🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Aug5.211351.10791@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> mowgli@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Mowgli C Assor) writes:
>
>  I just acquired a DEC Professional 350 system, with 2 floppy drives but no
>hard drive (although there's nice space for it ;). I also got 2 disks with
>it, one says "P/OS System V1.7", and the other doesn't say much of anything
>(other than "bottom/right"). When I boot the machine, it goes into some-
>thing like a terminal emulator (maybe vt100, I haven't tried it) which it
>calls a "Termulator".

Yes, I too (hangs head in shame) have one of these. It's currently in a
closet. One of these days, when I have free time (nyuk, nyuk) I'll take it out
and fire it up.

>  Anyhow, one of the guys here in the department says that this is both
>a "small version PDP-11" and a "good doorstop". I'd hope that since it
>has disk drives, this means it can do something else besides emulate
>a terminal.

Well, I can tell you the following:
- the terminal emulation under P/OS was dreadfully slow. The video was memory
  mapped and in the 350, it really tried your patience. The 380 was pretty
  usable tho.
- P/OS is a stipped-down RSX-11, with a menu system plastered on the front
  end. Behind it, you can get to DCL or MCR.
- There was a version of RT-11 put out for the PRO's -- in V5 I think. It 
  ran only the XM version, if memory serves. Much zippier than P/OS.
- S&H put out TSX/PRO, which was their TSX+ o/s (multi-user RT-11).

>  Can anyone give me pointers as to where to I could locate software for
>this machine, and is anyone still using one of these to do anything? If
>it can run PDP-11 stuff, there seems to be a good bit out there. I'd also
>like to locate manuals & stuff like that. But, the machine appears to be
>about 10 years old. :) Think DEC still has it in stock?

Once upon a time, I used one for terminal emulation and small PDP-11 hacking.
Overall, I think that it's cheaper and neater to get an old q-bus system,
where you can get the more mainstream '11 O/S's fired up.

dsa