HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Where did 'ethernet' come from anyway  was: Re: Correct pronunciation of 'ethernet'
From: alanb@sdl.mdcbbs.com (Alan Braggins)
Date: 06 Nov 92 13:28:21 GMT
Organization: Shape Data (Division of EDS), Cambridge UK
In-reply-to: cwes1@cs.aukuni.ac.nz's message of Fri, 6 Nov 1992 03:12:01 GMT

>>>>> On Fri, 6 Nov 1992 03:12:01 GMT, cwes1@cs.aukuni.ac.nz (Clare West) said:

> If its in TNHD then its not under ether... (essentials is followed by
> evil) should it be there tho? I think so.
Is it really jargon?

":About This File:
=================

This document is a collection of slang terms used by various subcultures
of computer hackers.  Though some technical material is included for
background and flavor, it is not a technical dictionary;"

For example, there is an entry for DRECNET, but not DECNET.
Ethernet is mentioned in several entries, but I have never heard it called
anything else.
--
     Alan Braggins, alanb@sdl.mdcbbs.com, abraggins@cix.compulink.co.uk
Shape Data - A division of EDS-Scicon Limited.   Cambridge, UK +44-223-316673
   "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."
 "My employer does not necessarily share my views - but I'm working on it."
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: pratta@rpi.edu (Anthony Edward Prattico)
Subject: Re: Value of a PDP-11,VAX-11/750?
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 02:10:48 GMT

In article <BETSYS.92Nov7202627@ra.cs.umb.edu> betsys@cs.umb.edu (Elizabeth Schwartz) writes:

>Two years ago, DEC gave our VAX dept $1000 each on two 11/750's,
>mainly as an incentive sort of discount. Our understanding was that
>they were going to be crushed. There *do* seem to be a lot of hobbyist
>groups around who have working VAX'es and PDP/11's so you might find a
>taker. The problem, of course, is that they are VERY expensive to
>ship, and require special power. Also in 1989 DEC was charging $15k a
>year to service them, so repairs aren't cheap!
>I wouldn't buy one as an investment, but they are probably still of
>some use to someone.

Not just hobbyist groups. RPI has at least two working (as in used daily)
VAXes and quite literally a rack of PDP/11's that are used as NIMs, which 
stands for Network Interface Machine and are used to handle remote logins to 
the network. However, the point about power usage doesn't apply here, for
obvious reasons. (In case anyone is interested, RPI's administrative (labs,
Computing center, lecture halls, etc) electrice bill is about $330K monthly.
Residential power is billed separately.


Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: kps@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Karthik P Sheka)
Subject: Re: QUESTION: What was the 1st computer game?
Keywords: game
Reply-To: kps@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Karthik P Sheka)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 13:21:42 GMT

In article <i3558.721321601@newsie> i3558@newsie.dc.dk (Soren Michael Roug) writes:
>dmsilev@athena.mit.edu (Daniel M Silevitch) writes:
>
>>In article <BxF44y.9Kr@acsu.buffalo.edu>, dudek@acsu.buffalo.edu (The Cybard=) writes:
>>|> What was the very first computer game?  When I say computer game, I mean a
>>|> game that would not exist without the computer. (ex: ZORK, Adventure,
>>|> Pac-Man, but not computer Tic-Tac-Toe or computer chess.)
>>|> 
>>I'm pretty sure that the first game written for computers was Spacewar, written
>>for one of the early PDPs from DEC (PDP-1,-3 ?), a two-player game in which the
>>goal is to kill the other player without being killed :). Spacewar is still
>>around, someone wrote a version which runs under X.

So, anyone know where I can get a copy of spacewar for X?

//Karthik
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,alt.folklore.urban,talk.bizarre
From: thoth@uiuc.edu (Ben Cox)
Subject: Re: Jackpotting ATMs for $$$$
Originator: btc30679@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu
Reply-To: thoth@uiuc.edu (Ben Cox)
Organization: Ancient Illuminated Sears of Bavaria
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 17:53:28 GMT

rmk@rmkhome.UUCP (Rick Kelly) writes:

>	Atonally Tormented Mustard

Asynchronous Transfer Mode.

--
Ben Cox, geek
thoth@uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: along@vcd.hp.com (Anthony Long)
Subject: Re: Command completion (warstyle thread) ( Was: You know you've been
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 14:03:33 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard VCD
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5


Tig Stone (oldman@titan.ucc.umass.edu) wrote:
: 
: In article <Xo3kTB2w165w@mertwig.UUCP> xyzzy@mertwig.UUCP (Daniel Drucker) writes:
: > sibley@math.psu.edu (David Sibley) writes:
: 
: >> azog@spatula.rent.com (Billy D'Augustine) writes:
: >> 
: >> 
: >>    I mean, who cant make sense of the following command:
: >> 
: >>    $ dir/since=yesterday/before=today/size/out=my_files.txt 
: >> 
:  [...]
: >> On the other hand, perhaps these aren't assignments but a compound
: >> comparison statement.  Still, I don't know about evaluating that last
: >> fraction.
: >   ^^^^^^^^
: 
: > Fraction? FRACTION? Duh. This is so obvious. The slashes are like the - 
: > in unix. So think of it this way:
: 
:    Ummm, I think that this was a CUT on VMS, and DCLisms, not
: moronity.  You should start drinking decaf.
: 
	What the hell, I'll vote for the fraction idea! But seriously,
when I ran this lie on my machine using a Universal Language/OS Cross-
Compiler with Magical Idiot Interpreter, my CPU started to smoke and 
my system attempted to "play" "Highway To Hell"!
	On the plus side, my printer began spewing out perfect $100 bills...

			Tony

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: frank@rover.uchicago.edu (Frank - Hardware Hacker - Borger)
Subject: Re: Command completion (warstyle thread) ( Was: You know you've been
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Reply-To: frank@rover.uchicago.edu
Organization: Joint Center for Radiation Therapy
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 16:38:00 GMT

In article <BxK1px.FHx@vcd.hp.com>, along@vcd.hp.com (Anthony Long) writes...
>...
>: >> On the other hand, perhaps these aren't assignments but a compound
>: >> comparison statement.  Still, I don't know about evaluating that last
>: >> fraction.
>: >   ^^^^^^^^
>: 
>: > Fraction? FRACTION? Duh. This is so obvious. The slashes are like the - 
>: > in unix. So think of it this way:
>: 
>:    Ummm, I think that this was a CUT on VMS, and DCLisms, not
>: moronity.  You should start drinking decaf.
>: 
>	What the hell, I'll vote for the fraction idea! But seriously,
>when I ran this lie on my machine using a Universal Language/OS Cross-
>Compiler ...

	What do you get when you divide a Language by an OS?


   Frank R. Borger - Physicist    __       Internet:  Frank@rover.uchicago.edu
Michael Reese - Univ. of Chicago |___      Phone : 312-791-8075 fax : 567-7455
  Center for Radiation Therapy   | |_) _   I'ts a recession when your neighbor
                                   | \|_)  losses his job; it's a depression
    "Birthplace of Softball"          |_)  when you loose yours. - H. Truman
From: barr@pop.psu.edu (David Barr)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: proliferation of alt.adjective.noun.verb.verb.verb groups
Date: 9 Nov 92 19:26:33 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Penn State Population Research Institute

In article <BxC2MA.5zC@rahul.net> alange@rahul.net (Andrew Lange) writes:
>Just recently, I tried a "grep '\(\.[a-z][a-z]*\)\1\1' .newsrc", just for
>fun, and this is what I got:
>
>alt.half.operating.system.delay.delay.delay!

This was mine.  :-)

>Does anyone know of the history of this prediliction for naming groups
>alt.opt-adjective.noun.verb.verb.verb ?
>
>Which is the first one you saw? Have you ever created one?

I created this one mostly because I was tired of hearing OS/2 weenies
shouting "It'll be so good when it comes", and even hearing them say
"Oh, it's not late".

--Dave
-- 
System Administrator, Population Research Institute    barr@pop.psu.edu
  But you don't cure bad art by locking it all up in one museum,
  you cure it by throwing tomatoes at bad artists.  - Barry Shein
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: byh@simile.engin.umich.edu (Bartholomew Hsu)
Subject: Value of a PDP-11,VAX-11/750?
Date: Fri, 06 Nov 92 15:03:30 EST
Organization: University of Michigan Engineering, Ann Arbor
Keywords: PDP-11,VAX-11/750
Originator: byh@simile.engin.umich.edu


	I happened to be wandering through U of M's Property Disposal building
(the place where they sell off discarded and/or obsolete equipment) and 
happened to see a PDP-11 and two VAX-11/750s at $200 apiece.  They appear to
be intact, but I can`t tell if they are operable.  My questions
are 1)Are these worth $200 and 2)How can I tell if they are in working order?
Can any of you out there in net.land help me?  Thanks in advance.

Bartholomew Y. Hsu
(byh@engin.umich.edu)
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner)
Subject: Re: QUESTION: What was the 1st computer game?
Reply-To: lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 07:40:36 GMT

In article <wingo-101192101626@wingosmac.apple.com> wingo@apple.com (Tony Wingo) writes:
>
>One other note.  Several years after I graduated, I encountered an arcade
>version of Spacewar that was identical to Doug's 1130 implementation.  I
>always hoped it was something he did rather than someone ripping him off.

I saw that game also, in a games parlor.  It was definitely *NOT* a video
game, but rather a large-screen oscilloscope.  It was quite identical to
the PDP-8 version.  Apparently, all implementations were fairly faithful
to the PDP-1 original.

BTW, rocket flame is done using randomly decreased refresh of the flame
part of the rocket outline.  The visual effect is of a rocket with some
turbulance.  The whole thing looks quite "gassy" no matter how close
you get to the tube.

The sun is the "null job" in a system like this, so it tends to randomly
look quite sparkly.

cjl

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: Jeffrey Luszcz <jrl2@cornell.edu>
Subject: Re: Value of a PDP-11,VAX-11/750?
X-Xxdate: Wed, 11 Nov 92 14: 06:15 GMT
Nntp-Posting-User: jrl2@cornell.edu
Organization: Cornell University
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1.1d7
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 19:03:04 GMT

  Re: Power Failures

  I live in an apartment of a type very common in a college town, an old
house
that was hacked out an made into 4 apartments. The power system is very
flaky
if not out and our dangerious. Out kitchen and living room and 2
bathrooms and
3 bed rooms are on the same circuit.
   I am running a pdp-11/34a, 2 rx02s, 1 rk05, 1 kennady 70meg drive and
a vt100
terminal on the same circuit at all the rest.
   (2 fridges a microwave and whatnot.)
 If I'm running the system and anyone else comes home and opens the
fridge door
bamm, circuit breaker trip.
  This wasn't a problem until our landlord locked the power closet because
people were putting trash in it.
   I had to get a copy of the key from our handy man and need it nearby
if I'm going
to hack at all.
  oh well,
 Does anyone know if a pdp-11/23+ uses less power then a 34a?
  -Jeff Luszcz
   cc2x@vax5.cit.cornell.edu
From: phil@iagu.itd.adelaide.edu.au (Phil Kernick)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: QUESTION: What was the 1st computer game?
Date: 11 Nov 1992 23:51:43 GMT
Organization: Psychology Department, University of Adelaide
Distribution: world
Reply-To: phil@adam.adelaide.edu.au
NNTP-Posting-Host: iagu.itd.adelaide.edu.au

In article <1992Nov11.042012.16213@athena.cs.uga.edu>, mcovingt@aisun3.ai.uga.edu (Michael Covington) writes:

> I'd *really* like to see somebody implement that, as a gadget to be used
> with an oscilloscope.  Good oscilloscopes are now quite abundant, even
> if the screens are a bit small.  Let's see... maybe you could run the
> game on a PC using the printer port for output, and alternating between
> two DACs for X and Y axes; or maybe some custom interfacing is needed,
> or even implement it in a microcontroller such as the Motorola 68HC11
> series.  Any takers?

When I was doing Electronic Engineering at the SA Institute of Tech (now
University of SA) I remember seeing some hardware that was hacked onto the
back of a CRO to make it a TV display.

I seem to recall that the timebase was set to 15kHz, the Y input was fed a
25Hz sawtooth and the pseudo-Z axis was modulated for intensity.

It looked quite impressive really.



Regards,
Phil.

--
   _-_|\    Phil Kernick                        "Sleep all day,
  /     \   University of Adelaide               Party all night,
  \_.-*_/   E-Mail: phil@adam.adelaide.edu.au    It's fun to be a
       v    Phone:  +61 8 228 5914               Vampire!"
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,rec.arts.startrek.misc,rec.arts.startrek.tech
From: cs202144@umbc8.umbc.edu (cs202144)
Subject: Re: FORTRAN food synthesizer program
Organization: University of Maryland, Baltimore County Campus
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 12:31:08 GMT

>        Here is a goodie I came across in "The Official Star Trek
> Cooking Manual" by Mary Ann Piccard (New York:  Bantam Books, 1978,
> 203 pp, ISBN 0-553-11819-6):
> 
> Synthesizer Algorithm for Dr. McCoy's Favorite Dish (p. xiii)
> 
>        (This program can be modified to run on almost any computer
> which handles Fortran IV by changing one statement.  The variable
> IOUT must be set equal to the logical unit number of the output
> device on which the report is to be written.)
> 
> C23456789
> C        CHANGE THE STATEMENT IOUT=5 TO IOUT=THE
> C     NUMBER OF THE APPROPRIATE OUTPUT DEVICE FOR
> C     THE COMPUTER ON WHICH THE PROGRAM IS TO BE
> C     RUN.....
>       DOUBLE PRECISION RECIP,BAKED
>       DIMENSION FOOD(15),DISH(15),PAN(15),
>       1 FRYER(15),WAFFL(15)
>       COMMON/MEATS/FOOD,DISH,PAN,FRYER,WAFFL
>       DATA FOOD/'S','I','H','T',' ','M','A','R',
>      *          'G','O','R','P',' ','S','I'/
>       DATA DISH/'N','E','T','T','I','R','W',' ',
>      *          'N','I',' ','A','T','A','D'/
>       DATA PAN/'L','A','R','E','N','E','G',' ',
>      *          'N','A','R','T','R','O','F'/
>       DATA FRYER/'V','I',' ','T','I',' ','Y','A',
>      *           'M',' ','N','U','R',' ','N'/
>       DATA WAFFL/'O',' ','K','N','U','J',' ','S',
>      *           'E','N','I','H','C','A','M'/
>       IOUT=5
>       WRITE(IOUT,007)FOOD(1),WAFFL(3),DISH(2),
>      1 FOOD(12),DISH(3),FRYER(2),WAFFL(13)
>   007 FORMAT(2X,///,5X,20A2)
>       BAKED=DBL(5.)
>       RECIP=DBLE(71.)/DBLE(113.)
>       RECIP=RECIP*BAKED
>       WRITE(IOUT,73)WAFFL(13),FOOD(3),DISH(10),
>      1 WAFFL(13),WAFFL(3),PAN(6),WAFFL(4),RECIP
>    73 FORMAT(2X,///,5X,7A2,F12.6)
>       WRITE(IOUT,007)DISH(2),PAN(5),WAFFL(6),
>      1 FOOD(10),FRYER(7),WAFFL(2),DISH(10),
>      1 FRYER(4),FOOD(5),WAFFL(11),DISH(1),PAN(8)
>       WRITE(IOUT,007)PAN(7),WAFFL(1),PAN(14),
>      1 DISH(15),FRYER(6),FOOD(3),WAFFL(9),
>      1 FRYER(8),PAN(1),DISH(4),WAFFL(12)
>       STOP
>       END
>
>	[It is not quite so ugly translated into BASIC, though :) ]

I wish I had C source code for this, but one thing I did was try to compile it
as is in fortran on a DEC Unix Machine and a SGI Irix machine. On both it
complained about an undefined dbl_ and I do not know fortran at all so beyond
trying to run it through the compiler I am lost. Yes! I did edit out the
message header and all that junk so that is not my problem.
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: peter@NeoSoft.com (Peter da Silva)
Subject: Re: command abbreviation
Organization: NeoSoft Communications Services -- (713) 684-5900
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 12:49:05 GMT

In article <1de46gINNkps@early-bird.think.com> sandee@Think.COM (Daan Sandee) writes:
> Actually, even longer ago, it was
>   pip dest <-  source
> where the left arrow was a valid character on KSR38s and other wild machines.

It still is, it's just that all these young whippersnappers insist on
writing it as "_".
-- 
Peter da Silva.  <peter@sugar.neosoft.com>.
 `-_-'   "Meglelted mr ma a farkasodat ?"
  'U`    "Zure otsoa besarkatu al duzu gaur?"
Das kann nicht mein Zimmer sein, denn ich atme kein Ammoniak.
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.computers:16125 rec.arts.startrek.misc:11574 rec.arts.startrek.tech:6176
From: rfd@po.CWRU.Edu (Richard F. Drushel)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,rec.arts.startrek.misc,rec.arts.startrek.tech
Subject: FORTRAN food synthesizer program
Date: 12 Nov 1992 05:13:37 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: rfd@po.CWRU.Edu (Richard F. Drushel)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc12.ins.cwru.edu


        Here is a goodie I came across in "The Official Star Trek
Cooking Manual" by Mary Ann Piccard (New York:  Bantam Books, 1978,
203 pp, ISBN 0-553-11819-6):
 
Synthesizer Algorithm for Dr. McCoy's Favorite Dish (p. xiii)
 
        (This program can be modified to run on almost any computer
which handles Fortran IV by changing one statement.  The variable
IOUT must be set equal to the logical unit number of the output
device on which the report is to be written.)
 
C23456789
C        CHANGE THE STATEMENT IOUT=5 TO IOUT=THE
C     NUMBER OF THE APPROPRIATE OUTPUT DEVICE FOR
C     THE COMPUTER ON WHICH THE PROGRAM IS TO BE
C     RUN.....
      DOUBLE PRECISION RECIP,BAKED
      DIMENSION FOOD(15),DISH(15),PAN(15),
     1 FRYER(15),WAFFL(15)
      COMMON/MEATS/FOOD,DISH,PAN,FRYER,WAFFL
      DATA FOOD/'S','I','H','T',' ','M','A','R',
     *          'G','O','R','P',' ','S','I'/
      DATA DISH/'N','E','T','T','I','R','W',' ',
     *          'N','I',' ','A','T','A','D'/
      DATA PAN/'L','A','R','E','N','E','G',' ',
     *          'N','A','R','T','R','O','F'/
      DATA FRYER/'V','I',' ','T','I',' ','Y','A',
     *           'M',' ','N','U','R',' ','N'/
      DATA WAFFL/'O',' ','K','N','U','J',' ','S',
     *           'E','N','I','H','C','A','M'/
      IOUT=5
      WRITE(IOUT,007)FOOD(1),WAFFL(3),DISH(2),
     1 FOOD(12),DISH(3),FRYER(2),WAFFL(13)
  007 FORMAT(2X,///,5X,20A2)
      BAKED=DBL(5.)
      RECIP=DBLE(71.)/DBLE(113.)
      RECIP=RECIP*BAKED
      WRITE(IOUT,73)WAFFL(13),FOOD(3),DISH(10),
     1 WAFFL(13),WAFFL(3),PAN(6),WAFFL(4),RECIP
   73 FORMAT(2X,///,5X,7A2,F12.6)
      WRITE(IOUT,007)DISH(2),PAN(5),WAFFL(6),
     1 FOOD(10),FRYER(7),WAFFL(2),DISH(10),
     1 FRYER(4),FOOD(5),WAFFL(11),DISH(1),PAN(8)
      WRITE(IOUT,007)PAN(7),WAFFL(1),PAN(14),
     1 DISH(15),FRYER(6),FOOD(3),WAFFL(9),
     1 FRYER(8),PAN(1),DISH(4),WAFFL(12)
      STOP
      END

	[It is not quite so ugly translated into BASIC, though :) ]
-- 
Rich Drushel ** rfd@po.CWRU.edu *** Biology Ph.D. Student ** Cleveland FreeNet
Co-Sysop, Coleco ADAM Forum ******* EOS-5 / EOS-7 / OS-7 / T-DOS / soon EOS-8!
"Solda pung apfashat ro des-marno, / Marn ladir o armag noth yeni arno. / Hell
miryat it, / Jambo iat it, / Os lasse wei ticip kati baldo." / Old Ennish poem
From: alderson@elaine46.Stanford.EDU (Rich Alderson)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: QUESTION: What was the 1st computer game?
Keywords: game
Date: 10 Nov 92 00:57:28 GMT
Reply-To: alderson@elaine46.Stanford.EDU (Rich Alderson)
Organization: Stanford University Academic Information Resources
Originator: alderson@leland.Stanford.EDU

In article <i3558.721321601@newsie>, i3558@newsie (Soren Michael Roug) writes:
>Stephen Levy has in his book; Hackers descriped an early spacewar game at
>MIT. As I recall it ran on either a TX-0 or a PDP-6 and was
						   ^
						   1, not 6

>graphics-based. The game was donated to DEC which used it for testing, and
>kept it in core when shipping their systems so it would come up ready to
>go when the customer plugged the computer in.
-- 
Rich Alderson   'I wish life was not so short,' he thought.  'Languages take
                such a time, and so do all the things one wants to know about.'
                                                        --J. R. R. Tolkien,
alderson@leland.stanford.edu                              _The Lost Road_
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: jones@pyrite.cs.uiowa.edu (Douglas W. Jones,201H MLH,3193350740,3193382879)
Subject: Re: QUESTION: What was the 1st computer game?
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 20:49:22 GMT
Organization: University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

From article <1992Nov10.091841.23601@news.columbia.edu>,
by lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner):
> 
> You *can't* play *real* spacewar on a video-based interface:
	Indeed!
>                                                 The goal of the display
> portion of the game is to merely go through the entire "list" of things
> to display at least 25-30 times a second to avoid flicker, and that assumes
> the phosphor is "short".  If you didn't mind the "fading ghost" phenomenom,
> then you could use a long-phosphor tube (such as is found on a LINC-8) and
> refresh less often worse-case.

I always liked HP's storage tube display where there was a knob at the side
you could use to adjust the persistence of the display.  If the room was
bright, you'd turn it up to avoid seeing the flicker.  If the room was
dark, you'd turn it down to avoid seeing the ghosts.

If you were editing text on the storage tube, you had lots of points to
display to draw the letters, so you'd turn the persistence up to avoid
flicker (so what if deletions take a while to fade).  If you wanted to do
some fast moving display, you'd typically have fewer points to worry about,
so you'd turn the persistence down and even tolerate a bit of flicker to
avoid ghosts.
				Doug Jones
				jones@cs.uiowa.edu
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,alt.folklore.urban