🚀 go-pugleaf

>  comp.sys.cdc   is about Control Data Corp computers
>                 
>                 NOT 
>
>                 digital compact disk audio systems!!

Yeah, but this is the most (only?) activity in this newsgroup in months.
Let's give the CD guys credit for stirring up all us old CDC hackers.

Steve Jay
shj@ultra.com  ...ames!ultra!shj
Ultra Network Technologies / 101 Dagget Drive / San Jose, CA 95134 / USA
(408) 922-0100 x130	"Home of the 1 Gigabit/Second network"

In article <1991Jun13.175819.573@ultra.com>, shj@ultra.com (Steve Jay) writes:
|> Yeah, but this is the most (only?) activity in this newsgroup in months.
|> Let's give the CD guys credit for stirring up all us old CDC hackers.

I've been meaning to ask for some time:

Does anybody have a copy of Thornton's "Design of the CDC 6600" that is
otherwise collecting dust and would *love* to get rid of it?  It's been
out of print for some time.  I've been (every once in a while) scouring used
book stores for the last couple of years to no avail.  I will provide it
with a happy home.

Also, has anyone duplicated the font of the old 6000 operator console for
use with X?  'Chippewa 12 point' anyone?  :-)

Walt
-- 
Walt Spector
(wws@renaissance.cray.com)                       "Parity is for farmers"
Sunnyvale, California                                    - Seymour Cray
_._ _._ _.... _. ._.

In <204102.21677@timbuk.cray.com> wws@raphael.cray.com (Walter Spector) writes:

>Does anybody have a copy of Thornton's "Design of the CDC 6600" that is
>otherwise collecting dust and would *love* to get rid of it?

Most people I know say "Gee, I used to have it, it should be around
somewhere....".   Rich Ragan must have one.  Rich...you still around?

>Also, has anyone duplicated the font of the old 6000 operator console for
>use with X?  'Chippewa 12 point' anyone?  :-)

No way to duplicate it exactly.  The characters were not bit-maps.  The beam
actually traced the curves for each character.  You got true curves, and
each console would be a little bit different.  The movements were controlled
by the controller in the CPU chassis.  It was loads of fun to figure out
which module was busted by trying to correlate which characters came out
ok/bad with the characters that each module affected.

The logic prints did contain diagrams of each character on a 9 x 9 grid,
or something like that, along with the analog movements required to get
the character.  It would be possible to replicate what the characters
were SUPPOSED to look like, but that kind of misses the point, IMHO.

Steve Jay
shj@ultra.com  ...ames!ultra!shj
Ultra Network Technologies / 101 Dagget Drive / San Jose, CA 95134 / USA
(408) 922-0100 x130	"Home of the 1 Gigabit/Second network"
 

In <1991Jun15.012141.1107@ultra.com> shj@ultra.com (Steve Jay) writes:

>No way to duplicate it exactly.  The characters were not bit-maps.  The beam
>actually traced the curves for each character.  You got true curves, and
>each console would be a little bit different.  

What made it particularly interesting was that the beam was slow in making
large position changes.  Unless you inserted small delays into your code the
characters (or pixels -- the tube supported 512x512 dot graphics) would
end up somewhere other than where you intended.

Made for some interesting code to minimize beam movememt in a 4K byte, one
register machine.

(Maybe this should be comp.sys.nostalgia.)

--Pete Poorman
  Convex Computer Corporation
  Houston, Texas
  poorman@convex.com

In <1991Jun15.012141.1107@ultra.com> shj@ultra.com (Steve Jay) writes:

>In <204102.21677@timbuk.cray.com> wws@raphael.cray.com (Walter Spector) writes:

>>Does anybody have a copy of Thornton's "Design of the CDC 6600" that is
>>otherwise collecting dust and would *love* to get rid of it?

>Most people I know say "Gee, I used to have it, it should be around
>somewhere....".   Rich Ragan must have one.  Rich...you still around?

Yep, I'm around. Our Library here at Control Data, Silicon Valley Ops
has a copy. However, we are still rather attached to it.

>>Also, has anyone duplicated the font of the old 6000 operator console for
>>use with X?  'Chippewa 12 point' anyone?  :-)

Curiously enough, the cover of the Thornton book uses Chippewa 36point for
the title. I guess they knew a good font when they saw one. I quote from
the frontispiece:

   'The type on the cover and title page of "Design of a Computer -
    The Control Data 6600" is a sample of the 6600 display lettering.
    The display unit contains two cathod ray tubes and a manual keyboard.
    Information is displayed in alphabetic and numeric symbols which are
    formed on the surface of the tube. The symbols are then traced out
    or "painted" on the phosphor of each CRT by the action of its electron
    beam. Control of the beam for this purpose is provided by electrostatic
    deflection in two dimensions, horizontal and vertical.
    A symbol is painted by electronically converting from the symbol, as it
    is stored in the computer, to deflection voltages applied to CRT.
    The letters appearing on the cover of this book were photographed
    from the display unit.'

>Steve Jay
>shj@ultra.com  ...ames!ultra!shj
>Ultra Network Technologies / 101 Dagget Drive / San Jose, CA 95134 / USA
>(408) 922-0100 x130	"Home of the 1 Gigabit/Second network"
> 
--
Richard R. Ragan   rrr@svl.cdc.com    (408) 496-4340 
Control Data Corporation - Silicon Valley Operations
5101 Patrick Henry Drive, Santa Clara, CA 95054-1111

In article <1991Jun15.012141.1107@ultra.com>, shj@ultra.com (Steve Jay) writes:
|> In <204102.21677@timbuk.cray.com> wws@raphael.cray.com (Walter Spector) writes:
|> >Also, has anyone duplicated the font of the old 6000 operator console for
|> >use with X?  'Chippewa 12 point' anyone?  :-)
|> 
|> No way to duplicate it exactly.  The characters were not bit-maps.  The beam
|> actually traced the curves for each character.  You got true curves, and
|> each console would be a little bit different.  The movements were controlled
|> by the controller in the CPU chassis.

Yes, I remember the old DS2 diagnostic the hardware guys used to line things
up.

|> The logic prints did contain diagrams of each character on a 9 x 9 grid,
|> or something like that, along with the analog movements required to get
|> the character.  It would be possible to replicate what the characters
|> were SUPPOSED to look like, but that kind of misses the point, IMHO.

I wish I'd taken a photo of the A..Z (three different sizes) for posterity.
Those whispy characters were great!  I think it would be possible to replicate
on a bit map, but you are right - you would lose some of the nuances of the
whisps.

I sometimes think the biggest supporters of CDC at our site (U. of Nevada)
was the Operations staff, because of all the nifty things you could do at
'The Console'.

BTW, 'A Few Good Men From Univac' is in print and is fun reading.  (I got
mine from Computer Literacy.)  It has some nice photos and a copy of the
infamous Watson letter.

Walt
-- 
Walt Spector                        Oh, you can hack anything you want
(wws@renaissance.cray.com)               With DIS and 026!
Sunnyvale, California               (No apologies to "Alice's PDP-10",
_._ _._ _.... _. ._.                     I've used TECO and DDT too...)