NOTE: Only Page 1 of two pages of content was able to be restored.
"If it weren't the aforementioned keyboard incident, my first response at looking at this would be "rugged." Man, they weren't kidding around when they build these things. Still, I am surprised that AT&T didn't come up with something more original or innovative. I'm constantly coming across that part about how their people came up with C and so on; clearly they did have the talent there for great things.
It's interesting how you're able to "reverse engineer" what people did as far as upgrading and modifying their systems go. It's rather like detective work, especially when you find oddly named chips and the like (thinking of your earlier review of the Bally). I'm guessing you're buying these not from the original owners?"
"Matt Barton wrote:
If it weren't the aforementioned keyboard incident, my first response at looking at this would be "rugged." Man, they weren't kidding around when they build these things. Still, I am surprised that AT&T didn't come up with something more original or innovative. I'm constantly coming across that part about how their people came up with C and so on; clearly they did have the talent there for great things.
It's interesting how you're able to "reverse engineer" what people did as far as upgrading and modifying their systems go. It's rather like detective work, especially when you find oddly named chips and the like (thinking of your earlier review of the Bally). I'm guessing you're buying these not from the original owners?
That seems to be the case, yeah. Often these sellers don't know much, if anything, about what they're selling. Obviously you try to find out as much as you can from them, but often-times you take a chance and bid or offer $$$ appropriately. Certainly something fully tested and documented is worth a lot more than something that is not. It seems clear that in the case of this AT&T, the original owner took very good care of it and knew what he/she was doing, right down to doing that ROM BIOS upgrade. It's also clear that this system had a hard drive associated with it at some point, either internal or external, but it's impossible to know what ever happened to it or whether this was reverted back as a spare during the original not-to-me sale. Certainly there are few like me who either had the forethought or opportunity to keep what they originally owned (not to mention maintaining the interest in it still). There were many times when my dad threatened to throw my stuff out. Certainly there was a lot I lost over the years to sales, trash or misplacement, but luckily there was some I was able to keep that was original to me. Now I have the opportunity to keep it all safe and sound, at least as long as we're able to afford this house (darn taxes are now over $9000 per year!).
The "reverse engineering" is definitely a lot of fun, as you can often find out fun things about a particular system. That C-128DCR I have is like that as well, since it already had a fan upgrade. I further upgraded it with switched JiffyDOS, so whoever gets it after I kick the bucket will have fun with that assuming it still works... There are quite a few other systems, both computer and videogame, that I still need to go through and investigate. It will only be a matter of time. Next thing I'm going to post about is my boxed computer software collection, which should be fun. I want to take requests once I get that posted and focus a bit on software for a while.
The AT&T engineers (and Bell Labs for that matter) definitely have a storied history as it relates to computing, much like Xerox. And much like Xerox they ultimately watched others capitalize on their early breakthroughs. I suppose the same can be said for IBM, as they're mostly in services these days, competing with a wide range of companies, including the last two that I've worked for."
"Olivetti was quite a big brand in the Netherlands, I can actually remember some workplace where we used this particular system.
But what are you going to do with it Bill?"
"Mark Vergeer wrote:
But what are you going to do with it Bill?
Good question. Beyond its few interesting characteristics, what were the reasons for me acquiring it? The fact that it's a high compatibility early clone is certainly one factor, though a small one. I have an original IBM 5150 PC and the original IBM Transportable, as well as several PCjr's, including one with a compatibility expansion system, so I'm more than set for early systems and the desire to run original software on the "real thing". The AT&T, with its enhanced speed is a good next step to run and test certain software applications and hardware scenarios prior to 286 and above systems. I also think it will be a very good CP/M-86 system, when I get around to monkeying with that. It will be particularly useful if I ever get the color monitor option or a hard drive (preferably external to keep it original). Also, as can be seen in the photos, I have a lot of unused ISA cards that can find a home in the AT&T and various other PC's. Regardless, I don't plan on getting any other clone systems regardless of vintage, as I have more than I'll ever need that are Pentium-class and above, and prior to 286 (I also have a few systems in the Tandy 1000 class, which are also fine mid-tier machines and were originally envisioned as PCjr compatibles). I may at some point get a Micro-Channel IBM and may eventually grab my in-laws old Gateway 486 PC, but obviously there is no particular rush or priority. I also have a few MS-DOS systems that are not IBM PC compatibles, like the Heath/Zenith Z-100 and Otrona Attache 8/16 (which also does native CP/M). The only other one in that class that really intrigues is the TI Professional, so that might be a future acquisition if the opportunity presents itself. Overall, the bottom line is always what interesting software I can run or things I can do. The more generic the system, the less interest and use it has. The AT&T certainly straddles that line, but obviously just made it to the "interest" side."
A $150 mouse! And that's not even in today's dollars, which would be close to $300!"
"I routinely get the name confused with the AT&T 3B2. The 3B2 was a unix workstation."
"cdoty wrote:
I routinely get the name confused with the AT&T 3B2. The 3B2 was a unix workstation.
Supposedly the 6300 could run UNIX (Xenix), but I'm not sure if my particular configuration is capable (though I'd love to try). I've only used UNIX once for a few years in my life, and that was SCO UNIX System V on a Compaq server when I was a UNIX admin along with being a Technical Writer, among other things, at this one job I had in the mid-90's. It was horrible, obviously, to someone used to thing like DOS and Windows and all the other more traditional desktop operating systems. Outside of the command line, I primarily used WordPerfect 5.1 on it, which was functionally the same as the DOS version. That was also horrible to someone now used to windowing applications (at the time, Amiga and Windows), though I did eventually get the hang of the command structure out of necessity, writing thousands of documents with it. I always wished it had the X-Windows system on it, as I believe our license then allowed for that, but alas, it was pure text-based UNIX for us..."
"PINE
Do you remember PINE? Lol, that was one of my favorites."
"Matt Barton wrote:
Do you remember PINE? Lol, that was one of my favorites.
No, but there was something very similar - and hardly used - for internal office e-mails back in that same office I was in. Ugh. Our network was a mixed LANtastic network with DOS, UNIX and some Windows machines. Anyone remember LANtastic? Horrible times, with complex text files to configure the network that no one could really decipher. Things have become infinitely simpler now where even a novice can set up a fairly elaborate network, both wired and wireless, that does all sorts of nifty things. "
"Bill Loguidice wrote:
Horrible times, with complex text files to configure the network that no one could really decipher. Things have become infinitely simpler now where even a novice can set up a fairly elaborate network, both wired and wireless, that does all sorts of nifty things.
Damn, how true. I remember reading about something called "Token Rings" or some such back in the day and wondering, "How much knowledge does it take to set this up?" It looked pretty intimidating to get even basic intranets going. That may be one thing that helped the internet; it seemed infinitely easier just to use that than to bother with an intranet.
Networking was definitely one thing that really came of age on the PC. I remember the whole "Doom" and then the various LAN parties; that was something you just couldn't do easily on an Amiga; at least not to my knowledge."
*************************** Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
NOTE: Only Page 1 of two pages of content was able to be restored.
"If it weren't the aforementioned keyboard incident, my first response at looking at this would be "rugged." Man, they weren't kidding around when they build these things. Still, I am surprised that AT&T didn't come up with something more original or innovative. I'm constantly coming across that part about how their people came up with C and so on; clearly they did have the talent there for great things.
It's interesting how you're able to "reverse engineer" what people did as far as upgrading and modifying their systems go. It's rather like detective work, especially when you find oddly named chips and the like (thinking of your earlier review of the Bally). I'm guessing you're buying these not from the original owners?"
"Matt Barton wrote:
If it weren't the aforementioned keyboard incident, my first response at looking at this would be "rugged." Man, they weren't kidding around when they build these things. Still, I am surprised that AT&T didn't come up with something more original or innovative. I'm constantly coming across that part about how their people came up with C and so on; clearly they did have the talent there for great things.
It's interesting how you're able to "reverse engineer" what people did as far as upgrading and modifying their systems go. It's rather like detective work, especially when you find oddly named chips and the like (thinking of your earlier review of the Bally). I'm guessing you're buying these not from the original owners?
That seems to be the case, yeah. Often these sellers don't know much, if anything, about what they're selling. Obviously you try to find out as much as you can from them, but often-times you take a chance and bid or offer $$$ appropriately. Certainly something fully tested and documented is worth a lot more than something that is not. It seems clear that in the case of this AT&T, the original owner took very good care of it and knew what he/she was doing, right down to doing that ROM BIOS upgrade. It's also clear that this system had a hard drive associated with it at some point, either internal or external, but it's impossible to know what ever happened to it or whether this was reverted back as a spare during the original not-to-me sale. Certainly there are few like me who either had the forethought or opportunity to keep what they originally owned (not to mention maintaining the interest in it still). There were many times when my dad threatened to throw my stuff out. Certainly there was a lot I lost over the years to sales, trash or misplacement, but luckily there was some I was able to keep that was original to me. Now I have the opportunity to keep it all safe and sound, at least as long as we're able to afford this house (darn taxes are now over $9000 per year!).
The "reverse engineering" is definitely a lot of fun, as you can often find out fun things about a particular system. That C-128DCR I have is like that as well, since it already had a fan upgrade. I further upgraded it with switched JiffyDOS, so whoever gets it after I kick the bucket will have fun with that assuming it still works... There are quite a few other systems, both computer and videogame, that I still need to go through and investigate. It will only be a matter of time. Next thing I'm going to post about is my boxed computer software collection, which should be fun. I want to take requests once I get that posted and focus a bit on software for a while.
The AT&T engineers (and Bell Labs for that matter) definitely have a storied history as it relates to computing, much like Xerox. And much like Xerox they ultimately watched others capitalize on their early breakthroughs. I suppose the same can be said for IBM, as they're mostly in services these days, competing with a wide range of companies, including the last two that I've worked for."
"Olivetti was quite a big brand in the Netherlands, I can actually remember some workplace where we used this particular system.
But what are you going to do with it Bill?"
"Mark Vergeer wrote:
But what are you going to do with it Bill?
Good question. Beyond its few interesting characteristics, what were the reasons for me acquiring it? The fact that it's a high compatibility early clone is certainly one factor, though a small one. I have an original IBM 5150 PC and the original IBM Transportable, as well as several PCjr's, including one with a compatibility expansion system, so I'm more than set for early systems and the desire to run original software on the "real thing". The AT&T, with its enhanced speed is a good next step to run and test certain software applications and hardware scenarios prior to 286 and above systems. I also think it will be a very good CP/M-86 system, when I get around to monkeying with that. It will be particularly useful if I ever get the color monitor option or a hard drive (preferably external to keep it original). Also, as can be seen in the photos, I have a lot of unused ISA cards that can find a home in the AT&T and various other PC's. Regardless, I don't plan on getting any other clone systems regardless of vintage, as I have more than I'll ever need that are Pentium-class and above, and prior to 286 (I also have a few systems in the Tandy 1000 class, which are also fine mid-tier machines and were originally envisioned as PCjr compatibles). I may at some point get a Micro-Channel IBM and may eventually grab my in-laws old Gateway 486 PC, but obviously there is no particular rush or priority. I also have a few MS-DOS systems that are not IBM PC compatibles, like the Heath/Zenith Z-100 and Otrona Attache 8/16 (which also does native CP/M). The only other one in that class that really intrigues is the TI Professional, so that might be a future acquisition if the opportunity presents itself. Overall, the bottom line is always what interesting software I can run or things I can do. The more generic the system, the less interest and use it has. The AT&T certainly straddles that line, but obviously just made it to the "interest" side."
"Ah, this is what I was looking for: http://atarimagazines.planetmirror.com/creative/v11n6/32_ATampT_6300_cla...
A $150 mouse! And that's not even in today's dollars, which would be close to $300!"
"I routinely get the name confused with the AT&T 3B2. The 3B2 was a unix workstation."
"cdoty wrote:
I routinely get the name confused with the AT&T 3B2. The 3B2 was a unix workstation.
Supposedly the 6300 could run UNIX (Xenix), but I'm not sure if my particular configuration is capable (though I'd love to try). I've only used UNIX once for a few years in my life, and that was SCO UNIX System V on a Compaq server when I was a UNIX admin along with being a Technical Writer, among other things, at this one job I had in the mid-90's. It was horrible, obviously, to someone used to thing like DOS and Windows and all the other more traditional desktop operating systems. Outside of the command line, I primarily used WordPerfect 5.1 on it, which was functionally the same as the DOS version. That was also horrible to someone now used to windowing applications (at the time, Amiga and Windows), though I did eventually get the hang of the command structure out of necessity, writing thousands of documents with it. I always wished it had the X-Windows system on it, as I believe our license then allowed for that, but alas, it was pure text-based UNIX for us..."
"PINE
Do you remember PINE? Lol, that was one of my favorites."
"Matt Barton wrote:
Do you remember PINE? Lol, that was one of my favorites.
No, but there was something very similar - and hardly used - for internal office e-mails back in that same office I was in. Ugh. Our network was a mixed LANtastic network with DOS, UNIX and some Windows machines. Anyone remember LANtastic? Horrible times, with complex text files to configure the network that no one could really decipher. Things have become infinitely simpler now where even a novice can set up a fairly elaborate network, both wired and wireless, that does all sorts of nifty things. "
"Bill Loguidice wrote:
Horrible times, with complex text files to configure the network that no one could really decipher. Things have become infinitely simpler now where even a novice can set up a fairly elaborate network, both wired and wireless, that does all sorts of nifty things.
Damn, how true. I remember reading about something called "Token Rings" or some such back in the day and wondering, "How much knowledge does it take to set this up?" It looked pretty intimidating to get even basic intranets going. That may be one thing that helped the internet; it seemed infinitely easier just to use that than to bother with an intranet.
Networking was definitely one thing that really came of age on the PC. I remember the whole "Doom" and then the various LAN parties; that was something you just couldn't do easily on an Amiga; at least not to my knowledge."
***************************
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.