Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site utastro.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!harpo!seismo!ut-sally!utastro!nather From: nather@utastro.UUCP (Ed Nather) Newsgroups: net.unix Subject: Re: YADS - Yet Another DECtape Story Message-ID: <99@utastro.UUCP> Date: Wed, 8-Feb-84 16:00:56 EST Article-I.D.: utastro.99 Posted: Wed Feb 8 16:00:56 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 10-Feb-84 04:30:31 EST References: <16462@sri-arpa.UUCP> Organization: UTexas Astronomy Dept., Austin, Texas Lines: 27 {} Knock not the linc-tape, you modern heathens -- it was gold in its time. Not too many people know about the linc (laboratory instrument computer) that was developed at MIT's Lincoln Lab more years ago than I like to count. The idea was to provide local computing power -- a sort of workstation -- to run laboratory instruments. To keep costs down it was designed as a kit, to be constructed by the user (who would then, perhaps, know how to fix it) with a compact instuction set (8 total) and, for random access, a whole 1K of core. Word length: 12 bits. Designer: Wesley A. Clark. But it needed offline storage, and drums were too expensive (disks? You mean phonograph records?) hence the block-addressed, byte-wide format on tape. Blocks were re-writable; sounds just like the latest Sinclair, doesn't it? The 1K internal store: if it was big enough for Univac ... A lot of people didn't want to build kits, so Clark approached a local firm that made plug-in boards, and got them to build the kits for the fumble-fingered. The outfit sold a few, got good responses, cleaned up the design a bit (keeping the 12 bit format and 8 instructions) and, viola`! The PDP-8. I think the outfit is still in business. -- Ed Nather ihnp4!{ut-sally,kpno}!utastro!nather Astronomy Dept., U. of Texas, Austin