Sadly, data on the internet is currently a lot more volatile than the library of Alexandria, and the internet's contents are likely to survive for much less time. Digital media doesn't have the lifespan of ancient media, even papyrus.:-(
Keep in mind that companies which use mainframes have seen a fairly large reduction in machine size over the past 20 years or so. Old water-cooled machines and rows of tape drives are being replaced with CMOS machines and tape silos, each taking of a fraction of the floor space that their predecessors did.
When I started working for Northwest Airlines, for example, there were multiple IBM and Unisys mainframes sitting in the main computer center, all residing in a large temperature-controlled raised-floor room.
These days, most of that floor space is empty. The number of mainframes hasn't been reduced at all... they're just a lot smaller.
Use screen or equivalent on Linux/UNIX for session recovery, or ise a decent editor that retains your editing state between sessions, and you won't have to leave any sessions open.:-)
Our core class curriculum started with Intro to Comp Sci, but there were also three core languages that we had to take: FORTRAN (in our case F77, or @FTN), COBOL 74 (@ACOB), and Assembler (in our case @MASM on a Sperry UNIVAC 1100/82).
I still write a lot of F77 code, but the airline industry has a LOT of Fortran stuff running here and there.:-)
If Hasbro is like every other bean-counter-based business, it demands 10-15% growth year over year from its subsidiaries, otherwise no bonuses for executives.
Wow, I guess banks must operate under different rules then.:-(
Wow. I've been toying with the idea of getting PDF versions of the 1st Edition AD&D books to suppliment my paper copies, but I guess that's not happening...
I've criticized Linux for YEARS about its constantly shifting desktop APIs, about the fact that everyone seems to love dynamic linking against the latest and greatest libraries all the time (almost ensuring that distributions will become obsolete a lot faster), about the fact that there are desktop elements in desktops such as OS/2, BeOS, and even PC/GEOS which *still* haven't been implemented in the latest window managers and desktop environments for Linux, etc.
After the first decade or so of making the same comments to deaf ears, I finally got sick of it and stopped. The Linux community doesn't seem to care about the experience of people outside of the UNIX (and perhaps Windows) realm. Let Linux have its shortcomings. I'm done making suggestions.
Well, the language keywords (in this case Fortran) were still English, but the comments were not (French). These days I'm just run it through a translater, perhaps, but this was back in 1991.
You learned to see patterns, and to change things as you went through the program to English equivalents.:-)
Are you talking about OS/2 1.x (16-bit) or 2.x (32-bit)? And which API?
There are multiple versions of both Firefox 2 and 3 which run under eCS, so you can certainly test how well it handles such things. Too bad Serenity doesn't update the LiveCD version a little, though. It's really old...
Don't forget that OS/2 server handled multiple CPUs, and that dual-CPU PPro systems were not that uncommon in the mid-1990's (starting in 1996). I have three of them myself (only a single CPU in each dual-mommyboard, tho).
Through enough horsepower at the problem, and some symptoms of poor multitasking and/or process prioritization become hard to recognize.
Linux is improving, but on old enough hardware the differences between a Linux kernel and the old OS/2 kernels become quite apparent. Assuming you can even get Linux to boot. Linux isn't as good at supporting older hardware anymore. I remember when a full Mandrake Linux + KDE installation would *FLY* on a 200MHz PPro with 64MB.
If you were to run modern loads on an old Warp system, you'd kill it.
Don't be so sure. I can still do things with Firefox, Photoshop 3, Z!, Open Office, and various other things running under Warp 4 FP 15 on a measly 192MB PPro/200 box that might surprise you.:-)
Of course, the real answer isn't Warp... the real answer is eComStation. Here's a LiveCD you can play with if you want to.
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Sadly, data on the internet is currently a lot more volatile than the library of Alexandria, and the internet's contents are likely to survive for much less time. Digital media doesn't have the lifespan of ancient media, even papyrus. :-(
Keep in mind that companies which use mainframes have seen a fairly large reduction in machine size over the past 20 years or so. Old water-cooled machines and rows of tape drives are being replaced with CMOS machines and tape silos, each taking of a fraction of the floor space that their predecessors did.
When I started working for Northwest Airlines, for example, there were multiple IBM and Unisys mainframes sitting in the main computer center, all residing in a large temperature-controlled raised-floor room.
These days, most of that floor space is empty. The number of mainframes hasn't been reduced at all ... they're just a lot smaller.
Use screen or equivalent on Linux/UNIX for session recovery, or ise a decent editor that retains your editing state between sessions, and you won't have to leave any sessions open. :-)
See? Sometimes security by obscurity *is* a good option. ;-)
Our core class curriculum started with Intro to Comp Sci, but there were also three core languages that we had to take: FORTRAN (in our case F77, or @FTN), COBOL 74 (@ACOB), and Assembler (in our case @MASM on a Sperry UNIVAC 1100/82).
I still write a lot of F77 code, but the airline industry has a LOT of Fortran stuff running here and there. :-)
Telemate was better. :-) I don't know of any easter eggs in that one, though.
I write code for a living during the day, and I work on various MAINFRAME-related free software projects during my free time.
What time would you have me spend in the Linux world?
Oh, God... Don't remind me... AOL lusers on USENET??!? OMGWTF???!
Wow. I've been toying with the idea of getting PDF versions of the 1st Edition AD&D books to suppliment my paper copies, but I guess that's not happening...
My wife says "grok", and she normally only kisses one girl at a time. :-P
I've criticized Linux for YEARS about its constantly shifting desktop APIs, about the fact that everyone seems to love dynamic linking against the latest and greatest libraries all the time (almost ensuring that distributions will become obsolete a lot faster), about the fact that there are desktop elements in desktops such as OS/2, BeOS, and even PC/GEOS which *still* haven't been implemented in the latest window managers and desktop environments for Linux, etc.
After the first decade or so of making the same comments to deaf ears, I finally got sick of it and stopped. The Linux community doesn't seem to care about the experience of people outside of the UNIX (and perhaps Windows) realm. Let Linux have its shortcomings. I'm done making suggestions.
My link to what I thought was Derek Decker's Lynx/2 is wrong. I guess that older version of Lynx isn't on Hobbes anymore. Bummer. :-(
It's based on a really old version, anyway...
True, but even though it's April 1 I was being truthful. Derek's native port of Lynx:
http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/apps/internet/www/browser/os2lynx2_8.zip
is a rather different code base from the traditional POSIX port:
http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/apps/internet/www/browser/lx287d9.zip
Another source of Lynx for OS/2 for completeness:
http://www.os2site.com/sw/internet/browser/lynx/index.html
and of course the versions of Links which are available are well-documented here:
http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/apps/internet/www/browser/links-2.1pre14.zip
http://www.os2site.com/sw/internet/browser/links/index.html
I've not actually used any eLinks port under OS/2, though.
http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/apps/internet/www/browser/elinks03pre3.zip
Oh yeah, and there's w3m as well:
http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA000199/os2/w3m.html
I'm not a fan of w3m, though. :-)
Which version? There are multiple Lynx ports to OS/2, ya know. :-)
I prefer Links under Warp 4 myself, especially the 2.xx port with the -g option.
w00t!
Well, the language keywords (in this case Fortran) were still English, but the comments were not (French). These days I'm just run it through a translater, perhaps, but this was back in 1991.
You learned to see patterns, and to change things as you went through the program to English equivalents. :-)
We actually put the TP on a shelf now. Out of easy reach for them. That solves the issue!
Not if you have cats. Unless you enjoy rewinding the roll every day. :-)
Actually, all of my PCs have PS/2 ports. I was just whining. :-)
Man, I loved that keyboard. :-)
Are you talking about OS/2 1.x (16-bit) or 2.x (32-bit)? And which API?
There are multiple versions of both Firefox 2 and 3 which run under eCS, so you can certainly test how well it handles such things. Too bad Serenity doesn't update the LiveCD version a little, though. It's really old...
Don't forget that OS/2 server handled multiple CPUs, and that dual-CPU PPro systems were not that uncommon in the mid-1990's (starting in 1996). I have three of them myself (only a single CPU in each dual-mommyboard, tho).
Er. Through != throw. What a doorknob. :-)
Through enough horsepower at the problem, and some symptoms of poor multitasking and/or process prioritization become hard to recognize.
Linux is improving, but on old enough hardware the differences between a Linux kernel and the old OS/2 kernels become quite apparent. Assuming you can even get Linux to boot. Linux isn't as good at supporting older hardware anymore. I remember when a full Mandrake Linux + KDE installation would *FLY* on a 200MHz PPro with 64MB.
Don't be so sure. I can still do things with Firefox, Photoshop 3, Z!, Open Office, and various other things running under Warp 4 FP 15 on a measly 192MB PPro/200 box that might surprise you. :-)
Of course, the real answer isn't Warp ... the real answer is eComStation. Here's a LiveCD you can play with if you want to.
I think I need to check this one out as well as the Berkeley Database mentioned above.
Thank you. :-)