[PLUG-TALK] PDP-8's and 10s Re: SpaceWar is back!

[Russell Senior]

>>>>> "Keith" == Keith Lofstrom <keithl at keithl.com> writes:

    Keith> On Thu, Jun 06, 2024 at 08:23:11AM -0700, Galen Seitz wrote:
    >> A large team of tech nostalgia enthusiasts have made a PiDP-10, a
    >> replica of the PDP-10 mainframe computer first launched by the
    >> Digital Equipment Corporation in 1966
    >> 
    >> <https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/jun/06/reinventing-the-pdp-10>

    Keith> I've never used a PDP-10, but did spend MANY evening hours
    Keith> with a PDP-8 at Tektronix, as a 16 and 17 year old guest.  As
    Keith> I recall, one of the toggle switches on the '8 had a short
    Keith> lever handle to enter a 12 bit word into magnetic core
    Keith> memory.  That helped with toggle switch "touch typing".  Your
    Keith> fingers read the switches while your eyes read the octal off
    Keith> a programming sheet.

Fwiw, I have a PiDP8, which was one of the PiDP-10 guy's (Oscar
Vermeulen) earlier projects. Here's a talk on youtube:

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWRDxANRT-I

There is also a PDP-11 that happened before the new-ish PDP-10 replica.

Fun side note, the Bonneville Power Administration had a PDP-10 they
used to manage their region-wide grid, that Bill Gates and Paul Allen
worked on as high school students (or something). I once (early 1980s)
got a tour of the Dittmer Control Center in Vancouver, arranged by my
dad, who was a BPA employee.

  https://www.columbian.com/news/2018/oct/16/paul-allen-honed-his-chops-in-vancouver-for-bpa/


-- 
Russell Senior
russell at personaltelco.net