Newsgroups: alt.os.multics,alt.sys.pdp10,alt.folklore.computers,comp.lang.lisp
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!news2.near.net!news.mathworks.com!news.kei.com!world!mbg
From: mbg@world.std.com (Megan)
Subject: Re: Retro-Computing! 
Message-ID: <D60HJE.1zx@world.std.com>
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
References: <D5yxwn.5BG@sdf.saomai.org>
Date: Sat, 25 Mar 1995 19:45:14 GMT
Lines: 45

esl@sdf.saomai.org (Eric S. Lamemond) writes:

>The Decsystem20 was also another resource hog.  If you ran one today, you'd
>be looking at spending $1500 a month in just power and cooling.  The brains
>of the Decsystem20 was TOPS-20 Monitor (OS in UNIX).  The monitor was nothing
>but a glorified program loader (VP/IX in UNIX). PDP-10 programmers are often

Well, if you want to look at it in such a simplistic way, then U*x is no
better than that either...

>called hackers because nothing worked on the Decsystem20 and always had to
>be "hacked" to work.  Some of the tools of the day were TECO (VI in UNIX)

No, the term 'hacker' in those days meant something special (at least
where I came from).  Unix programmers (the rabid ones) are what I would
use the current (media) definition of hackers for...

Comparing TECO to VI?  You've got to be kidding, VI is to TECO as a
a sneaker is to a car...

>and DDT.  Fortunately these days no one needs to use a debugger.  In the

Another joke, right?  Nowadays, with optimizing compilers and executable
images which bear no relation to the source, you couldn't use one anyway.
Not that you would want to, wich such obscure user interfaces...

The variables on the stack have to be searched for, they're not where
you would expect...

>superior operating systems (such as SunOS, ULTRIX, AIX and LINUX) the system
>does what is called a PANIC .. the machine then just needs to be rebooted
>therefore debugging is not necessary.

Yes, most U*x systems panic at the drop of a bit... for reasons which
other systems could ride through and report in a more graceful way...

Ah, but I sense that maybe you are making fun of u*x systems as well...

heck, they deserve it...

					Megan Gentry
					Former RT-11 Developer

p.s. Hmmm, sounds like a troll for unix-haters...

