HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: john@gu.uwa.edu.au (John West)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Computer Superstition
Date: 20 Nov 1992 07:40:43 GMT
Organization: The University of Western Australia
NNTP-Posting-Host: mackerel.gu.uwa.edu.au

Murray_Moffatt@kcbbs.gen.nz (Murray Moffatt) writes:

>We've all heard of common superstitions such as not walking under ladders 
>and throwing salt over your left shoulder if you spill some, but are 
>there any superstitions to do with computers?

Well it isn't really the same thing, but there's a machine hiding somewhere
in this room that just will not boot during winter unless you speak nicely
to it, stroking some of the chips for a few minutes. You see... it was built
in the summer. The oscillator really doesn't like the cold.

John West
--
For the humour impaired: Insert a :-) after every third word
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,alt.fan.warlord
From: mdw@theory.TC.Cornell.EDU (Matt Welsh)
Subject: Re: *free* Unix ?? (was: Unix admin horror stories)
Organization: Cornell Theory Center
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 13:21:43 GMT

In article <Jok6TB2w165w@mertwig.UUCP> xyzzy@mertwig.UUCP (Daniel Drucker) writes:
>Which is better, Linux or 386BSD? With a 486 with 16 meg ram 600 meg hd

Why don't you read comp.os.linux or comp.unix.bsd instead? There was a good
'answer' to your question in the most recent Linux News. This stuff does
not belong in a.f.c, unfortunately.

And, for alt.fan.warlord: He's baaaaaaaaack!

>--
>Daniel Max P. Drucker, the network communications wizard.
>
>mertwig!xyzzy@jaflrn.uucp                   amateur radio callsign pending
>Disclaimer: It's all my fault!
>
>"Difficulty! It's the single simplest machine in the entire Universe!" -HHGTTG

mdw

-- 
Matt Welsh    mdw@tc.cornell.edu        +1 607 253 2737
Systems Programmer, Cornell Theory Center
  "We're going away now. I fed the cat."
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: Martin A Laster <mlaster@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Subject: Write a short story
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 20:14:51 GMT


This is for all you creative story writers.  Let's see how well you can write.

If you could create a character for you to be for only one night at your
favorite night club, what would you think would happen that night at that
club.  Explain in detail the following;
 
	1) your character (i.e. employee, user)
	2) your night at the club (i.e. things you did, people you met)
  
Please keep it as realistic as possible, but also creative as possible.
This is for a study that I am doing for a night club owner who is planning
to open a new club.

Send all replies to this post to vlusane@magnusug.acs.ohio-state.edu

Have Fun !!!!!!!!!

Thank you


Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: jones@pyrite.cs.uiowa.edu (Douglas W. Jones,201H MLH,3193350740,3193382879)
Subject: Re: PDP ftp archive
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 14:29:37 GMT
Organization: University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

From article <13632@ecs.soton.ac.uk>,
by Toby Russell <tar90@ecs.soton.ac.uk>:
> I've just opened an ftp archive for PDP software so that all us PDP
> collectors can swap software with one another.

But there's already an ftp archive at telebit.com for PDP-8 software,
and there aren't very many PDP-4 collectors out there (but I do have
a photo of one), so what PDP are you talking about?  Perhaps PDP-11?

For your amusement, here's a table of the PDP's, from the alt.sys.pdp8
FAQ posting:

	DEC built a number of different computers under the PDP label, with
	a huge range of price and performance.  The largest of these are
	fully worthy of large computer centers with big support staffs.
	Here is the list of PDP computers:

	MODEL  DATE  PRICE     BITS  COMMENTS
	=====  ====  ========  ====  =====
	PDP-1  1959  $120,000  18    DEC's first computer
	PDP-2                  24    Never built?
	PDP-3                  36    Only 1 was ever built.
	PDP-4                  18    DEC used these in their factory.
	PDP-5  1963   $30,000  12    The ancestor of the PDP-8.
	PDP-6                  36    DEC's first really big computer.
	PDP-7   <66  ~$60,000  18    Widely used for real-time control.
	PDP-8  1965   $18,500  12    The smallest and cheapest PDP.
	PDP-9  1966   $35,000  18    An upgrade of the PDP-7.
	PDP-10 1967            36    A PDP-6 upgrade, great timesharing.
	PDP-11 1970   $10,800  16    DEC's first and only 16 bit computer.
	PDP-12 1969   $27,900  12    Originally known as the LINC-8/I.
	PDP-13                       Bad luck, there was no such machine.
	PDP-14                       A ROM-based controller, not a computer!
	PDP-15 1970   $16,500  18    A TTL upgrade of the PDP-9.
	PDP-16 1972            8/16  A register-transfer module system.

	Corrections and additions to this list are welcome!  The prices
	given above are the prices for minimal systems in the year the
	machine was first introduced.  The bits column indicates the word
	size.  It's worth noting that the DEC PDP-10 became the
	DECSYSTEM-20 as a result of marketing considerations, and DEC's
	VAX series of computers began as the Virtual Address eXtension of
	the PDP-11/78.

Although DEC documentation occasionally used the term PDP generically,
without a qualifying number, this was generally used as a synonym for
"DEC computer" and not as a reference to a specific machine.

Nowdays, when I hear someone refer to a PDP, or to PDP collectors, I
assume they're a fairly ignorant newbie unaware of the incredible
variation between the different DEC PDP architectures.

				Doug Jones
				jones@cs.uiowa.edu
From: Charlie_Gibbs@mindlink.bc.ca (Charlie Gibbs)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Need Intel 8080A emulator, Interact info.
Date: 19 Nov 92 22:10:13 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada

In article <1992Nov16.231929.22549@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu>
dunham@studentd.cl.msu.edu (Steven B Dunham) writes:

>Hello,
>I'm thinking of writing an emulator for the computer that I learned
>on.  An 8080A machine called an `Interact', which was produced by a
>Michigan based company.
>
>I was wondering if anyone knows where I can get some C or 68k source
>for an emulator of the Intel 8080A.

     There was an article in Dr. Dobb's Journal a few years ago with
68000 assembly source code for an 8080 emulator.  I reworked it to
run under AmigaDOS and expanded it to support the full Z80 instruction
set, including the infamous undocumented opcodes.  It's on a Fish disk
for sure, and although I don't have FTP access it's probably made it
to an FTP site such as wuarchive.wustl.edu.  It's called SimCPM, and
the latest version is 2.30.

>I also was wondering if anyone else has one of these machines.  I have
>yet to go through my pile of old chips to see if I still have the ROM,
>by I have lots of programs on cassette.

     Nope.  I wrote SimCPM to emulate my IMSAI.  :-)

Charlie_Gibbs@mindlink.bc.ca
Horn if you're honky.
From: jerome.yuzyk@freddy.ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Jerome Yuzyk) 
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: RE: COMPUTER SUPERSTITION
Date: 20 Nov 92 20:55:00 GMT
Reply-To: jerome.yuzyk@freddy.ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Jerome Yuzyk) 
Distribution: world
Organization: Freddy's Place BBS - Edmonton, AB - 403-456-4241


> We've all heard of common superstitions such as not walking under ladders 
> and throwing salt over your left shoulder if you spill some, but are 
> there any superstitions to do with computers?

  If a command sequence doesn't work the first time, typing it HARDER will
  work for subsequent attempts.
 
  The machine understands when a command line is complete (and user sits
  staring at command line instead of pressing [Enter])


___
 * MR/2 1.32 NR * I am in total control, but don't tell my wife.
From: jimf@centerline.com (Jim Frost)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Superstitions: power cycling, screen savers, surge suppressors
Date: 23 Nov 1992 21:51:15 GMT
Organization: CenterLine Software, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: 140.239.3.202

dpbsmith@world.std.com (Daniel P. B. Smith) writes:
>These are LIVE superstitions, as will shortly be demonstrated as I
>get buried by flames.  

>I have been trying since the seventies to find ANYONE who has actual
>DATA on the question of whether it is better to turn computers off when
>not in use or to leave them on.  EVERYONE has an OPINION. NOBODY seems
>to have any DATA.

Just ask the manufacturer of a disk drive what the MTBF is in terms of
continual operation as well as number of spinup cycles -- they
probably have that data.  Their data will probably show that power
cycling it once a day will not significantly affect anything.

My opinion is that turning them off makes it possible that they won't
turn on again.  This opinion has been backed up by the failure of a
number of drives -- notably the early Quantum Prodrives -- to bother
spinning up again.  It only takes a couple of those before you're not
keen on shutting the suckers down.  (It's disconcerting to have to
smack a disk to get it to spin. :-)

>I also believe that the risk of leaving a computer powered-on and UNATTENDED
>more than balances the risk of cycling it.  

Maybe.  Personally I feel the inconvenience of waiting for the thing
to do its power-on-self-test more than balances the risk of leaving it
on.

>Screen-savers. A very clever way of providing a market for display hacks.
>And a very useful justification for people who just enjoy having neat
>stuff on their screen. No doubt screen-savers actually ARE needed on some
>CRT's, particular the older point-plotting and stroke-tracing models in 
>which all of the beam current was going into a tiny area. But what about
>stock CRT's in normal use on PC's and Macintoshes?  If they're really 
>NECESSARY why aren't they designed into the hardware? I've seen a classic
>(1984, monochrome) Mac that was essentially left on 24 hours a day for years,
>and the menu bar had darkened just a bit -- but it didn't matter when the
>menu bar was being DISPLAYED in normal use.

Try it on a color monitor.  Burn-in isn't that bad on mono displays
unless they have really high brightness and contrast (like the
original Pong machines) but I've seen sony trinitrons burned in with
the HP graphical logon logo -- on an HP 9000/710.

Just making the screen black works for me.

>Personally, I don't futz with screen savers because I hate adding yet another
>layer of TSR-like software into my system.

Ah, you must use MS-DOS.  I never bothered with 'em on those systems
either because they tended to crash quite regularly when I was using
them.  I had the Midas Touch I guess.

jim frost
jimf@centerline.com
From: lstowell@pyrnova.mis.pyramid.com (Lon Stowell)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE IBM
Date: 18 Nov 92 01:21:52 GMT
Reply-To: lstowell@pyrnova.pyramid.com (Lon Stowell)
Organization: Pyramid Technology Corp., Mountain View, CA

In article <STEVEV.92Nov17104240@miser.uoregon.edu> stevev@miser.uoregon.edu (Steve VanDevender) writes:
>
>I suspect that the questions apply to IBM's most famous series of
>machines, the 360/370 series.  If you thought them placing
>increasingly souped-up versions of the 8088 in IBM PCs was bad,
>note that the 360/370 series has been using the same instruction
>set and processor architecture for nearly _30 years_.  IBM's
>top-end mainframes (like the 3090) still run IBM 360 programs in
>binary form.

    To paraphrase a nameless IBM product planner...'

    The only reason God was able to create the universe in 6 days
    was that there was no install base.   
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: dp@world.std.com (Jeff DelPapa)
Subject: Re: Computer Superstition
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 22:33:48 GMT

My favorite little bit of superstition actually got cast in paper -
The written directions for building a product world for the TI
explorers at Palladian, had a a first step "Go into dp's office, find
the sledgehammer, and place it gently on the disk cabinet" (and no,
someone else wrote the directions)

my favorite computer go-faster gesture, is to make a motion like
turning a crank next to the monitor; winding it up as it were... I
keep meaning to find an old machine tool crank and fasten it to my
monitor... 

obfoklore - the Harvard Mark I had a crank for use when single stepping.

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: peter@NeoSoft.com (Peter da Silva)
Subject: Sync Three Times...
Organization: NeoSoft Communications Services -- (713) 684-5900
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 12:14:18 GMT

I feel a song cue coming on...

	"Sync Three Times on the console if you waa-aaa-aant me...."

Cut, it's a wrap.

There's always the old bit-rot stuff. Lots of debugging techniques (just
try recompiling it) are practically superstitious...
-- 
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.
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: wollman@sadye (Garrett Wollman)
Subject: YKYBHTLW...
Organization: University of Vermont, EMBA Computer Facility
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 01:48:55 GMT

My boss is away for two weeks, so I have been working on his
workstation.  It's a double-headed SGI Indigo with IndigoVideo, so I
have one screen that I'm actually working on, and another one for the
Video Control Panel and live video input.  The way this system works,
you can move the mouse off one screen and onto the other (they are
connected at the inside borders).  Today I wanted to change the
channel on the TV receiver, so I tried to move the mouse pointer off
the left side of the left-hand window to click on the `channel down'
button.

Hey, this ``Hacking too long'' stuff isn't half bad... I WANT one of
these workstations!

-GAWollman

-- 
Garrett A. Wollman   | Shashish is simple, it's discreet, it's brief. ... 
wollman@emba.uvm.edu | Shashish is the bonding of hearts in spite of distance.
uvm-gen!wollman      | It is a bond more powerful than absence.  We like people
UVM disagrees.       | who like Shashish.  - Claude McKenzie + Florent Vollant
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.computers:16279 comp.sys.misc:964
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,comp.sys.misc
Subject: Re: Burroughs B20
From: jsr@dexter.mi.org (Jay S. Rouman)
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 01:16:59 GMT
 <1992Nov15.193413.12639@ousrvr.oulu.fi> <frain.721858827@depot.cis.ksu.edu.cis.ksu.edu>
Organization: Private System, Mt. Pleasant, MI, USA

In article <frain.721858827@depot.cis.ksu.edu.cis.ksu.edu> frain@cis.ksu.edu (Jerry Frain) writes:
>BTOS is better than most PC OS's, as far as I am concerned.  There is
>a very well-defined programmer interface to the OS.

I can add some subjective comments from my experience with the NCR
version of the B20.  The application software was indeed as good or
better than anything available on a PC at the time.  It was also
possible to buy user terminals for the machine to form a work cluster.
The terminals shared the hard drive of the main machine, but I don't
know if they used their own CPU or if CTOS multitasked.  In any event,
both the hardware and CTOS were very well crafted.

On the other hand, the machine was quite expensive ($20,000 sticks in
my mind) and the yearly support contract cost more than a new PC.  You
needed the support contract because the documentation assumed that the
reader had cement for brains and if CTOS decided that it didn't like
you, calling NCR was almost your only hope.  Sometimes you were lucky
enough to talk to someone who knew more than the location of the power
switch.  In all fairness to CTOS, almost all of the problems were
caused by botched installation disks.

The worst problem was that CTOS was a real operating system, with user
names, security, logging (lots of logging), and everything else you
would expect.  Unfortunately, the poor little 8086 (later 80186 if
memory serves) just wasn't equal to the challenge.  The machine spent
most of its time servicing the considerable needs of the operating
system, and not much capacity was left for the operator.  I guess it
would be somewhat like watching an XT run Windows (assuming that it
would).  It would be fun to see CTOS running on a modern processor.
--
Jay Rouman  (jsr@dexter.mi.org  jsr@ais.org)
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.computers:16403 comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc:14787
From: mark-r@spec0.ee.man.ac.uk (Mark Robinson (JO PhD))
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: PC Shareware writers' help wanted.
Date: 18 Nov 92 17:20:23 GMT
Followup-To: sender
Organization: Dept Electrical and Electronic Eng, Manchester University, UK


Hi.
I have writen a PC software package which I would like to 
release as shareware. Before doing this though, I'd like
to ask a few questions of shareware writers...

1. How can I protect my copyright? ie what proof do I have
once my code is in general circulation that I wrote it.

2. I don't really have time to send out latest versions, 
so I'd want to release a full working version. This means
that registration would get you nothing except a good
feeling inside. Is this wise?

3. What sort of return can I expect to see? ie how many
people are likely to register, given that the package
is fairly specialised, but the PC has a huge user base.

4. Tell me a little about your package, how much you ask
for, and how many registrations you have recieved.

Note the followup (hope Followup-To: sender works) to
avoid starting flame wars etc.

TIA
Mark
mark-r@spec0.ee.man.ac.uk
--
______________________________________________________________________
Multimedia Information Systems Lab | I'm a slug and I'm alright
Dept. Of Electrical Engineering    | That's 'cos I'm hermaphrodite
University of Manchester           | It bothers me not that I have no
Dover St. Manchester. M13 9PL      |                     friends
England                            | 'Cos I have fun with both my ends
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: hees@cubic.com (Phil Hees)
Subject: Re: command abbreviation
Organization: Cubic Tomato Corp.
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 92 19:08:45 GMT

alderson@elaine46.Stanford.EDU (Rich Alderson) writes:
>wingo@apple (Tony Wingo) writes:
>>Yeah, back when I was programming on a PDP-10 in the early 70's, about two
>>thirds of our teletypes (ASR33's mostly) had the back-arrow as the shift-O
>>character. PIP was not the only thing that used it: I saw at least one
>>ALGOL variant that used it for assignment.
>
>Would that have been SAIL, perhaps?

If I recall correctly, BLISS-10 used the back arrow for assignment.
SAIL is of approximately the same vintage.

--
Phil Hees
hees@cubic.com
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: bwatson@nyx.cs.du.edu (bruce watson)
Subject: Re: Value of a PDP-11,VAX-11/750?
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, 16 Nov 92 18:16:44 GMT

In 1970 a basic PDP-11 went for US$10800.

--
Bruce Watson  wats@nyx.cs.du.edu  Toy Cows, Toy Cows in Africa, Toy Cows
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: payner@netcom.com (Rich Payne)
Subject: Re: Computer Superstition
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 19:50:36 GMT

In article <1992Nov18.123436.25443@news.columbia.edu> lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner) writes:
>In article <10292323.7317.11306@kcbbs.gen.nz> Murray_Moffatt@kcbbs.gen.nz (Murray Moffatt) writes:
>>We've all heard of common superstitions such as not walking under ladders 
>>and throwing salt over your left shoulder if you spill some, but are 
>>there any superstitions to do with computers?
>>
>
>Never ever use a unix-based computer; it is ultimately fatal; there are no
>known exceptions.

Now I find out.  :^}
 
>cjl


Rich

payner@netcom.com



Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: jdahl@rchland.vnet.ibm.com (Jared Dahl)
Subject: Re: Computer Superstition
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 02:11:10 GMT
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM Rochester

In article <10292323.7317.11306@kcbbs.gen.nz>, Murray_Moffatt@kcbbs.gen.nz (Murray Moffatt) writes:
|> We've all heard of common superstitions such as not walking under ladders 
|> and throwing salt over your left shoulder if you spill some, but are 
|> there any superstitions to do with computers?
|> 

Sure.  
  Never walk under the bit bucket.   

-- 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
| Jared Dahl             | "My heart is human, my blood is boiling, | 
| Systems Programmer     |  my brain IBM"                           |
| IBM - Rochester, MN    |              -- STYX,  "Mr. Roboto"      |
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Opinions expressed are mine, not IBM's.
From: drake@drake.almaden.ibm.com (Sam Drake)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE IBM
Date: 21 Nov 92 08:28:21 GMT
Organization: IBM Almaden Research Center

In article <30546@nntp_server.ems.cdc.com> tbruseha@hollywood.ems.cdc.com (Tom Brusehaver) writes:
|Did you really get rid of it, or did you just replace the physical
|unit (card reader/punch) with something else?  Arent most devices
|attatched to a 360 class mainframe (or sorry 390) through SNA still
|considered card readers and punchers (I haven't actually messed with
|VSE, only MVS)?

Nonsense.  

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: pt@geovision.gvc.com (Paul Tomblin)
Subject: Re: ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE IBM
Reply-To: pt@geovision.gvc.com
Organization: Not officially GeoVision Systems Inc., Ottawa, Ontario
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 13:48:55 GMT

stevev@miser.uoregon.edu (Steve VanDevender) writes:

>I suspect that the questions apply to IBM's most famous series of
>machines, the 360/370 series.  If you thought them placing
>increasingly souped-up versions of the 8088 in IBM PCs was bad,
>note that the 360/370 series has been using the same instruction
>set and processor architecture for nearly _30 years_.  IBM's
>top-end mainframes (like the 3090) still run IBM 360 programs in
>binary form.

From this I infer that you consider it a ``bad thing'' that an IBM mainframe
(or PC) user can upgrade his hardware without buying new versions of commercial
software?

How is this bad?  Because it means you don't get the latest and greatest
(mis)features by upgrading your software at the same time?  Because you can
upgrade things incrementally?  Because software that works and does everything
you need it to do will continue to work, only faster?

Disclaimer: I have not used an IBM mainframe in 7 years, and I no longer use
my PC - my ex-wife uses it for Word Perfect, and I use a VT220 and a modem
for home computing.

-- 
Paul Tomblin, pt@geovision.gvc.com
(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"
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
From: rogerj@aix.rpi.edu (Diversion (Jeff Rogers))
Subject: IBM and 3
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 22:04:28 GMT

Is there something that IBM loves about the number 3? Didja ever notice how
alot of ibm equipment starts with the number 3? Like system 36, 360, 370,
3090, 3270, etc. I'm sure people with more knowledge could give more
examples (someone just mentioned IBM disk drives that were numbered 33xx)

Is this just coincidence? Or does IBM only get things right in multiples of
3?

Diversion
-- 
"I can see 'em                          | "Want me to create a diversion?"
    I can see 'em                       | Diversion
        Someone wake me when it's over" | rogerj@rpi.edu