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Look at the referenced IBM docs: They included the actual schematics of the adapters. I don't know if they are 100% complete, but even so, that level of techn
by hyperman1 3y ago
Look at the referenced IBM docs: They included the actual schematics of the adapters. I don't know if they are 100% complete, but even so, that level of technical detail is almost unimaginable now.
(I hope the link works, otherwise, see e.g. page 19=28).
https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_ibmpccardsptionsandAdaptersVolume2Apr84_25079400/page/n27/mode/2up?view=theater https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_ibmpccardsptionsandAda...
- dekhn 3y agothat seems pretty typical for a datasheet?
- userbinator 3y agoTry getting that level of documentation for a modern or even just slightly older (as in a decade ago) GPU.
- hyperman1 3y agoThe fact that the public could get these at all. I have another one of these with the BIOS source code. I don't think e.g. HP would publish a schematic or BIOS source for one of their laptops today(I'd love it if you prove me wrong, of course) . Otoh, I have an old 1960's tube radio, and the full circuit is attached to the backplate, in the expectation that you might want to replace a resistor some day.
- actionfromafar 3y agoI was gonna say, "or tube", but then again, I think the tubes were standard models so you'd just bring your tubes in to the department store, test them in the tube tester⁰ and get your replacement. 0: http://oldradios.50webs.com/precision/ http://oldradios.50webs.com/precision/
- dekhn 3y agoBIOS is still a shitshow; an ex-coworker of mine has been working on open bios for several decades now https://www.usenix.org/conference/als-2000/linux-bios https://www.usenix.org/conference/als-2000/linux-bios
- froh 3y agohow does their effort relate to coreboot? https://www.coreboot.org/ https://www.coreboot.org/
- dekhn 3y agoI was referring to the author of coreboot
- froh 3y agoyou sure? the Linux bios paper: author = {Ronald G. Minnich and James Hendricks and Dale Webster}, title = {The Linux {BIOS}}, coreboot: Werner Zeh, David Hendricks, and Matt DeVillier. Felix Held Jay Talbott Patrick Georgi Stefan Reinauer Ron Minnich Martin Roth Tim Crawford Felix Singer Marshall Dawson Christian Walter Julius Werner Michał Żygowsk Piotr Krol Arthur Heymans Angel Pons Eric Peers
- bitwize 3y agoThey came with the computer. Tandy's machines came with similarly detailed information and schematics as a part of the purchase. Same for many of the rinky-dink 8-bit home computers like the Commodore 64. Today's machines, if their parts have tech specs at all, they're at the bottom of a locked filing cabinet in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the leopard".
- rbanffy 3y agoTo be fair, to fully document a modern computer would require more paper than what a managed forest that covers an average rocky planet would be able to provide in a decade.
- weinzierl 3y agoThese old radios often had little pouches inside where the documentation, usually including full schematics, was kept.
- Brananarchy 3y agoIt's typical for a datasheet, but when was the last time you were able to get a proper datasheet for the electronic components and devices you use every day?
- kevin_thibedeau 3y agoDon't worry. SZ is perfecting the art of zero information datasheets.
- rsaxvc 3y agoIt is not typical for contemporary GPUs or ICs.
- jhallenworld 3y agoAT&T PC 6300 also had this level of detail- https://www.pcjs.org/machines/pcx86/att/6300/ https://www.pcjs.org/machines/pcx86/att/6300/ https://www.amazon.com/Model-6300-Computer-SAMS-Computerfacts/dp/067208984X https://www.amazon.com/Model-6300-Computer-SAMS-Computerfact... For IBM, service parts and information were available due to the famous 1956 consent decree: https://www.gadgetreview.com/ibm-1956-consent-decree#what-did-the-ibm-1956-consent-decree-do https://www.gadgetreview.com/ibm-1956-consent-decree#what-di...
- NoZebra120vClip 3y agoWhen I joined my church choir in 2006, we had an unnecessarily elaborate sound system, including "rock star" solo mics for every individual chorister and a 24-channel mixer that nobody knew how to use. By 2010 we'd updated it to a correctly sized system with a more modest mixer that nobody knew how to use, either. Therefore, I took it upon myself to search by model number, print out a pair of copies of the comprehensive user manual, and then I tucked one of them snugly into the rack mount for reference by any current and future directors.