3 ms·
Gotta admit, PDPs look really cool, and even modern. The toggle buttons, the blinking lights, it's all so fascinating to watch. Then, after 5 minutes, it occurs
by blippage 4y ago
Gotta admit, PDPs look really cool, and even modern. The toggle buttons, the blinking lights, it's all so fascinating to watch. Then, after 5 minutes, it occurs to you "If only there was a more efficient way of doing this".
I've never used a PDP, mind. I'm not quite that old.
- cbm-vic-20 4y agoDEC thought the same thing; so they added peripherals like Boot ROM cards. It's interesting to see how the PDP-11 series evolved from the beginning with teletypes and punch tapes, requiring the operator to toggle in programs on the switches into ferrite core memory, and ended up with multi-user UNIX systems with multiprocessing, Winchester drives, and networking.
- nmdeadhead 4y agoI'm that old. I toggled the PDP-8 our high school had. I did it often enought that for over a decade after I stopped I had the RIM bootloader memorized. It's only a handful of instructions. You can see it on page 35 of http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/dec/pdp8/software/DEC-08-NGCC-D_PaperTapeSW.pdf http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/dec/pdp8/software/DEC... I have a few old timey computer stories, including using a punch card to transport a chunk of nitrogen triiodide. Hijinks ensued.
- noyesno 4y agoI'd love to hear the stories.