3 ms·

What other systems did they build similar to the PALM? I remember as a young kid buying a quite large (~3ftx4ftx3ft) IBM minicomputer that was just filled wit

by vt240 9y ago

What other systems did they build similar to the PALM? I remember as a young kid buying a quite large (~3ftx4ftx3ft) IBM minicomputer that was just filled with those modules at a local thrift shop during the late 80s. No keyboard or screen, although I seem to remember it had an 8in floppy drive. Its been so long I can hardly remember it, but I distinctly remember those cards with the square metal cans, many of them socketed. It had a really nice set of schematics and service manual inside the case also. edit: After some google digging, it must have been something like a 3274 terminal controller.

peter_d_sherman 9y ago
This is tremendously interesting, if it would have worked (and if I could time travel), then I would have wanted it! 10 or 15 years ago I was reading the classifieds, and a local company was dumping an entire mainframe system with terminals. I don't remember which one it was, but I think I looked up the model numbers and I found it was something like a $150,000 mainframe system ten years earlier. The price? Make an offer! I probably could have had it for a couple of hundred bucks and U-Haul rental charges! But yeah, I would have wanted one of those if it worked! It would just be cool to have...
- vt240 9y ago
  Despite my parents being computer illiterate, I'm glad they were pretty understanding. I never had any IBM experience but I had spent plenty of time on MicroVAX, HP 9000 and later with Sun. I did a number of local pickups (ahh the memories of trying to shuffle a HP9000/835 down Columbia tower and into a dodge caravan) of hardware and knew a person who worked with Sun in Seattle who would sell me old demo stock for a $1. I spent years trying to get rid of it all, no one would take it even for free, and unfortunately had to recycle most of it. Although the Paul Allen museum bought some of DEC Alpha stuff. It just cost too much electricity to even play with.

by vt240 9y ago

peter_d_sherman 9y ago

This is tremendously interesting, if it would have worked (and if I could time travel), then I would have wanted it! 10 or 15 years ago I was reading the classifieds, and a local company was dumping an entire mainframe system with terminals. I don't remember which one it was, but I think I looked up the model numbers and I found it was something like a $150,000 mainframe system ten years earlier. The price? Make an offer! I probably could have had it for a couple of hundred bucks and U-Haul rental charges! But yeah, I would have wanted one of those if it worked! It would just be cool to have...

vt240 9y ago
Despite my parents being computer illiterate, I'm glad they were pretty understanding. I never had any IBM experience but I had spent plenty of time on MicroVAX, HP 9000 and later with Sun. I did a number of local pickups (ahh the memories of trying to shuffle a HP9000/835 down Columbia tower and into a dodge caravan) of hardware and knew a person who worked with Sun in Seattle who would sell me old demo stock for a $1. I spent years trying to get rid of it all, no one would take it even for free, and unfortunately had to recycle most of it. Although the Paul Allen museum bought some of DEC Alpha stuff. It just cost too much electricity to even play with.