X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII X-Google-Thread: f996b,e084092f3d261361 X-Google-Attributes: gidf996b,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-02-11 04:08:56 PST Path: supernews.google.com!sn-xit-02!supernews.com!news.tele.dk!4.1.16.34!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.gtei.net!newshub2.home.com!news.home.com!news.mindspring.net!not-for-mail From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?MiKe=AE?= Newsgroups: alt.ascii-art Subject: Re: [pic] Nude from before 1980 Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 13:08:31 +0100 Organization: Les Amoureux du Beau Chat Lines: 120 Message-ID: <3A8680B9.FBDEB8C7@lascaux.cave> References: <3A84AEF7.C379A08B@lascaux.cave> <6usnlmlldq.fsf@chonsp.franklin.ch> Reply-To: =?iso-8859-1?Q?P=EAcheur=40le=2Eouebe?= NNTP-Posting-Host: d1.56.9e.94 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Server-Date: 11 Feb 2001 12:06:07 GMT X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.5 [fr] (Macintosh; I; PPC) X-Accept-Language: fr-FR,en-US,de-DE,gd,eu,pdf Xref: supernews.google.com alt.ascii-art:4355 Neil Franklin a *crit : > = > MiKe=AE writes: > = > > > And the pages were attached to each other, > > > bottom of one page to the top of the next, > > > so that the output was one long page. > > > > > The unix "banner" program was written to take advantage > > > of the long continuous printouts from those old printers. > > > > But as continuous forms are still in use - so are > > those *old* tractor feed printers . > = > Jup. > = > > english measure suggesting that we change instead > > to hexadecimal because ALL computers run on hex . > = > Binary, as you say. > = > > At that time VIRTUALLY all mainframes, the few that > > were around, had 4 bit processors and ran on octal - not hex ? > = > 4 bit processors??? The only use of them I know are pocket calculators > and simple control systems (say traffic lights) up to 10 years ago. > = > Mainframes are either: > - 36bit (IBM 709 series (1950/60s), DEC PDP-10 series (1960s/70s), GE 6= xx > series (1960s up to today), ...) or > - 32bit (IBM 360 series (late 1960s to today), DEC VAX series (late 197= 0s > to 1990s), ...). > = > And don't forget: > = > If you are not playing with 36 bits you have not got a full DEC. > = > > virtually ALL computers run on BINARY only . > > We humans merely use HEX(8 bit) or OCTAL because they conform to > = > Hex is 4 bits and usually used on 32bit machines (8 characters/word): > = > 02 46 8A CE =3D 00000010 01000110 10001010 11001110 > 13 57 9B DF =3D 00010011 01010111 10011011 11011111 > = > Octal is 3 bits and usually used on 36bit machines (12 characters/word)= : > = > 01 23 45 67 01 23 =3D 000001 010011 100101 110111 000001 010011 > = > > Therefore, a very popular DIP (Dual Inline Package) was > > a BCD converter that input Binary Code and output Decimal . > = > Or even full hex. > = > > My first computer was 32 bit long ago before others upgraded > = > I started with 8bit, an Z80 running at 4MHz (but using up 4 times as > many clock states as todays processors, so it is equvalent to an 1MHz > processor today would be). Today there is about 5 times that computer > power in an TV remote control. > = > > now 128 bit computers are around > = > Where? The best I have seen (und I use such daily) are 64bit. > = > Note: I mean real 64bit vs 128bit architecture. Actual memory width > these 64bit machines are 256bit, and even 32bit mainframes have up > to 2048bit memory width. > = > -- > Neil Franklin, neil@franklin.ch.remove http://neil.franklin.ch/ > Hacker, Unix Guru, El Eng FH/BSc, Sysadmin, Roleplayer, LARPer, Mystic Thanks for the info - and corrections . I mostly worked with programming - very little with hardware . I know the latest mainframe when I was in school was 48K std = expandable to a whopping 64K max. Three 1/2 inch tape drives - program, data in, data out , with program in 16K max. chunks . The only z80 I owned was a small Sinclair that could scroll a full screen of color faster than the first ibm i used . In programmin an RS MC-10 in msbasic1.0 using boolean values as multipliers made a calendar program print a calendar as fast as I can do it today . Pascal for a pc worked great using case statements and poking data into the non-user registers of a TI59 printed fast. PCs today with the greater capacity run better and there is no concern for memory . Lower level programming is what I like best, though , as I did when experimenting with the TI59 and the MC-10 . MiKe=AE