MARCH frequently asked questions -- last updated early 2008

1. What is MARCH?

MARCH is a user group for people who enjoy using antique/vintage computers.  Our
name is an acronym for Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists.  Our club's legal
name has an "Inc." on the end because we're incorporated as a non-profit group.

2. I'm a nerd and live somewhere between Connecticut and Virginia, yet I never
heard of you before.

We began in early 2005 as a Yahoo discussion group
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midatlanticretro/), became an informal club in
the springtime, and didn't become a legal entity until late in the year.  Now
it's 2008 and our ship is moving at full-steam!  We also have a (simple) web
site at www.midatlanticretro.org.

3. So I have to live in the Mid-Atlantic part of the U.S. to join?

Nope.  That description just conveys where our members and activities are
concentrated.  In fact, we have members from around the country.  We have a few
more in the extremes of New Hampshire, Pittsburgh, and the Carolinas.  But as I
said, we're mostly in a triangle between Connecticut, eastern Pennsylvania, and
Washington, D.C. ... our physical home is on the New Jersey shore.

4. Physical home?  Huh?

That's right, we have a home of sorts.  Our home is the InfoAge Science Center
(www.infoage.org) which is a non-profit science museum currently under
construction.  MARCH is one of several groups residing there, and our job is to
run a computer museum on the premises.  We are making steady progress on that. 
We're currently open in "beta" mode and we're planning a grand opening for the
fall of 2008.  Our initial exhibits will be: Computing of the Region; Computing
of the Military; Microcomputers; and a "Best of the Rest" to show off our
collection aspects which aren't yet ready for full exhibits.  We'll also have a
special exhibit area for our members to show their personal collections.

5. What else does MARCH do?

Lots of fun stuff.  The most visible thing we do is maintain our Yahoo
discussion group.  Activity-wise, our flagship event is the Vintage
Computer Festival East.  Our first edition of that hobbyist convention (and the
third VCF East event overall) was in May 2006 at the InfoAge facility.  VCF East
4.0 was conducted in June 2007.  VCF East 5.0 will be in late summer or early
fall 2008 (to be deterined).  We also participate in the Trenton Computer
Festival every April, and in the HOPE (Hackers on Planet Earth) conference, plus
other minor events as they come up.  In addition we offer an online inventory
database to help you (and us) keep track our collections, but we need to be more
active in using that ... you can help!

6. Okay, this all sounds interesting.  So by "antique/vintage" do you mean my
old Pentium II?

No, we mean your old Altair, Apple II, Commodore, DEC PDP-8, Epson HX-20,
HP-1000, IBM PC, KIM-1... we could go through the alphabet a couple times but we
think you get the idea by now.  We're interested in truly antique computers, not
merely "used" computers.

7. I still don't get it.  Where can I learn more about what's antique/vintage?

Many places.  Pick up a copy of the book "Collectible Microcomputers" by Michael
Nadeau.  Or for non-micro aspects, go online.  Heck, go online anyway.  Check
out the classiccmp.org mailing lists; the Vintage Computer Festival
(vintage.org); vintage-computer.com/vcforum, vintagecomputermarketplace.com,
old-computers.com; and many, many, many others.  (If you're interested in
specific machines, just post your question to our discussion list and we can
refer you to the best sites.)

8. What's behind the scenes of this wacky endeavor?

We have some de facto officers; an official set of bylaws and all that boring
stuff is being worked on... we're just so busy having fun that we keep
procrastinating.  The officers (i.e., those who were suckered into the gig) are
myself (Evan Koblentz - prez), Bill Degnan and Andy Meyer (VPs), Jim Scheef
(treasurer), and John Allain / Bryan Pope (general helper-outers).  The six of
us take care of logistical crap so the members can have fun with everything
else.

9. Members, hmm, is it like just you and two buddies?

We're much bigger than that!  We have dozens of paid members, and 150+ on our
discussion list.

10. Uh-oh, you said 'paid'... is that the catch?

Sort of.  We realized early on that running a real club takes some money.  To
help raise money, we ask members for a $20 donation or a board-approved
alternative.  For now, alternatives include giving us good-quality folding
tables, doing some kind of work for our club which we'd otherwise have to pay
for, or being a minor. Anyway, this $20 situation is supposed to be a one-time
deal, but in real life, it may become an annual deal.  But fear not: nobody *
has to * contribute anything.  We offer some perks from time to time for the
paid members, but anyone can still participate in our group.  Basically we're a
lot like shareware -- if you like what we do, then please help us pay our bills.
Of course, donations larger than $20 are always welcome, as are donations of
antique computers and various supplies for our museum.

11. So the club is entirely member-supported?

We raise money in other ways as well.  For example, in the past we've rented
some antique computers to film companies as props, and we hope to make a few
dollars from hosting the Vintage Computer Festival and other events.  In our
museum, we'll also sell t-shirts and such.

12. I have some other question not on this FAQ.

Okay.  Tell us what it is.  Do so again by posting to our message boards or
pinging me (evan@...) ... ask us anything, we're not shy!  (And
moreover, unlike some computer clubs, we're not cliquey.  All are welcome here!)

13. What else should I know before diving in to MARCH?

If you're a nerd who thinks really old computers and their related technologies
were cool, then give MARCH a chance.  You'll be glad you did.  Also, if you were
wondering, we're NOT a bunch of old farts who sit around and whine about how
much better things used to be.  Quite the contrary: we're a lot of young and
mid-life farts who ... ooooh maybe we said too much.  :)

Mike Loewen <mloewen@...> wrote:
>
>
>     I will be bringing some things for giveaway at VCF East:
>
>     Xerox 1640 daisywheel printer, with extra ribbons, print wheels,
> tractor feed and manual.

I've emailed Mike privately to request this printer. It will be year
appropriate to show with my S-100 equipment, in the future. Mike, if
you did not get my email today please contact me as below. Thank you.

Herb Johnson
retrotechnology.com
email: hjohnson AAT retrotechnology DOTT com
if no reply, try in a few days: herbjohnson ATT comcast DOTT net

I have a vintage DOS box, two infact both 8088's.  One is an original
IBM but it will only take the smallist cards on its bus.  I believe
they only had eight bit input and output.  The other is later, an ACER
700 series.
bs


On Sun, 31 Aug 2008, Jim Scheef wrote:

> Joe,
>
> Do you have a "vintage looking DOSbox"? I may have a VGA display card that
would work. Let me know and I'll start digging.
>
> Jim
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Joe Giliberti <Starbase89@...>
> To: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2008 10:20:55 PM
> Subject: Re: [midatlanticretro] Last Request: HHGttG Manual in PDF or
something
>
>
> I'm also on the lookout for a vintage looking DOSbox that has a VGA out so I
can hookup to my 22" monitor. Otherwise I'll end up using a 90's Dell. *makes
sound of disgust*
>
> Joe
>
>
> On Sun, Aug 31, 2008 at 10:17 PM, Evan Koblentz <evan@...> wrote:
>
> Another good move.  Sometimes wide ideas are good exhibits; other
> times it's brilliant to focus on just one thing.
>
> I
> personally have very fond childhood memories of playing H2G2 on my
> //e...!
> -----Original Message-----
> From: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Joe Giliberti
> Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2008  10:12 PM
> To: midatlanticretro
> Subject: [midatlanticretro]  Last Request: HHGttG Manual in PDF or something
>
>
> I've decided to focus my exhibit solely on the HHGttG text  adventure, as I
believe it to be the most widely recognized. It will make it a  lot easier as
far as displays and computers. I am looking for the manual,  preferably in PDF
or another digital doc, for the game.
>
>

"Brian Cirulnick" <techrat@...> wrote:

> As for the CP/M versus DOS debate, I doubt anyone here actually *likes*
> Bill Gates... But, to quote someone else, the reason Microsoft is
> successful and other characters/companies in the history of computers
> have failed is because those guys made more mistakes than Microsoft did.
>
> Building a better mousetrap doesn't really mean the world will beat a
> path to your door. Didn't anyone here ever see the movie "Tucker"?
>
> ttyl
> Brian C.
>

I understand your point about relative mistakes. Can you understand a
point about relative "failure"? Gary Kildall's company was started on
a kitchen table with his wife in 1975. In 1990 it was sold to Novell
for $150 MILLION dollars - that's $250M in today's dollars. Explain to
me how that is a "failure"? Only to those who measure success in the
billions of dollars.

But that point aside, CP/M *mattered* in its time and place. That time
was not just a few years on the IMSAI, Kaypro, Osborne; but as part of
a line of products. It and products of the era, set the stage where
IBM - and Microsoft - "succeeded". History is like that. I think that
makes history worth studying, worth preserving.

Herb Johnson
retrotechnology.com

--- In midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com, "Herb Johnson"  wrote:

> I've emailed Mike privately to request this [Xerox] printer.

He agreed. Thanks1 - Herb Johnson

-----Original Message-----
From: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com [mailto:midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Bob Applegate
Sent: Monday, September 01, 2008 8:41 PM
To: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [midatlanticretro] The fun continues .... second exhibit room, etc.

I have a Franklin ACE-1000 on it's way specifically for MARCH.  Someone with an old machine offered it to me in exchange for postage.  It should arrive this week.  Assuming it's reasonably clean and working, it's MARCH's.

Bob

On Sep 1, 2008, at 7:57 PM, Evan Koblentz wrote:

Today, again, Chris and I tackled exhibit-building at the museum.  Basically we both sacrificed two of the three days this holiday weekend, but it was well worth it.  And fun, too.

 

Today we vacuumed the first room and set up the exhibits in the second room (which is actually in the THIRD room; we skipped room 2 because of ongoing renovation).

 

Chris will send me his pictures to upload.  Imagine if you: walk into the door of our second exhibit room.  On the right is an IBM exhibit.  Card punch machine,  workstation (I forget the model number), the 5155 portable, and the PC Jr.  Along the back wall is our Sony SMC-70, Electronic Associates (EAI) TR-20, Commodore SX-64 (but I think an Amiga is a better choice?), and Xerox 860.  We'll also put a small Grabbe/AMP exhibit in that section.  On the right side is one of our Perkin-Elmer minicomputers and an AT&T exhibit (3B2 and Western Electric tape drive).

 

I'd like to get something by Franklin in the room.  Maybe eliminate the IBM workstation.

 

There are so many local companies that made so many computers, and software too, that we can shake up this exhibit every few months and never run out of options.  Today we just selected some highlights of what's handy in our collection.

 

We also spent time physically cleaning some of the hardware.   For example, the Western Electric tape drive came out of Claude's barn.  Before it was pretty nasty, now it's clean(-ish).  We also took care to select the cleaner of our two PC Jr. monitors, etc., etc. ......

 

This week, in the evenings, I'll be working on posters for all of the exhibits and on the Computing of Camp Evans exhibit.

 

NEXT WEEKEND WE WILL SEE HOW MANY OF THE DEMO COMPUTERS WE CAN ACTUALLY GET RUNNING.  HELP IS NEEDED FOR THIS!

 

I'll need people to help who are more technically knowledgeable than I, in a wide range of computers.  People who can authoritatively and quickly get systems running (not labor over every detail).

 

Bill Degnan, Bryan Pope, Bob Grieb, Herb, Kelly .... yes I'm calling you guys out for this task, and whoever else can be a self-starter to GET THINGS DONE .... no hangers-around next weekend please.  It's the MARCH make-'em-work-a-thon!   :-)

 

Actually, lots of things are already working just fine.  But we to go through our storage rooms, run power strips, intelligently organize and plug in all the wires, have lots of boot disks and demo apps ready (not just for VCF, but for beyond), etc. ..........

 

I know that * some * computers like the IBM PC, Commodore PET, and TRS-80 will arrive the weekend of VCF in (more or less) turnkey condition, so those are exceptions.

 

- Evan

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com [mailto:midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Christian Liendo
Sent: Monday, September 01, 2008 9:02 PM
To: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [midatlanticretro] VCF the Atari Game

I had to do this.. It's been a long weekend http://www.labelmaker2600.com/

Sorry I took so long to respond but ask Evan I have been busy.

I don't deny the contributions of CP/M and Gary Kildall. I don't dismiss their
historical significance. I don't have to tell you that CP/M was the "standard"
and that other computers either ran CP/M or was CP/M capable. There is no
disagreement on this.

I just believe that when DOS came out, Gary should have done everything to make
CP/M better.

History is written by the winners.  ~Alex Haley

But I have had this argument before and I think at the time DOS was better,
think the commands are easier to use than CP/M and I believed that helped.   I
used PIP as an example because it is rather blatant.

This is again all personal opinion. I mean I know that PIP is used because PDPs
used PIP. But to an end user who never used a PDP, COPY is just better.

I lay the blame for this on Dr. Kildall. He was a genius, but from what I was
told didn't listen to anyone.

BTW: You have great pages discussing the history of Dr. Kildall and CP/M. The
only thing I think you are missing is GemDOS for the Atari 68xxx computers.




--- On Sat, 8/30/08, Herb Johnson <herbjohnson@...> wrote:
From: Herb Johnson <herbjohnson@...>
Subject: [midatlanticretro] Re: Interview with Andy Hertzfeld (The Mac 25yrs
later)
To: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, August 30, 2008, 1:34 PM











             Christian Liendo <christian_liendo@ ...> wrote:

>

> While I also agree you also have to remember that while CP/M "did

the job" it really needed to progress. I mean DOS used COPY and CP/M

uses PIP.

>

> You can argue that such things were minor, but I guess thats for

historians to argue about.

>

> I have the same argument with Linux people. Linux people are so

wrapped up in their open source religion they don't see why many

people think Linux is to hard for them and they get Windows/Mac machines.

>

> Also Dr. Kildall was his own worst enemy and DOS had IBM and which

helped.

>



These are cheap shots, sorry to say. Easier to say that, than to

explain why. Anyone who cares to, can find information in respond to

these "points". I have a few Web pages about Kildall, at



http://www.retrotec hnology.com/ dri/



I think he did pretty well. Better than most of us who read this. As

for IBM and MS-DOS, it's a long story, not part of this thread beyond

my reference to Hertzfeld's reference. Linux's devotees is just an

off-topic reference.



I got tired of people ignoring, or dismissing, CP/M and Gary Kildall

merely because Kildall did not become the world's richest man like

Bill Gates. It's interesting to see that kind of misplaced envy, even

in a primary developer of the Macintosh like Andy Hertzfeld. But the

issue actually comes from under-informed journalists and publisists,

like the one interviewing Hertzfeld.



Long story short, that situation is why I spent a few years writing up

CP/M on my Web site. The response from Christian, makes my case again.

I did what did, not to promote a "religion" of CP/M, but to nail down

its developmental history before all of its developers die, as did

Kildall.



Herb Johnson

retrotechnology. com

-----Original Message-----
From: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com [mailto:midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Evan Koblentz
Sent: Monday, September 01, 2008 9:13 PM
To: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [midatlanticretro] VCF the Atari Game

Nice!

 

Real pics are here: http://midatlanticretro.org/sept-08-01-pics/

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com [mailto:midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Christian Liendo
Sent: Monday, September 01, 2008 9:02 PM
To: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [midatlanticretro] VCF the Atari Game

I had to do this.. It's been a long weekend http://www.labelmaker2600.com/

 

NEXT WEEKEND WE WILL SEE HOW MANY OF THE DEMO COMPUTERS WE CAN ACTUALLY GET RUNNING.  HELP IS NEEDED FOR THIS!

 

I'll need people to help who are more technically knowledgeable than I, in a wide range of computers.  People who can authoritatively and quickly get systems running (not labor over every detail).

 

Bill Degnan, Bryan Pope, Bob Grieb, Herb, Kelly .... yes I'm calling you guys out for this task, and whoever else can be a self-starter to GET THINGS DONE .... no hangers-around next weekend please.  It's the MARCH make-'em-work-a-thon!   :-)

 

I had to do this.. It's been a long weekend http://www.labelmaker2600.com/

-----Original Message-----
From: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com [mailto:midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Jim Scheef
Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 10:39 AM
To: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [midatlanticretro] The fun continues .... second exhibit room, etc.

Chris,

The exhibits are not done until someone who knows nothing about computers can look at each machine and learn what it is and why it's there. We need signs.

Jim

----- Original Message ----
From: Christian Liendo <christian_liendo@...>
To: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 2, 2008 8:56:29 AM
Subject: Re: [midatlanticretro] The fun continues .... second exhibit room, etc.

Yea.. All the heavy lifting is done. I know because after two motrin I still feel it. The rooms are in place The machines are in place We just need fellas to make em run and do stuff. --- On Mon, 9/1/08, Evan Koblentz <evan@...> wrote: From: Evan Koblentz <evan@...> Subject: [midatlanticretro] The fun continues .... second exhibit room, etc. To: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, September 1, 2008, 7:57 PM Today, again, Chris and I tackled exhibit-building at the museum.  Basically we both sacrificed two of the three days this holiday weekend, but it was well worth it.  And fun, too.   Today we vacuumed the first room and set up the exhibits in the second room (which is actually in the THIRD room; we skipped room 2 because of ongoing renovation).   Chris will send me his pictures to upload.  Imagine if you: walk into the door of our second exhibit room.  On the right is an IBM exhibit.  Card punch machine,  workstation (I forget the model number), the 5155 portable, and the PC Jr.  Along the back wall is our Sony SMC-70, Electronic Associates (EAI) TR-20, Commodore SX-64 (but I think an Amiga is a better choice?), and Xerox 860.  We'll also put a small Grabbe/AMP exhibit in that section.  On the right side is one of our Perkin-Elmer minicomputers and an AT&T exhibit (3B2 and Western Electric tape drive).   I'd like to get something by Franklin in the room.  Maybe eliminate the IBM workstation.   There are so many local companies that made so many computers, and software too, that we can shake up this exhibit every few months and never run out of options.  Today we just selected some highlights of what's handy in our collection.   We also spent time physically cleaning some of the hardware.   For example, the Western Electric tape drive came out of Claude's barn.  Before it was pretty nasty, now it's clean(-ish).  We also took care to select the cleaner of our two PC Jr. monitors, etc., etc. ......   This week, in the evenings, I'll be working on posters for all of the exhibits and on the Computing of Camp Evans exhibit.   NEXT WEEKEND WE WILL SEE HOW MANY OF THE DEMO COMPUTERS WE CAN ACTUALLY GET RUNNING.  HELP IS NEEDED FOR THIS!   I'll need people to help who are more technically knowledgeable than I, in a wide range of computers.  People who can authoritatively and quickly get systems running (not labor over every detail).   Bill Degnan, Bryan Pope, Bob Grieb, Herb, Kelly .... yes I'm calling you guys out for this task, and whoever else can be a self-starter to GET THINGS DONE .... no hangers-around next weekend please.  It's the MARCH make-'em-work- a-thon!   :-)   Actually, lots of things are already working just fine.  But we to go through our storage rooms, run power strips, intelligently organize and plug in all the wires, have lots of boot disks and demo apps ready (not just for VCF, but for beyond), etc. ..........   I know that * some * computers like the IBM PC, Commodore PET, and TRS-80 will arrive the weekend of VCF in (more or less) turnkey condition, so those are exceptions.   - Evan

Evan. I'm getting pissed off.

You already have "a year's work". Mine, for the 11/20 exhibit.
You already have posters of quality. The three I've done. Completed
two months ago. Available, reviewed on the Web.

You've posted NOT ONE WORD about those posters. They are not in your
videos, because you've not printed them. I even asked you to print
them early, to make sure they would come out OK. I did the work well
ahead of the show, so you could have PLENTY OF TIME.

Now it's time. Will you print them and use them? or not?

Herb Johnson



Jim Scheef posted:

> The exhibits are not done until someone who knows nothing about
computers
> can look at each machine and learn what it is and why it's there. We
need
> signs.
>
> Jim
>

"Evan Koblentz" <evan@...> wrote:
>
> Don't read too much into that, Jim.   :)
>
> I'm makes a boatload of signs this week.
>
> The signs will be * simple *....  We could easily
> spend a YEAR working on these exhibits before they're truly "done",
so the
> goal right now is just to get something out there for VCF time. ...
> Right now I have easily two months' of work to do and only a few days of
> nerd-hours in which to do it.

The context of my comments was for the museum as a whole.  I think most people
on our list already know that your 11/20 work is way ahead of everything else
we've done.

-----Original Message-----

From:  "Herb Johnson" <herbjohnson@...>
Subj:  [midatlanticretro] Re: The fun continues .... second exhibit room, etc.
Date:  Tue Sep 2, 2008 12:14 pm
Size:  1K
To:  midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com

Evan. I'm getting pissed off.

You already have "a year's work". Mine, for the 11/20 exhibit.
You already have posters of quality. The three I've done. Completed
two months ago. Available, reviewed on the Web.

You've posted NOT ONE WORD about those posters. They are not in your
videos, because you've not printed them. I even asked you to print
them early, to make sure they would come out OK. I did the work well
ahead of the show, so you could have PLENTY OF TIME.

Now it's time. Will you print them and use them? or not?

Herb Johnson



Jim Scheef posted:

> The exhibits are not done until someone who knows nothing about
computers
> can look at each machine and learn what it is and why it's there. We
need
> signs.
>
> Jim
>

"Evan Koblentz" <evan@...> wrote:
>
> Don't read too much into that, Jim.   :)
>
> I'm makes a boatload of signs this week.
>
> The signs will be * simple *....  We could easily
> spend a YEAR working on these exhibits before they're truly "done",
so the
> goal right now is just to get something out there for VCF time. ...
> Right now I have easily two months' of work to do and only a few days of
> nerd-hours in which to do it.



------------------------------------

Yahoo! Groups Links

-----Original Message-----
From: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com [mailto:midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Bob Grieb
Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 7:33 PM
To: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [midatlanticretro] The fun continues .... second exhibit room, etc.

Evan,    I have other plans for this coming weekend, so I won't be able to make it up there.  I might be able to sneak in a trip before VCF opens, to deliver the Franklin Ace-1000 if Bob gets it and it's workable.  Also, I could help fire up the SWTPC 6800 machine, although I was really hoping that the directions I gave you would be adequate for someone else to run it as well.  You would need a cassette tape recorder to load the Tic-Tac-Toe game.  Without that, you can only run the debug monitor, my RAM test, and the terminal demo program. Those are all in EPROM.  With a laptop and terraterm, we could load BASIC, but I don't have any BASIC programs to demo with.    Bob Grieb --- On Mon, 9/1/08, Evan Koblentz <evan@...> wrote: From: Evan Koblentz <evan@...> Subject: [midatlanticretro] The fun continues .... second exhibit room, etc. To: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, September 1, 2008, 7:57 PM Today, again, Chris and I tackled exhibit-building at the museum.  Basically we both sacrificed two of the three days this holiday weekend, but it was well worth it.  And fun, too.   Today we vacuumed the first room and set up the exhibits in the second room (which is actually in the THIRD room; we skipped room 2 because of ongoing renovation).   Chris will send me his pictures to upload.  Imagine if you: walk into the door of our second exhibit room.  On the right is an IBM exhibit.  Card punch machine,  workstation (I forget the model number), the 5155 portable, and the PC Jr.  Along the back wall is our Sony SMC-70, Electronic Associates (EAI) TR-20, Commodore SX-64 (but I think an Amiga is a better choice?), and Xerox 860.  We'll also put a small Grabbe/AMP exhibit in that section.  On the right side is one of our Perkin-Elmer minicomputers and an AT&T exhibit (3B2 and Western Electric tape drive).   I'd like to get something by Franklin in the room.  Maybe eliminate the IBM workstation.   There are so many local companies that made so many computers, and software too, that we can shake up this exhibit every few months and never run out of options.  Today we just selected some highlights of what's handy in our collection.   We also spent time physically cleaning some of the hardware.   For example, the Western Electric tape drive came out of Claude's barn.  Before it was pretty nasty, now it's clean(-ish).  We also took care to select the cleaner of our two PC Jr. monitors, etc., etc. ......   This week, in the evenings, I'll be working on posters for all of the exhibits and on the Computing of Camp Evans exhibit.   NEXT WEEKEND WE WILL SEE HOW MANY OF THE DEMO COMPUTERS WE CAN ACTUALLY GET RUNNING.  HELP IS NEEDED FOR THIS!   I'll need people to help who are more technically knowledgeable than I, in a wide range of computers.  People who can authoritatively and quickly get systems running (not labor over every detail).   Bill Degnan, Bryan Pope, Bob Grieb, Herb, Kelly .... yes I'm calling you guys out for this task, and whoever else can be a self-starter to GET THINGS DONE .... no hangers-around next weekend please.  It's the MARCH make-'em-work- a-thon!   :-)   Actually, lots of things are already working just fine.  But we to go through our storage rooms, run power strips, intelligently organize and plug in all the wires, have lots of boot disks and demo apps ready (not just for VCF, but for beyond), etc. ..........   I know that * some * computers like the IBM PC, Commodore PET, and TRS-80 will arrive the weekend of VCF in (more or less) turnkey condition, so those are exceptions.   - Evan

> Does anyone know what it means when an Army
> contract refers to a "directive number"...?

Possibly a written order, indexed by that number.
see: "The Andromeda Strain"

John A.

-----Original Message-----
From: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com [mailto:midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Joe Giliberti
Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 11:37 PM
To: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [midatlanticretro] OT: Army question

Best. Movie. Ever.

On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 11:31 PM, John Allain <allain@...> wrote:

> Does anyone know what it means when an Army
> contract refers to a "directive number"...?

Possibly a written order, indexed by that number.
see: "The Andromeda Strain"

John A.

Watch the original, then you can talk.

-----Original Message-----

From:  "Joe Giliberti" <Starbase89@...>
Subj:  Re: [midatlanticretro] OT: Army question
Date:  Wed Sep 3, 2008 10:54 am
Size:  4K
To:  midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com

           Shut up :)
You cannot compare Star Wars, to movies like "The Andromeda Strain" and "2001: A
Space Odyssey." Star Wars is Disney in comparison.

On Wed, Sep 3, 2008 at 2:12 AM, Evan Koblentz <evan@...> wrote:

Keep  in mind folks, Joe said he never saw Star Wars.


  -----Original Message-----
From:  midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com]  On Behalf Of Joe Giliberti
Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008  11:37 PM
To: midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re:  [midatlanticretro] OT: Army question


  Best. Movie. Ever.

  On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 11:31 PM, John Allain <allain@...>  wrote:

  > Does anyone know what it means when an Army
>  contract refers to a "directive number"...?


Possibly a written  order, indexed by that number.
see: "The Andromeda Strain"

John  A.

What's the best space-oriented scifi movie?
- Star Wars
- 2001
- Plan 9
- Alien

I vote for Star Wars first, just edging out Plan 9 From Outer Space.  (Oh wait
... Plan 9 was the WORST movie ... but it's damn funny!)