3 ms·

I saw it done in the 1970s on a PDP-8 at the University of Minnesota. It wasn't just a couple of tones, it was playing complete songs. Later on a Z80 micro. Com

by mark-r 9y ago

I saw it done in the 1970s on a PDP-8 at the University of Minnesota. It wasn't just a couple of tones, it was playing complete songs. Later on a Z80 micro. Computers really emitted a lot of RF back then!

braythwayt 9y ago
For good tones, you had to get down close to "the metal." I recall that there were a few programs like this, but I believe they were written in assembler or machine language so as to control the cpu and bus directly.
- mark-r 9y ago
  Back then most programming for those machines was done at that level!
  - braythwayt 9y ago
    When I first laid eyes on the "High Speed Job Stream" in UofT's Sanford Fleming building (that particular building has since burnt down and been replaced), students were running jobs in PL/1, WATFIV, LISP, SPITBOL, COBOL, and many others. In the labs, there were IBM Selectric terminals dedicated to APL. And there was a BASIC dialect over at what was then "Ryerson Polytechnic." There was a room with terminals and acoustic couplers, no security to keep you out. You need a username and password to use the terminals, but the username and password for each class was posted on a corkboard, so you would write your own programs as long as you didn't get in the way of actual students trying to finish their assignments. I don't doubt that "most" programming was done in assembler, but there was no shortage of higher-level programming going on.
    - mark-r 9y ago
      I said most programming for those particular machines. I agree that mainframes had largely moved on, and probably the larger minis too. My first exposure to programming was time-shared Basic in 1972.
      - braythwayt 9y ago
        You know, I think we've somehow fallen into _violent agreement_ on all subjects.
uhny-uftz 9y ago
When I was a kid in the early 80's, I couldn't use my TRS-80 Model I during prime time TV hours. The main TV antenna for the house was located in the attic above my room. When I turned on my computer, the interference would essentially wipe out the VHF-Lo channels. Sometimes I would forget until I heard my parents yelling from across the house. Ah... good times...

by mark-r 9y ago

braythwayt 9y ago

For good tones, you had to get down close to "the metal." I recall that there were a few programs like this, but I believe they were written in assembler or machine language so as to control the cpu and bus directly.

mark-r 9y ago
Back then most programming for those machines was done at that level!
- braythwayt 9y ago
  When I first laid eyes on the "High Speed Job Stream" in UofT's Sanford Fleming building (that particular building has since burnt down and been replaced), students were running jobs in PL/1, WATFIV, LISP, SPITBOL, COBOL, and many others. In the labs, there were IBM Selectric terminals dedicated to APL. And there was a BASIC dialect over at what was then "Ryerson Polytechnic." There was a room with terminals and acoustic couplers, no security to keep you out. You need a username and password to use the terminals, but the username and password for each class was posted on a corkboard, so you would write your own programs as long as you didn't get in the way of actual students trying to finish their assignments. I don't doubt that "most" programming was done in assembler, but there was no shortage of higher-level programming going on.
  - mark-r 9y ago
    I said most programming for those particular machines. I agree that mainframes had largely moved on, and probably the larger minis too. My first exposure to programming was time-shared Basic in 1972.
    - braythwayt 9y ago
      You know, I think we've somehow fallen into _violent agreement_ on all subjects.

uhny-uftz 9y ago

When I was a kid in the early 80's, I couldn't use my TRS-80 Model I during prime time TV hours. The main TV antenna for the house was located in the attic above my room. When I turned on my computer, the interference would essentially wipe out the VHF-Lo channels. Sometimes I would forget until I heard my parents yelling from across the house. Ah... good times...