- WLUG - wlug.mailman3.com

Re: [Wlug] Meeting Reminder! Next Meeting Thursday June 14th at 7pm

by Tim Keller

I forgot to put the location! It's NOT the usual place!!! We're going to be in the Campus Center Chairmans Room (rm 129) on the bottom floor. On Wed, Jun 13, 2018 at 1:45 AM, Tim Keller <turbofx(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hey Gang, > > We've got a meeting on Thursday at June 14th! > > Time: 7pm > Topic: Github / Branch Scope / VDO > > We'll be talking about the Microsoft's purchase of Github and how it > *might* affect the FOSS community. We'll also be talking about Branch > Scope... Yet another vulnerability in Intel CPUs are vulnerable to having > unprivileged users read large swap of memory, even segments that are > protected by Intel's famed > > I'll also demo VDO (RedHat's new dedup / compression block layer). > > Snacks and refreshments will be provided! > > Afterwards we'll head off for dinner to continue the conversation! > > Later, > Tim. > > -- > I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their > constituents as "consumers". > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

June 13, 2018

Meeting Reminder! Next Meeting Thursday June 14th at 7pm

by Tim Keller

Hey Gang, We've got a meeting on Thursday at June 14th! Time: 7pm Topic: Github / Branch Scope / VDO We'll be talking about the Microsoft's purchase of Github and how it *might* affect the FOSS community. We'll also be talking about Branch Scope... Yet another vulnerability in Intel CPUs are vulnerable to having unprivileged users read large swap of memory, even segments that are protected by Intel's famed I'll also demo VDO (RedHat's new dedup / compression block layer). Snacks and refreshments will be provided! Afterwards we'll head off for dinner to continue the conversation! Later, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

June 13, 2018

Free to a good home: HP PSC 1315xi All in one printer

by Tim Keller

Have you been waiting to get yourself one of those awesome web connected printers, but didn't want to shell out the big bucks? Well... you're out of luck, this is NOT one of those printers. If however, you'd like a reliable inkjet printer that works well with linux, let me know. The scanner / copier / printing functions all work. Better yet, it has new ink cartridges in it as well! Mind you, it is an elderly printer, but I've had zero issues with it. The only con is that HP branded ink cartridges are getting expensive, but the knockoffs work just fine as well. Let me know if you'd like it and I'll hand it over at the meeting tonight. Thanks, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

May 17, 2018

Meeting Tonight!

by Tim Keller

We've got a meeting tonight! Date / Time / Place: May 17th / 7pm / WPI Mid Century Room rm 331 (the usual place) Topic: Digital Ocean droplets / MFA ssh / Mail & Website conversation. Drinks / Snacks will be provided and we'll head off afterwards for dinner! Later, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

May 17, 2018

Reminder! WLUG meeting Tomorrow May 17th, 2018!

by Tim Keller

We've got a meeting tomorrow! Date & Time: May 17th, 2018 @ 7pm Location: WPI Mid Century Room (rm 331) "The Usual Place" Topic: Digital Ocean / Droplets / MFA ssh Also we're going to have a discussion about what we'd like to do with the WLUG mailing list (possibly rehosting it somewhere) and a revamp of our webpage. As usual snacks and refreshments will be provided and we'll head off for dinner somewhere afterwards. Thanks, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

May 16, 2018

Re: [Wlug] REMINDER NO MEETING TONIGHT!!!

by Richard Klein

Thanks for the reminder! I've still got it on my calendar for tonight. It's probably been covered before, but I'd love to know more about Docker and VMs, if we need subjects. It's stuff I haven't had time to explore on my own. On Thu, May 10, 2018 at 9:37 AM Tim Keller <turbofx(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Due to WPI commencement activities we've moved the meeting to NEXT > Thursday (May 17th) > > Thanks, > Tim. > > -- > I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their > constituents as "consumers". > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

May 10, 2018

REMINDER NO MEETING TONIGHT!!!

by Tim Keller

Due to WPI commencement activities we've moved the meeting to NEXT Thursday (May 17th) Thanks, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

May 10, 2018

MEETING DATE CHANGE!!! May 17th!

by Tim Keller

Talking with Frank, because of commencement, I'm moving the meeting to May 17th. Sorry for any confusion! Date: May 17th, 2018 Time: 7pm Location: Campus Center Mid Century Room 331 (our usual spot) Topic: Future of WLUG mailing list and website I've recently been tinkering with Digital Ocean and it might be a sensible spot where we can host wlug.org and the mailing list. Also I can show off MFA authenication of ssh sessions (likely on a digtial oceans droplet) As usual I'll have refreshments and snacks and we'll head off for dinner (and maybe dessert!) and continue the conversation. Thanks, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

May 4, 2018

Next Meeting May 10th 2018 Topic: TBD

by Tim Keller

Hey Gang, Our next meeting is May 10th, 2018. Topic: To Be Decided If there's something someone would like to talk about, let me know and we'll set it up. Here are a couple of ideas: 1. Digital Ocean Cloud Droplet stuff (possibly around hosting wlug mail) 2. Configuring MFA authentication on SSH. Beyond that we'll likely talk about when we'd like the BBQ and other stuff we'd like to talk about. Later, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

April 30, 2018

Embedded Linux contract opening

by John Spencer

Connected Systems has a client with a long-term contract opening (12+ months) in the Littleton, MA area for a Sr or Prin Embedded Software Engineer with strong C/C++ and embedded Linux experience. Responsible for design and development of embedded software for next gen systems using C and C++ Design and develop Linux software including kernel and driver management. Requirements: Must be US Citizen with ability to obtain a Secret Clearance. Current clearance is a plus, but not required. 8+ years of embedded software design and development in a commercial or defense environment Strong experience designing and developing in an embedded Linux environment using C and C++ Experience with driver and kernel configuration BSEE or related technical degree Please send your resume and any questions to my email below. Regards, John Spencer Connected Systems Partners Office: (978) 455-5550 x208 Cell: (978) 621-9743 jspencer(a)connectedsp.com<mailto:jspencer@connectedsp.com> www.connectedsp.com<http://www.connectedsp.com/> GET CONNECTED! All information in this email, unless indicated otherwise in the body of the email, is considered confidential and intended for the view and use of the recipient(s) only.

April 27, 2018

Re: [Wlug] Digital Ocean

by Chuck Anderson

This looks cool: https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-run-your-own-mail-s… I would prefer if there was a turnkey solution for Mailman 3, Postorius, and Hyperkitty. I had played around with those a bit several years ago when they were new. Hyperkitty allows participation in the mailing lists via a web forum interface. On Fri, Apr 20, 2018 at 04:46:45PM -0400, John Stoffel wrote: > > I've got my mail hosted on a Digital Ocean droplet and I'm very > happy. For approx $72 a year I get a full Linux system with 1gb of > RAM and 20gb of SSD storage. Plenty for a mail/web hosting setup for > a small family site. > > Tim> One of the podcasts I listen to "Linux Unplugged" has a promo for "Digital > Tim> Ocean" that gets you a $10 credit to go screw around with stuff > > Tim> I just spun up a CentOS box and I've been poking around. It looks like it's > Tim> QEMU/KVM on the insides... > > Tim> Later, > Tim> Tim.

April 20, 2018

Re: [Wlug] Digital Ocean

by John Stoffel

I've got my mail hosted on a Digital Ocean droplet and I'm very happy. For approx $72 a year I get a full Linux system with 1gb of RAM and 20gb of SSD storage. Plenty for a mail/web hosting setup for a small family site. Tim> One of the podcasts I listen to "Linux Unplugged" has a promo for "Digital Tim> Ocean" that gets you a $10 credit to go screw around with stuff Tim> I just spun up a CentOS box and I've been poking around. It looks like it's Tim> QEMU/KVM on the insides... Tim> Later, Tim> Tim. Tim> -- Tim> I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their Tim> constituents as "consumers". Tim> _______________________________________________ Tim> Wlug mailing list Tim> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org Tim> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

April 20, 2018

Digital Ocean

by Tim Keller

Hey Guys, One of the podcasts I listen to "Linux Unplugged" has a promo for "Digital Ocean" that gets you a $10 credit to go screw around with stuff I just spun up a CentOS box and I've been poking around. It looks like it's QEMU/KVM on the insides... Later, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

April 20, 2018

Great meeting last night!

by Tim Keller

Hey Everybody, Last night's meeting was fantastic! It's always great to get a full house! For those of you who were unable to make it, there were a number of fantastic mini talks. Login gave a great 15 minute rundown regarding the "audit2allow" tool to generate selinux rules. Login then proceeded to show how SElinux is running in lots of places... and then SSH'd into his phone to show that it was also run SElinux. kudos on the sshing over bluetooth from your laptop... that was cool. Greg then gave a great demo on a very lightweight security oriented linux called "Heads" (as opposed to the more well known "Tails" distribution. What was more amazing was that he was running it on a pretty old laptop and it was zippy... Though their support for mirroring displays could be a bit clearer! It was really impressive what you can do with a two core pentium laptop and a usb stick! Lastly, Chuck showed off Qubes. While the install didn't finish until we'd come back from dinner! Chuck was able to talk about the idea of separating applications into different Xen domains. It was really cool. Though we talked about this at and after dinner... I'm fearful that Xen is going the way of the dodo... I wonder if in the future the Qubes people will support other hypervisors. Thank to Login, Greg and Chuck for presenting and thanks to everybody for turning it into a lively and interesting round table discussion. Later, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

April 13, 2018

Re: [Wlug] WLUG Meeting Tomorrow! Topic: Security Oriented Linux

by Tim Keller

That would be awesome! On Thu, Apr 12, 2018 at 10:03 AM, Chuck Anderson <cra(a)wpi.edu> wrote: > I can try to get Qubes working again on my laptop. I kinda doubt it would > work as a VM since it is based on Xen VMs itself. > > On Thu, Apr 12, 2018 at 02:10:28AM +0000, Tim Keller wrote: > > Hey Gang, > > > > Our next meeting will be April 12th, 2018. > > > > Time: 7pm > > Location: WPI Mid Century Room rm 331 > > > > The topic of this meeting will be Security Oriented Linux(s). In short > > these are versions of linux that attempt to harden your machine through > > encryption, process isolation, etc. and obscure your access to the > internet > > using proxies and tor. > > > > This will include Tails, Kali, Whonix, Qubes, etc. > > If you are using one of the above, drop me a quick line. > > > > Otherwise, I'll be running a few of these as VMs on my machine. > > > > Snacks and refreshments will be provided and afterwards we'll head off > for > > dinner and keep the conversation going. > > > > Thanks, > > Tim. > > > > -- > > I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their > > constituents as "consumers". > > > _______________________________________________ > > Wlug mailing list > > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > > -- > - Chuck (0 Days until IPv4 depletion: http://ipv4depletion.com/) > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

April 12, 2018

Re: [Wlug] WLUG Meeting Tomorrow! Topic: Security Oriented Linux

by Chuck Anderson

I can try to get Qubes working again on my laptop. I kinda doubt it would work as a VM since it is based on Xen VMs itself. On Thu, Apr 12, 2018 at 02:10:28AM +0000, Tim Keller wrote: > Hey Gang, > > Our next meeting will be April 12th, 2018. > > Time: 7pm > Location: WPI Mid Century Room rm 331 > > The topic of this meeting will be Security Oriented Linux(s). In short > these are versions of linux that attempt to harden your machine through > encryption, process isolation, etc. and obscure your access to the internet > using proxies and tor. > > This will include Tails, Kali, Whonix, Qubes, etc. > If you are using one of the above, drop me a quick line. > > Otherwise, I'll be running a few of these as VMs on my machine. > > Snacks and refreshments will be provided and afterwards we'll head off for > dinner and keep the conversation going. > > Thanks, > Tim. > > -- > I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their > constituents as "consumers". > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug -- - Chuck (0 Days until IPv4 depletion: http://ipv4depletion.com/)

April 12, 2018

WLUG Meeting Tomorrow! Topic: Security Oriented Linux

by Tim Keller

Hey Gang, Our next meeting will be April 12th, 2018. Time: 7pm Location: WPI Mid Century Room rm 331 The topic of this meeting will be Security Oriented Linux(s). In short these are versions of linux that attempt to harden your machine through encryption, process isolation, etc. and obscure your access to the internet using proxies and tor. This will include Tails, Kali, Whonix, Qubes, etc. If you are using one of the above, drop me a quick line. Otherwise, I'll be running a few of these as VMs on my machine. Snacks and refreshments will be provided and afterwards we'll head off for dinner and keep the conversation going. Thanks, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

April 12, 2018

Re: [Wlug] Human Machine Interface

by Richard Klein

Yes, Keith, you're interesting! On Fri, Apr 6, 2018 at 12:07 AM, Keith Wright <kwright(a)keithdiane.us> wrote: > Richard Klein <rich(a)richardklein.org> writes: > > > If anyone has experience writing HMI software, > > I hear my employer needs someone. > > This your lucky day! I wrote some of that years ago; > here it is: > > ;;; Copyright Keith Wright (2018) > ;;; This is Free Software. Licence GPL v2 or later. > > (define (HMI) (display "prompt>") (read)) > > > I think we're looking for an EE, too. > > I have a roll of CAT-5 and a crimper tool. > > > Let me know if you're interested. > > Let me know if I'm interesting. > > -- Keith > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

April 6, 2018

Re: [Wlug] Human Machine Interface

by Keith Wright

Richard Klein <rich(a)richardklein.org> writes: > If anyone has experience writing HMI software, > I hear my employer needs someone. This your lucky day! I wrote some of that years ago; here it is: ;;; Copyright Keith Wright (2018) ;;; This is Free Software. Licence GPL v2 or later. (define (HMI) (display "prompt>") (read)) > I think we're looking for an EE, too. I have a roll of CAT-5 and a crimper tool. > Let me know if you're interested. Let me know if I'm interesting. -- Keith

April 6, 2018

Re: [Wlug] Meeting April 12th, 2018 Topic: Security oriented Linux distributions.

by Richard Klein

I was starting to plan to bring my tower with Kali and was wondering if a monitor would be available, but then i remembered I'd have to haul it up from the parking area. It's an old Dell Precision; it's pretty heavy. A VM sounds good to me! On Thu, Apr 5, 2018, 9:06 PM Tim Keller <turbofx(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hey Gang, > > Our next meeting will be April 12th, 2018. > > Time: 7pm > Location: WPI Mid Century Room rm 331 > > The topic of this meeting will be Security Oriented Linux(s). In short > these are versions of linux that attempt to harden your machine through > encryption, process isolation, etc. and obscure your access to the internet > using proxies and tor. > > This will include Tails, Kali, Whonix, Qubes, etc. > If you are using one of the above, drop me a quick line. > > Otherwise, I'll be running all of these as VMs on my machine. > > Snacks and refreshments will be provided and afterwards we'll head off for > dinner and keep the conversation going. > > Thanks, > Tim. > > > > -- > I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their > constituents as "consumers". > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

April 6, 2018

Human Machine Interface

by Richard Klein

If anyone has experience writing HMI software, I hear my employer needs someone. I think we're looking for an EE, too. Let me know if you're interested. -- Rich

April 6, 2018

Meeting April 12th, 2018 Topic: Security oriented Linux distributions.

by Tim Keller

Hey Gang, Our next meeting will be April 12th, 2018. Time: 7pm Location: WPI Mid Century Room rm 331 The topic of this meeting will be Security Oriented Linux(s). In short these are versions of linux that attempt to harden your machine through encryption, process isolation, etc. and obscure your access to the internet using proxies and tor. This will include Tails, Kali, Whonix, Qubes, etc. If you are using one of the above, drop me a quick line. Otherwise, I'll be running all of these as VMs on my machine. Snacks and refreshments will be provided and afterwards we'll head off for dinner and keep the conversation going. Thanks, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

April 6, 2018

Re: [Wlug] Resurrecting old computers with Linux...

by Chuck Anderson

I wonder if Sparkler Filters is still using their IBM 402 which they were still using as of 2012: https://www.pcworld.com/article/249951/computers/if-it-aint-broke-dont-fix-… They seem to be in business still: http://www.sparkler.com/ On Sat, Mar 31, 2018 at 09:42:37PM -0400, Jon "maddog" Hall wrote: > John, > > If I remember correctly, the equivalent of "assembly language" for the 1401 > (either the IBM model or the IMB model) was "Autocoder". > > The IBM 1401 was introduced about 1961. By the time I started work at > Aetna Life and Casualty in 1973, we had become the "Largest commercial user > of IBM Equipment in the Free World". That means that maybe the government > used more IBM computers, or that the Russians or the Chinese were using > more IBM computers, but other than that AETNA WAS THE LARGEST. We > AUTOMATICALLY ordered two of anything IBM announced. No sales person had > to call us. IBM announced it: Aetna ordered two. > > So by that time we had lots of IBM 1401s and lots of Autocoder programmers. > > Then the IBM 360 line came out, and with it IBM's line of batch operating > systems: MFT, MVT, VS-1, VS-2, and (finally) MVS. Unfortunately getting > jobs into and out of these batch systems was extraordinarily painful until > the Houston Automatic Spooling Priority (HASP) system (developed at the IBM > Federal Systems Division of the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Flight Center in > Houston, Texas) came out and made life bearable for the operators of the > machines. [Editorial Side Note: These were not "Network Administrators", > nor "Systems Administrators"....these were OPERATORS! As in BOFH! Never > forget that! And for heaven sake RTFM!] > > With those also arrived a time-sharing system called CP-67 along with a > small "Cambridge Monitor System" (CMS), needed because CP-67 was a Virtual > Machine. > > Yes, a Virtual Machine in 1973! Which eventually was renamed to "VM/CMS" > and "CMS" became the "Conversational Monitor System".....but I digress.... > > Aetna had a LOT of machines, and a LOT of Autocoder programs, and a LOT of > Autocoder programmers, which they tried to convert to COBOL. > > Yes, COBOL, that wondrous language developed by the team headed up by my > personal hero, Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper! > > After several years most of the programmers were happily writing COBOL > (yes, I know that seems hard to believe, but they were) except for a few > Autocoder programmers left to make bug fixes and extensions to existing > Autocoder programs. Of course new programs and new systems were written > in COBOL, because why would you write anything new in Autocoder. > > As the 1401s were replaced by 360s and (later) 370 machines, IBM created an > emulator for Autocoder that operated in a 360/370 system, so you could run > Autocoder programs binary compatible on your 370/370 mainframe. And when > you did you almost heard the IBM choking. > > I never coded in Autocoder, but I did hear one story about an instruction > that "rotated all of memory under the accumulator", and it was said that > when that instruction (which executed gracefully on a real IBM 1401) hit > the emulator on the 360/370, you could hear the machine hemorrhaging..... > > Over time the Autocoder programmers became gloomy. They were tired of > patching old programs, and not working on any of the new, exciting systems > that Aetna was writing. Aetna had written its own real-time transaction > processing system called SAFARI (sorry Apple, we were first) and later on a > Group Claim Payment System (ACCLAIMS), which gained a lot of people glory. > > Autocoder patching did not get much glory. And over time there was less > and less work...the writing was on the wall. > > One day I came into work and found the Autocoder programmers very excited > and happy. They were given NEW programs to write! "I did not know you > guys had learned COBOL!" I exclaimed. > > "Oh, we have not learned COBOL. They are allowing us to write the new > programs in Autocoder." > > In the late 1990s there was this panic to find old COBOL programmers who > could fix potential problems with Y2K problems. I am sure that Aetna had > to bring a few Autocoder programmers back from the dead. > > And now you know THE REST OF THE STORY. > > Warmest regards, > > maddog > > > > On Sat, Mar 31, 2018 at 8:39 PM, John Stoffel <john(a)stoffel.org> wrote: > > > > > *ppppbbbbbbttttttt!* > > > > Jon> I never worked on an "IMB 1401". Was that anything like the IBM 1401? > > > > Jon> (ducks) > > > > Ken Shirriff is the guy behind righto.com, really interesting stuff he > > writes about. Sometimes I wish I was that smart and motivated. But > > writing is hard for me... as Maddog showed. > > > > *grin* > > > > Jon> On Sat, Mar 31, 2018, 19:16 John Stoffel <john(a)stoffel.org> wrote: > > > > >>>>>> "Jon" == Jon \"maddog\" Hall <jon.maddog.hall(a)gmail.com> writes: > > > > >>> The trouble with the old machines is the > > >>> eventual death of irreplacable hardware -- Pentium-MMX CPU Fans, PATA > > >>> disks and the like. > > > > Jon> Emulators and virtual machines.....allow old copies of the OS to live > > Jon> forever. > > > > Jon> I am, however, waiting for the "virtual car", for the time that > > Jon> people can no longer get the little embedded systems that allow > > Jon> modern-day cars to run. The era of "fixing up an old car" which > > Jon> both trained you in auto mechanics and "gave you wheels" is > > Jon> coming to a close. > > > > Jon> Did you see the new game on early release on Steam? System Build > > Jon> Simulator? Where you get to build a new PC in a simulation? > > Heh... > > > > Jon> Another great resource is this blog, http://righto.com, who > > works on > > Jon> old IMB 1401 systems with card punches, etc. Lots of great info > > Jon> there. > > > > Jon> John

April 1, 2018

Re: [Wlug] Resurrecting old computers with Linux...

by Jon "maddog" Hall

John, If I remember correctly, the equivalent of "assembly language" for the 1401 (either the IBM model or the IMB model) was "Autocoder". The IBM 1401 was introduced about 1961. By the time I started work at Aetna Life and Casualty in 1973, we had become the "Largest commercial user of IBM Equipment in the Free World". That means that maybe the government used more IBM computers, or that the Russians or the Chinese were using more IBM computers, but other than that AETNA WAS THE LARGEST. We AUTOMATICALLY ordered two of anything IBM announced. No sales person had to call us. IBM announced it: Aetna ordered two. So by that time we had lots of IBM 1401s and lots of Autocoder programmers. Then the IBM 360 line came out, and with it IBM's line of batch operating systems: MFT, MVT, VS-1, VS-2, and (finally) MVS. Unfortunately getting jobs into and out of these batch systems was extraordinarily painful until the Houston Automatic Spooling Priority (HASP) system (developed at the IBM Federal Systems Division of the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston, Texas) came out and made life bearable for the operators of the machines. [Editorial Side Note: These were not "Network Administrators", nor "Systems Administrators"....these were OPERATORS! As in BOFH! Never forget that! And for heaven sake RTFM!] With those also arrived a time-sharing system called CP-67 along with a small "Cambridge Monitor System" (CMS), needed because CP-67 was a Virtual Machine. Yes, a Virtual Machine in 1973! Which eventually was renamed to "VM/CMS" and "CMS" became the "Conversational Monitor System".....but I digress.... Aetna had a LOT of machines, and a LOT of Autocoder programs, and a LOT of Autocoder programmers, which they tried to convert to COBOL. Yes, COBOL, that wondrous language developed by the team headed up by my personal hero, Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper! After several years most of the programmers were happily writing COBOL (yes, I know that seems hard to believe, but they were) except for a few Autocoder programmers left to make bug fixes and extensions to existing Autocoder programs. Of course new programs and new systems were written in COBOL, because why would you write anything new in Autocoder. As the 1401s were replaced by 360s and (later) 370 machines, IBM created an emulator for Autocoder that operated in a 360/370 system, so you could run Autocoder programs binary compatible on your 370/370 mainframe. And when you did you almost heard the IBM choking. I never coded in Autocoder, but I did hear one story about an instruction that "rotated all of memory under the accumulator", and it was said that when that instruction (which executed gracefully on a real IBM 1401) hit the emulator on the 360/370, you could hear the machine hemorrhaging..... Over time the Autocoder programmers became gloomy. They were tired of patching old programs, and not working on any of the new, exciting systems that Aetna was writing. Aetna had written its own real-time transaction processing system called SAFARI (sorry Apple, we were first) and later on a Group Claim Payment System (ACCLAIMS), which gained a lot of people glory. Autocoder patching did not get much glory. And over time there was less and less work...the writing was on the wall. One day I came into work and found the Autocoder programmers very excited and happy. They were given NEW programs to write! "I did not know you guys had learned COBOL!" I exclaimed. "Oh, we have not learned COBOL. They are allowing us to write the new programs in Autocoder." In the late 1990s there was this panic to find old COBOL programmers who could fix potential problems with Y2K problems. I am sure that Aetna had to bring a few Autocoder programmers back from the dead. And now you know THE REST OF THE STORY. Warmest regards, maddog On Sat, Mar 31, 2018 at 8:39 PM, John Stoffel <john(a)stoffel.org> wrote: > > *ppppbbbbbbttttttt!* > > Jon> I never worked on an "IMB 1401". Was that anything like the IBM 1401? > > Jon> (ducks) > > Ken Shirriff is the guy behind righto.com, really interesting stuff he > writes about. Sometimes I wish I was that smart and motivated. But > writing is hard for me... as Maddog showed. > > *grin* > > Jon> On Sat, Mar 31, 2018, 19:16 John Stoffel <john(a)stoffel.org> wrote: > > >>>>>> "Jon" == Jon \"maddog\" Hall <jon.maddog.hall(a)gmail.com> writes: > > >>> The trouble with the old machines is the > >>> eventual death of irreplacable hardware -- Pentium-MMX CPU Fans, PATA > >>> disks and the like. > > Jon> Emulators and virtual machines.....allow old copies of the OS to live > Jon> forever. > > Jon> I am, however, waiting for the "virtual car", for the time that > Jon> people can no longer get the little embedded systems that allow > Jon> modern-day cars to run. The era of "fixing up an old car" which > Jon> both trained you in auto mechanics and "gave you wheels" is > Jon> coming to a close. > > Jon> Did you see the new game on early release on Steam? System Build > Jon> Simulator? Where you get to build a new PC in a simulation? > Heh... > > Jon> Another great resource is this blog, http://righto.com, who > works on > Jon> old IMB 1401 systems with card punches, etc. Lots of great info > Jon> there. > > Jon> John > > Jon> _______________________________________________ > Jon> Wlug mailing list > Jon> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > Jon> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > Jon> _______________________________________________ > Jon> Wlug mailing list > Jon> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > Jon> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

April 1, 2018

Re: [Wlug] Resurrecting old computers with Linux...

by John Stoffel

*ppppbbbbbbttttttt!* Jon> I never worked on an "IMB 1401". Was that anything like the IBM 1401? Jon> (ducks) Ken Shirriff is the guy behind righto.com, really interesting stuff he writes about. Sometimes I wish I was that smart and motivated. But writing is hard for me... as Maddog showed. *grin* Jon> On Sat, Mar 31, 2018, 19:16 John Stoffel <john(a)stoffel.org> wrote: >>>>>> "Jon" == Jon \"maddog\" Hall <jon.maddog.hall(a)gmail.com> writes: >>> The trouble with the old machines is the >>> eventual death of irreplacable hardware -- Pentium-MMX CPU Fans, PATA >>> disks and the like. Jon> Emulators and virtual machines.....allow old copies of the OS to live Jon> forever. Jon> I am, however, waiting for the "virtual car", for the time that Jon> people can no longer get the little embedded systems that allow Jon> modern-day cars to run. The era of "fixing up an old car" which Jon> both trained you in auto mechanics and "gave you wheels" is Jon> coming to a close. Jon> Did you see the new game on early release on Steam? System Build Jon> Simulator? Where you get to build a new PC in a simulation? Heh... Jon> Another great resource is this blog, http://righto.com, who works on Jon> old IMB 1401 systems with card punches, etc. Lots of great info Jon> there. Jon> John Jon> _______________________________________________ Jon> Wlug mailing list Jon> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org Jon> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug Jon> _______________________________________________ Jon> Wlug mailing list Jon> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org Jon> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

April 1, 2018