Re: Perfboard computers, VAX and others - Re: About support for rtVAX300

[Gregg Levine <gregg.drwho8%gmail.com@localhost>]

On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 9:22 PM, Toby Thain 
<toby%telegraphics.com.au@localhost> wrote:
> On 14/01/13 9:14 PM, Gregg Levine wrote:
>>
>> On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 9:06 PM, Toby 
>> Thain<toby%telegraphics.com.au@localhost>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> On 14/01/13 2:12 PM, Paul Koning wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Jan 14, 2013, at 1:40 PM, John Wilson wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> From: Toby Thain<toby%telegraphics.com.au@localhost>
>>>>>
>>>>>> I have
>>>>>> a couple of J11's sitting around, and a dozen Transputers. I'd love to
>>>>>> learn enough electronics, and have enough spare time, to build the
>>>>>> support circuitry and run them.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> You definitely should!  I don't know much about the Transputer but if
>>>>> it's
>>>>> anything like the XMOS XS1 CPU (same architect) it must be a ton of
>>>>> fun.
>>>>>
>>>>> John Wilson
>>>>> D Bit
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Transputers are interesting beasts.  All I know is their theory, which
>>>> appears to be small compute nodes interconnected by multiple fast
>>>> message
>>>> passing links.  So you can build a large multicomputer setup with a mesh
>>>> of
>>>> those.
>>>>
>>>> For programming, you can use C or the like, but there's a different
>>>> programming language (Occam) specifically designed to make use of that
>>>> message passing machinery.  Given who created it (C.A.R. Hoare) I assume
>>>> it
>>>> ties into his research into the design of reliable distributed
>>>> algorithms.
>>>>
>>>
>>> I used two T800 TRAMs in the late 1980s, attached to a NuBus card (Levco
>>> Translink) in Macintosh II series. I programmed them in C (under MPW) and
>>> yes, they are heaps of fun.
>>>
>>> I also ported TeX, METAFONT and associated utilities to the Transputer
>>> (since evan a single T800 was so much faster than the 68020 host machine
>>> and
>>> I was using them for production work every day).
>>>
>>> --Toby
>>>
>>>
>>>>          paul
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>> Hello!
>> I remember that family of processors. Interesting family.
>>
>> I also remember my second Mac. It was a Mac II who worked at a
>> typography facility that my father ran. The system did a better job
>> running Quark Express and feeding output to a pair of laser
>> phototypesetters. And this was a facility who also hosted a pair of
>> (very) bored Eclipse machines (DG) who did the same, and a trio of
>> regular systems for phototypesetting.
>
>
> I bought a used Linotronic L100 - the hardware still exists, it's stored in
> Sydney Australia. I wasn't able to find a collector interested in it, even
> though it was the first PostScript imagesetter. I used to drive it with TeX,
> but also all the other graphic arts software including Illustrator and
> Photoshop, Quark XPress, etc.
>
> Likewise, I worked with my father; we ran a small newspaper for a few years.
> Long story, but all Mac based from about 1987 until 1992 when I left.
>
> I have a friend in Melbourne Australia who collects Nova 3 and Eclipse
> machinery: http://chookfest.net/nova3/index.html
>
> I wrote this assembler to help him out (Nova/PDP-8):
> http://telegraphics.com.au/svn/dpa/trunk/
>
> --Toby
>
>
>>
>> You (Toby) must be aware that TI invented the NuBus backplane and used
>> it for the family of LISP systems that were popular about that time
>> period. I believe all of those machines were based on bit-slice
>> technology.
>>
>> Apple licensed the bus and used the parts TI created to support it,
>> for that family of machines, until the invention of the PCI bus.
>>
>> That's why Dave I know a fair bit about the DG machine living with all of
>> you.
>> -----
>> Gregg C Levine gregg.drwho8%gmail.com@localhost
>> "This signature fought the Time Wars, time and again."
>>
>

Hello!
That's the family member alright. The fellow understood Postscript,
but used a translator box to translate PS into Cora.

Those were fun.

-- 
-----
Gregg C Levine gregg.drwho8%gmail.com@localhost
"This signature fought the Time Wars, time and again."