  Asian and American.]

>Anything else?
*----
Xerox, Amdahl, and CDC all made IBM mainframe clones.
Nuclear Data had Data General Nova look-alikes.
--
	Mike Berger
	Department of Statistics, University of Illinois
	AT&TNET     217-244-6067
	Internet    berger@atropa.stat.uiuc.edu
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 21:41:34 -0400 
From: "Jonathan R. Ferro" <jf41+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: How Come? riddle -- the answer
	<92204.114804AUDMH@ASUACAD.BITNET>

<AUDMH@ASUACAD.BITNET> writes:
> Okay, maybe the wrong group for this, but is there a name for puzzles like
> this (you are given a statement and have to figure out what happened using
> yes/no questions) and is there a collection of them anywhere?

--- Begin Forwarded Article

From: chris@peregrine.peregrine.com (Chris Cole)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Subject: Re: yes and no games (How to get the FAQL)
Date: 15 Jul 92 04:53:38 GMT
Reply-To: chris@peregrine (Chris Cole)
Organization: Peregrine Systems, Inc.

lewish@woods.ulowell.edu writes:
> [ Another riddle deleted ]

A list of such puzzles is on the rec.puzzles FAQL (Frequently Asked
Questions List).  To receive the list, send an email letter containing
the single line:
send riddle
to netlib@peregrine.com

The list will be mailed via return email to the address in your
request's "From:" line.  If you are unsure of this address, and cannot
edit this line, then include in your message BEFORE the first "send" line
the line:

return_address <your_return_email_address>

--- End Forwarded Article

--
Jon Ferro		MIT Transportation Modelling Research Center (TMRC)
jf41+@andrew.cmu.edu	"We can hack it!"
SGNTR VRS VRSN 3.1B: Strppd nd cmprssd fr qckr trnsmssn! nfct yrs tdy!
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: klaus@diku.dk (Klaus Ole Kristiansen)
Subject: Re: GUI's (was:progress?)
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 08:20:09 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, U of Copenhagen

unknown@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (tuu) writes:


>In article <1992Jul10.060452.4358@iat.holonet.net> jthill@iat.holonet.net (Jim Hill) writes:
>}Interesting fact from forgotten person on one of the compsysmac groups: 
>}they've done a _lot_ of testing of user interfaces, and one thing shows up
>}repeatedly:  user reports that the keyboard is faster.  The stopwatch
>}shows the mouse is faster.  It's very strange.  I half suspect that the
>}mouse involves so much less brainwork that you're more aware of the time.

I suspect that when you remove your hand from the keys to get the mouse,
you are "wasting" time you could have used typing. When you move a curser
about with ^p^f or something even more arcane, you are "typing". There
is no (or much less) breach in your typing routine, so the time does
not register as "wasted", even if it is longer.

Klaus O K
From: ian@falcon.Centric.Com (Ian Macky)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Mad drums
Summary: Loose drum perforates warship
Keywords: drum
Date: 30 Jul 92 01:37:08 GMT
Followup-To: ian@centric.com
Organization: Centric Engineering Systems

I used to work for a real sharp old swabbie guy making S-100 boards, but
back then he designed radar units for the Navy (he even pointed out some
of his babies near San Diego, visible from the freeway, still operating
on some base)...

Anyway, he told me that once he was alongside a ship that was in dock.  Some
poor sailor was hanging alongside scraping crud just on the other side from
a computer room.  Apparently a monster drum (as in 4-5' diameter) they had in
that room froze a bearing and came loose and actually went THROUGH the side
of the ship, nearly obliterating the unfortunate sailor.

Since this was presumably a naval warship, that means it punched a hole
through boilerplate!  I'm dubious, but he says it happened while he was
standing there, saw it with his own eyes.

...he had lots of great stories (especially power RF stuff)...

--ian
From: rob.bbs@cybernet.cse.fau.edu
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Non Unix-OS's
Date: 31 Jul 92 03:48:43 GMT
Organization: Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton

> >In article <9207291418.AA17748@thep.lu.se> magnus@THEP.LU.SE (Magnus Olsson)
> >>
> >>So, I wonder, how many non-Unix OS's are still being used on *new*
> >>multi-user hardware? Of course, there are a lot of old systems,
> >>running old OS's. And there are lots of microcomputer OS's, but let's
> >>exclude most of them by defining "OS", I mean multi-tasking, multi-user
> >>OS. 
> >>
There's a multiuser version of OS/2 called (I think) Citrix. Character
mode programs only. Think there still in business.  Digital Research
also had Concurrent DOS & maybe still do.

Rob Rittenhouse
From: SNYDER@d0sb10.fnal.gov (scott snyder)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Data General
Date: 29 Jul 92 06:02:15 GMT
Organization: SUNY Stony Brook High Energy Physics
In-reply-to: gmw1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu's message of 28 Jul 92 14:39:44 GMT

In article <1992Jul28.143944.11045@news.columbia.edu> gmw1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu (Gabe M Wiener) writes:
>
> The drive was a drawer that pulled out of the machine.  You would remove
> the "disk pack" by turning a handle and pulling it straight up.  You'd
> put in another by dropping it in and turning the handle until it locked
> into position.  You'd then close the drawer.
>
> As I recall, the only time they changed it was when they did backup every
> afternoon.  My guess is that the packs were about 30" in diameter and maybe
> 3 or 3 inches thick.  They were usually white or blue plastic, with access
> to the side for the heads.
>
> My question:  Can anyone tell me how much storage these things probably had?


Back in high school, we had an Eclipse S/130.  It was a lot of fun since
(unlike the vax on which the students were kept on a short leash) it was
a multiuser system which we had full control over.

Anyway, this machine had a `Gemini' disk drive, which consisted of one
fixed disk and one removable disk in the same cabinet.  The dimensions
and method of removal of the removable disk were similar to that 
described above, except that the latch was a handle which pivoted upwards
instead of something that you twist.  The platters were double-sided, and
each platter held 10 MB, for a total of 20 MB.

I recall that we used to have overheating problems, which would cause
the drive to go offline, which would lead to AOS panics.  For a while
we ran the machine with the drive cabinet pulled out of the rack
and a fan blowing across it.

That drive suffered several disk crashes while I was there.
I now have one of the affected platters hanging on my wall at home.
The pattern of shiny concentric rings on the brown surface is
rather pretty...

scott snyder
snyder@d0sb10.fnal.gov
From: dik@cwi.nl (Dik T. Winter)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Computers on TV
Date: 29 Jul 92 01:31:32 GMT
Organization: CWI, Amsterdam

In article <1992Jul28.065617.19751@blaze.cs.jhu.edu> jelson@poincare.cs.jhu.edu (Jeremy Elson) writes:
 > Yeah, I think "giga" is supposed to be pronounced "jiga"
Oh dear.  I always pronounce it with the guttural 'g' as heard in the Scottish
'loch' (two times by the way).  So I do not qualify?  If I really pronounced
it with 'j', I am sure you would not understand it at all!
-- 
dik t. winter, cwi, kruislaan 413, 1098 sj  amsterdam, nederland
home: bovenover 215, 1025 jn  amsterdam, nederland
dik@cwi.nl
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: willimsa@unix1.tcd.ie (The Phantom Coalminer)
Subject: Re: What does UNIX mean?
Organization: Trinity College, Dublin
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 20:02:08 GMT

 (Eru) writes:
>(Carl Corey) writes:
>>(Michael Rogero Brown) writes:
>>> "Is Unix an acronym, and if so what does it mean?"
>>> Well as anyone who works with Unix know, Unix is >not< an acronym,
>>> but a weak pun on Multics, the OS that Ken Thompson and all the
>>> others who worked on Unix used before before creating Unix.

>>Anyway, the pun is that Unix (eunichs) is a castrated version of Multics

>I had thought it was because while *mul*tics tried to do lots of things,
>*un*ix tries to do one thing well, (ie. time share).

No, I thought it was a pun on Multics, *Uniques*


Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: lga@sandman.stanford.edu(Laurent Amon)
Subject: Re: Gig or Jig or Gij or Jij?
Reply-To: amon@cs.stanford.edu
Organization: DSO, Stanford University
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 92 06:56:01 GMT

In article <1992Jul29.055146.22158@news.weeg.uiowa.edu>  
smills@news.weeg.uiowa.edu (MuffinHead) writes:
>  dp35@mc1adm.UWaterloo.ca (Greg Moore) writes:
>  
>  >Just as a matter of interest, after posting my comment about someone
>  >pronouncing gigabyte as "jigabyte", I'm wondering how most people
>  >pronounce gigabyte.
>  
>  >If people could mail me, I'll post the results.  Personally, I prefer
>  >"Jijibite".
>  
>     I hate it when Americans automatically pronouce a "g" as "j". Like "GIF".
>  Compu$erve supposedly pronounced it "jif" when they made it. But, the  
creator
>  of GIFConvertor pronounces his software just as it looks, with a real "G",  
not
>  a "J". To me, "jigabyte" sounds really stupid. Saying "gig" in the company
>  of non-computer people makes you sound more macho. "Jig" sounds like you
>  don't know what you're talking about. Just MHO.
>  

Un uncalled for flame that attracts a flame of its own. The jargon file,
as well as the Webster give both prononciations. Of course, If we are 
pitting Americans vs. Canadians, I'm taking a third stance. You see, I'm 
French. So with my universal knowledge, I can tell you that it is to be
pronounced with the 'zh' sound. 

zhif, zhiga, zhigabytes. Machism will never take you anywhere. Learn 
subtility, for  change.

Lga.

PS for the sarcasm impaired: :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
---
                                       |"I don't know what it's called, but
Laurent Amon                           | we're doing one about going to see 
       e-mail: amon@cs.stanford.edu    | a wizard. Something about following
           lga@sandman.stanford.edu    | a yellow sick toad. (Moving Pictures)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner)
Subject: Re: Terminal intrinsics
Reply-To: lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 22:58:15 GMT

In article <1992Jul29.195534.16441@ulowell.ulowell.edu> wex@cs.ulowell.edu writes:
>
>PDP is Not a synonym for PDP-11
>
>Some of us have programmed other PDP machines
>(1,6,7,8,9,11,12,16, and, of course, the -10) [the -20 was a DECSYSTEM]

You forgot 4,5,14,15.  I once saw a 4, used a 5, have thrown around the room 
the blacK modules from the -14, and heavily used a -15.

The -20 is sometimes a -10 depending on the color.

cjl
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: edmtl@alf.uib.no (Thor Legvold)
Subject: Re: What does UNIX mean?
Organization: University of Bergen, Norway
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 92 12:09:48 GMT


As a serious question (I know - this is not the place ;-),
how do you OS bashers feel about the Mach kernel developed
at Carnegie Mellon (sp)?  I use Dos, OS/2, Mac, & Unix in
various forms daily, but am not really a hacker (Although I
_did_ have a TRS-80 and Apple ][ ;-)

And TOPS-20, what is that?

Regards,
Thor
edmtl@fiol.uib.no
It's times like these I could use UNICODE...
From: matthews@oberon.umd.edu (Mike Matthews)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Pronouncing Unix names
Date: 29 Jul 92 23:17:14 GMT
Organization: /etc/organization

In article <Bs67zo.3vA@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> Upholder@uiuc.edu (THE Upholder of Truth) writes:
>
>aldavi01@starbase.spd.louisville.edu (Arlie Davis) writes:
>>Better yet, how do you pronounced chmod,

>Most people around here seem to pronounce all of the ch* commands
>(chmod, chfn, chsh... ) as 'change <whatever>'

I say "schmod" for chmod personally.  The others I just pronounce each
letter.

>and /etc is usually 'slash ETC' (as in the first syllable of etcetera).

eht-see is how I do that one.  And I pronounce /usr "user" too, guess that
makes me even more of a heathen. :-) (we have /NextUsers and /groups/staff,
but no /user.)

>The Upholder of Truth
------
Mike Matthews, matthews@oberon.umd.edu (NeXTmail accepted)
------
"There is no choice before us. Either we must Succeed in providing 
the rational coordination of impulses and guts, or for centuries 
civilization will sink into a mere welter of minor excitements. 
We must provide a Great Age or see the collapse of the upward 
striving of the human race"
- Alfred North Whitehead
From: mcovingt@athena.cs.uga.edu (Michael A. Covington)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: giga = jiga!   was: Computers on TV
Date: 31 Jul 92 06:04:25 GMT
Organization: University of Georgia, Athens

In article <1992Jul30.051912.19658@public.sub.org> peterk@public.sub.org (Peter Kittel) writes:
[someone writes:]
>> > Yeah, I think "giga" is supposed to be pronounced "jiga"
>
>I think we must consider where this word "giga" comes from. When I'm not
>seriously in error, it is a greek word and is definitely pronounced "giga"
>with a hard g.

So how do you pronounce "gigantic"?

-- 
==========================================================================
Michael A. Covington, Ph.D. |  mcovingt@uga.cc.uga.edu  |  ham radio N4TMI
Artificial Intelligence Programs | U of Georgia | Athens, GA 30602  U.S.A.
==========================================================================
Xref: sparky alt.alien.visitors:4958 alt.conspiracy:9475 alt.activism:13776 sci.skeptic:13446 misc.headlines:5043 alt.politics.bush:388
From: pjm@cshl.org (Pat Monardo)
Newsgroups: alt.alien.visitors,alt.conspiracy,alt.activism,sci.skeptic,misc.headlines,alt.politics.bush
Subject: Re: UFO "October Surprise" and USA TAKEOVER?!
Date: 31 Jul 92 05:04:23 GMT
Organization: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

In article <1992Jul31.011541.6582@bilver.uucp> dona@bilver.uucp (Don Allen) writes:
>[bogus conspiracy, alien invasion story] 

this can't be serious because alt.religion.kibology wasn't included in the
newsgroups where it would easily be shown to contradict sacred scripture.

-- 
-- Pat Monardo
-- pjm@cshl.org
Newsgroups: alt.alien.visitors