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From: johnl@ima.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: Ah, yes, the Pdp-7. - (nf)
Message-ID: <337@ima.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 13-Jun-83 18:36:13 EDT
Article-I.D.: ima.337
Posted: Mon Jun 13 18:36:13 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 14-Jun-83 13:13:49 EDT
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#R:sri-arpa:-193300:ima:16900007:000:944
ima!johnl    Jun 13 11:40:00 1983

It is indeed slander to say that the PDP-7 looked like the PDP-8.  The
PDP-7 looked like a PDP-4, the 9 looked like a 7, and the 15 looked like
a 9, with extra bells and whistles being added each time they reimplemented
it.

The PDP-5 was a downsized 4, sort of (12 bits instead of 18) and the 8 was
a reimplementation of the 5, fixing some of the more peculiar warts.

So the 8 looked like the 7, not the other away around.

But actually, we mean "acted" rather than "looked."  The 8 physically was
the best looking machine DEC ever built.  It had two logic racks over the
front panel, each with an attractive smoked plastic cover covering each
bay.  The front panel was real glass, not easily scratched plastic.

We had our PDP-8 mounted on a pallet with handles so we could carry it
around like a sedan chair.  There were giants then.

John Levine, decvax!yale-co!jrl, ucbvax!cbosgd!ima!johnl,
{research|alice|allegra|floyd|amd70}!ima!johnl