[rescue] SS10/20 death

[Dave McGuire]

On February 5, Loomis, Rip wrote:
> I'm surprised that Dave (he of the PDP-8[0]) can't even
> come up with a good enough reason to keep an SM-100
> around--but I would revise my statement--an SM-100 is

  PDP8s are very well-designed processors, very interesting, and lots of
fun.  SM100s are not.

> only of use to someone who has a 6x0MP with no
> processors installed, no money *at all* to spend, and
> no interest in running a recent/current OS.  Otherwise
> the SM41/SM51s are definitely a better way to go.

  Agreed.

> Did they actually short out things enough to crispy-critter
> the power supply?  That's the part that seems strange--I would
> have expected there to be an overcurrent trip of some sort
> instead of just frying the P/S.

  Nope, just kept the machine from starting up.

> And Dave, when are you coming up here so I can buy you
> the dinner I owe you?

  Not sure...I have income now, but stupid me, I'm doing the Startup
Thing yet again...so I'm making enough to pay my bills plus about
eight bucks per month extra.  No joke. :-/

> [0]  Note that a PDP-8 *is* worth keeping as a work of art
>      if for no other reason...while an SM-100 really is
>      just a piece of crap.

  Yes.  The fact that, with a PDP8, you can put six users on terminals
doing real work on a machine with 24KW (twenty-four *kilowords*...not
megs) of RAM is pretty impressive.

    -Dave

-- 
Dave McGuire
St. Petersburg, FL         "Less talk.  More synthohol." --Lt. Worf