http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06/19/nuke_plants_to_keep_pdp11_until_2050/ -- John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc jlarkin at highlandtechnology dot com http://www.highlandtechnology.com Precision electronic instrumentation Picosecond-resolution Digital Delay and Pulse generators Custom laser drivers and controllers Photonics and fiberoptic TTL data links VME thermocouple, LVDT, synchro acquisition and simulation
the PDP-11 lives!
Started by ●June 19, 2013
Reply by ●June 19, 20132013-06-19
Excellent decision. No microsoft code will run on that platform. The world will sleep better. Art "John Larkin" <jlarkin@highlandtechnology.com> wrote in message news:8v84s8lfsj28jqatg31oadr2vlva1f4jqt@4ax.com...> > > http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06/19/nuke_plants_to_keep_pdp11_until_2050/ > > > -- > > John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc > > jlarkin at highlandtechnology dot com > http://www.highlandtechnology.com > > Precision electronic instrumentation > Picosecond-resolution Digital Delay and Pulse generators > Custom laser drivers and controllers > Photonics and fiberoptic TTL data links > VME thermocouple, LVDT, synchro acquisition and simulation
Reply by ●June 19, 20132013-06-19
On Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:34:51 -0700, John Larkin <jlarkin@highlandtechnology.com> wrote:> > >http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06/19/nuke_plants_to_keep_pdp11_until_2050/The Therac-25 was controlled by a pdp-11 ;( Cheers
Reply by ●June 19, 20132013-06-19
On Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:32:46 -0400, Martin Riddle <martin_rid@verizon.net> wrote:>On Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:34:51 -0700, John Larkin ><jlarkin@highlandtechnology.com> wrote: > >> >> >>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06/19/nuke_plants_to_keep_pdp11_until_2050/ > >The Therac-25 was controlled by a pdp-11 ;( > >CheersDon't blame the getaway horse for the bank robbery! -- John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc jlarkin at highlandtechnology dot com http://www.highlandtechnology.com Precision electronic instrumentation Picosecond-resolution Digital Delay and Pulse generators Custom laser drivers and controllers Photonics and fiberoptic TTL data links VME thermocouple, LVDT, synchro acquisition and simulation
Reply by ●June 19, 20132013-06-19
In article <8v84s8lfsj28jqatg31oadr2vlva1f4jqt@4ax.com>, John Larkin <jlarkin@highlandtechnology.com> wrote:> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06/19/nuke_plants_to_keep_pdp11_until_2050/So the thing in my shed is valuable spare parts for a nuclear plant, not old junque I'm dumb enough to pick up and take home with me? Gosh, where are the nuke plant boys looking for spare parts, I'll make them such a deal...unless it's an 8. I think it's an 11, but I haven't looked at in in a while. IIRC it ran RSX-11, which would seem to increase the odds that it's an 11, unless it doesn't. I have some 256Kb tape drives in a different shed. Yep, that's right, a whole 256K on a cute little computer cassette. In both cases I figured the power supply and case would be the parts worth the bother of dragging them home, but I could be talked into changing my mind for adequate nuke-plant money... -- Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by Please don't feed the trolls. Killfile and ignore them so they will go away.
Reply by ●June 20, 20132013-06-20
On 6/19/2013 2:34 PM, John Larkin wrote:> > > http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06/19/nuke_plants_to_keep_pdp11_until_2050/ > >Long live RSTS/E and RSX-11M!
Reply by ●June 20, 20132013-06-20
On Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:39:29 -0700, cameo <cameo@unreal.invalid> wrote:>On 6/19/2013 2:34 PM, John Larkin wrote: >> >> >> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06/19/nuke_plants_to_keep_pdp11_until_2050/ >> >> >Long live RSTS/E and RSX-11M!RSTS was wonderful. I timeshared about 20 users on a PDP11/45, and it ran for months at a stretch. -- John Larkin Highland Technology Inc www.highlandtechnology.com jlarkin at highlandtechnology dot com Precision electronic instrumentation Picosecond-resolution Digital Delay and Pulse generators Custom timing and laser controllers Photonics and fiberoptic TTL data links VME analog, thermocouple, LVDT, synchro, tachometer Multichannel arbitrary waveform generators
Reply by ●June 20, 20132013-06-20
Ecnerwal <MyNameForward@replacewithmyvices.com.invalid> wrote:> In article <8v84s8lfsj28jqatg31oadr2vlva1f4jqt@4ax.com>, > John Larkin <jlarkin@highlandtechnology.com> wrote: > >> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06/19/nuke_plants_to_keep_pdp11_until_2050/ > > So the thing in my shed is valuable spare parts for a nuclear plant, not > old junque I'm dumb enough to pick up and take home with me? Gosh, where > are the nuke plant boys looking for spare parts, I'll make them such a > deal...unless it's an 8. I think it's an 11, but I haven't looked at in > in a while. IIRC it ran RSX-11, which would seem to increase the odds > that it's an 11, unless it doesn't. I have some 256Kb tape drives in a > different shed. Yep, that's right, a whole 256K on a cute little > computer cassette. In both cases I figured the power supply and case > would be the parts worth the bother of dragging them home, but I could > be talked into changing my mind for adequate nuke-plant money...FWIW my late dad programmed a pdp11 in the mid-1970s. One of his old pdp11 manuals from 1975 still sets on my shelf as a keepsake. My Basic progamming class in engineering school used a teletype connected to a minicomputer. Although the setup probably offered an experience similar to a pdp11, my minicomputer was actually an HP, IIRC. -- Don Kuenz
Reply by ●June 20, 20132013-06-20
On 19-06-2013 23:34, John Larkin wrote:> > > http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06/19/nuke_plants_to_keep_pdp11_until_2050/ > >Well, software is one thing - hardware another. While there may be some good reasons to keep a PDP-11 from a software point of view, I wonder how you should be able to keep the hardware going. And while the software may be solid and safe, what does that help if the hardware is failing all the time. I had once the "pleasure" of keeping a Nord-10 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nord-10) running until it was replaced in 2002. Hardware failures/problems where they major hurdle. Just thinking of trying to keep such a machine in a reliable condition until 2050 gives me the creeps. This appears to push obsolescence problems to the next level. Klaus
Reply by ●June 20, 20132013-06-20
On 2013-06-20, Klaus Bahner <Klaus.Bahner@ieee.org> wrote:> On 19-06-2013 23:34, John Larkin wrote: >> >> >> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06/19/nuke_plants_to_keep_pdp11_until_2050/ >> >> > Well, software is one thing - hardware another. > While there may be some good reasons to keep a PDP-11 from a software > point of view, I wonder how you should be able to keep the hardware > going. And while the software may be solid and safe, what does that help > if the hardware is failing all the time. > > I had once the "pleasure" of keeping a Nord-10 > (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nord-10) running until it was replaced in > 2002. Hardware failures/problems where they major hurdle. Just thinking > of trying to keep such a machine in a reliable condition until 2050 > gives me the creeps. This appears to push obsolescence problems to the > next level.keep the code, just run it under emulation, there's no shortage of PDP11 emulators. -- ⚂⚃ 100% natural --- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: news@netfront.net ---
