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Re: What is the oldest computer that could be used today for real work? [message #410791 is a reply to message #410715] Sun, 05 September 2021 23:39 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
Anonymous
Karma:
Originally posted by: John Goerzen

On 2021-09-05, Jason Evans <jsevans@mailfence.com> wrote:
> First of all, what is "real work"? Let's say that you're a Linux/Unix/BSD
> system administrator who spends 90% of his day on the command line. What is

.... that fits...

> the oldest computer that he could get by with to do his job?

So I'm going to be "that guy" that says "it depends on what you mean by
computer."

So I have a DEC vt510 that I do still use. It has a serial connection to a
Raspberry Pi, from which I can ssh wherever. I actually enjoy using it as a
"focus mode" break. It was sold as an ANSI terminal. Is it a computer? Well,
it has an 8080 in it IIRC. I do actually use it for doing work on my job from
time to time too.

I also have a Linux box, more modern, that is a Micro PC I used to do backups.
It doesn't permit ssh or such for security reasons. My only way into it is via
serial console or local console. So the vt510 can hook up to that and it is
then doing actual work too. I also have older terminals.

What about older general-purpose machines? I've seen plenty of DOS still
kicking around. Various industrial machinery still uses DOS machines as
controllers or programmers. A lot of time they are running on more modern
hardware, but also a lot of time they wouldn't NEED to be; that's just what is
out there. So that takes us back firmly into the 80s.

The DEC PDP-10 was introduced in 1966 and was famously used by CompuServe up
until at least 2007, 41 years later.

Here's an article from 2008 about how Seattle still uses DEC VAXes (released
1977):
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/dinosaur -computer-stalls-seattle-schools-plans/

Here's an article from just last year about how Kansas is still using a
mainframe from 1977 to manage unemployment claims:
https://www.kctv5.com/coronavirus/kansas-department-of-labor -mainframe-is-from-1977/article_40459370-7ac4-11ea-b4db-df52 9463a7d4.html

No word on what precise type of mainframe that is.
https://www.dol.ks.gov/documents/20121/85583/KDOL+Modernizat ion+Timeline.pdf/d186de09-851b-d996-d235-ad6fb9286fcb?versio n=1.0&t=1620335465573
gives a clue that it may be some sort of IBM something.
https://governor.kansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Ginth erTaxCouncilKDOT.pdf
hints that it may be an IBM System 370/Model 145.

> For example: Could you rig up a serial connection from a modern PC to a C64
> to get a command prompt on the C64 to use as the interface for the command
> line? Sure, it would demote the C64 to a "dumb terminal" but could it work?

The display resolution may be tricky, but an old IBM PC certainly would.

- John
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