On Sun, 11 Nov 2007 17:34:41 +0100, Peter Köhlmann wrote:
> yakety yak wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 11 Nov 2007 10:46:10 -0500, Jerry McBride wrote:
>>
>>> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>>>
>>>> MIT releases the sources of MULTICS, the father of UNIX!
>>>>
>>>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>>> | This is extraordinary news for all nerds, computer scientists and |
>>>> the Open Source community: the source code of the MULTICS operating |
>>>> system (Multiplexed Information and Computing Service), the father |
>>>> of UNIX and all modern OSes, has finally been opened. `----
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
> http://www.kirps.com/web/main/_blog/all/mit-releases-the-sources-of-multics-the-father-of-unix.shtml
>>>>
>>>>
>>> I have no idea what I'm going to do with this... but I grabbed all I
>>> can.
>>> :')
>>
>> "Unfortunately you can't install this on any PC, as MULTICS requires
>> dedicated hardware, and there's no operational computer system today
>> that could run this OS."
>>
>> I bet it doesn't take long for the emulator to appear. :)
>
> You bet wrong. The hardware would not be easy to emulate, and it would
> make the system slow to boot
Like that's going to stop those maniacal geek programmers... anyone want a
VAX? :)
-----------------------------------------------------
Ubuntu package name: ts10
"Emulators for PDP-10, PDP-11, VAX"
"TS10 is a multi-system emulator that includes three working emulators:
PDP-10 (KS10 and KL10), PDP-11 (KDF11 and KDJ11), and VAX (MicroVAX II
and VAXserver 3900)."
-----------------------------------------------------
If that doesn't float your boat, how about an IBM System/370?
-----------------------------------------------------
Ubuntu package name: hercules
"System/370, ESA/390 and z/Architecture Emulator"
"Hercules is an open source software implementation of the mainframe
System/370 and ESA/390 architectures, in addition to the new 64-bit
z/Architecture."
"This means that your PC can emulate an IBM mainframe processor. The
mainframe can range from a 360 to a z900 - running in "System/370" mode,
"ESA/390" mode, or "z/Architecture" mode. Hercules executes S/370,
ESA/390, and z/Architecture instructions and channel programs. It emulates
mainframe I/O devices by using PC devices. For example, 3390 DASD devices
are emulated by large files on your hard disk, and local 3270 screens are
emulated by tn3270 sessions."
"Hercules implements only the raw S/370, ESA/390, and z/Architecture
instruction set; it does not provide any operating system facilities. This
means that you need to provide an operating system or standalone program
which Hercules can load from an emulated disk or tape device. You will
have to use a free software operating system such as Linux, write the
operating system or standalone program yourself, obtain a license from IBM
to run one of their operating systems on your PC, or use IBM programs and
operating systems which have been placed in the public domain."
"Virtual networking can be accomplished using the TUN/TAP driver in 2.2
and 2.4 kernels. For older kernels, try the vmnet package."
"Hercules was created by Roger Bowler and is maintained by Jay Maynard.
Jan Jaeger designed and implemented many of the advanced features of
Hercules."
-----------------------------------------------------
I don't know if these emulators on a 2 Ghz PC are as fast as the originals
under full load, but that's not really the point anyway. People just like
to explore software for its historical or nostalgic value. One or two
users is all they need to handle.
Speaking of nostalgia, I found an old 1991 CompUSA catalog in the attic
yesterday:
Cheapest desktop:
Leading Technology 5500AT
12 Mhz 286, 1 MB RAM
1.44 MB floppy
MSDOS 4.01
No hard drive mentioned.
$469
Most expensive desktop:
Dell System 433TE
33 Mhz 486, 4 MB RAM
1.2 MB and 1.44 MB floppy drives
No hard drive mentioned.
$7900
Cheapest laptop:
Toshiba T1000
4.77 Mhz 80c88, 512 KB Ram
Supertwist CGA display
720K floppy
MS-DOS 2.1
No hard drive mentioned.
$639
Most expensive laptop:
Toshiba T3100SX
16 Mhz 386SX, 1 MB RAM
80 MB HD
1.44 MB floppy drive
Gas-plasma VGA display
$3389
A few hard drives:
Impulse LP50 - 50 MB - $299
Seagate ST157A - 42 MB - $199
Seagate ST1102A - 89 MB - $349
Seagate ST2383A - 331 MB - $1299
Micropolis 1598 - 1.2 GB - $2999
As I approach 60, I hate to think how much of my life's income has gone to
now-obsolete tech toys instead of the IRA. :(
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