[rescue] Cold War hardware movements - was Re: WTB: Functioning VAX machine

[Toby Thain]

On 21/02/12 4:37 PM, Jochen Kunz wrote:
> On Mon, 20 Feb 2012 02:01:13 -0500
> Toby Thain<toby at telegraphics.com.au>  wrote:
>
>> Plus, given the importance of PDP-11 clones, the Soviet bloc must have
>> had hardware at some point; if the embargo had been perfect they'd have
>> invented their own architecture, I speculate. They certainly were
>> capable of it. It's not clear what real benefit compatibility is, under
>> the circumstances.
> Well. Software. If you have compatible hardware you can reuse all the
> software. Software is much easier to replicate then hardware. But they
> replicated the hardware too. There where several clones of western CPUs
> in the east.

Of course. The PDP-11 was quite popular in the Soviet bloc - for example 
there's the BK home computer which is regularly discussed on #classiccmp.

But software compatibility also assumes a leaky embargo. It's all rather 
amusing in hindsight.

<editorial> Why should we take today's posturing and bluster any more 
seriously? </editorial>

--Toby

 > If you can make your way through German I can recommend:
> http://www.robotrontechnik.de/
> That is a really good collection of information about computing in East
> Germany through the 40 years it existed.