[HN Gopher] IBM 5150 POST - 'Manufacturing Test' mode
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IBM 5150 POST - 'Manufacturing Test' mode
Author : zdw
Score : 31 points
Date : 2022-05-10 19:25 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (minuszerodegrees.net)
(TXT) w3m dump (minuszerodegrees.net)
| kiwidrew wrote:
| And the award for most innovative use of the manufacturing test
| mode goes to reenigne (of 8088MPH fame), who used it to make a
| web service that runs user-submitted snippets of 8086 code on a
| genuine IBM XT:
|
| http://www.reenigne.org/xtserver/
| zabzonk wrote:
| The great thing about the original IBM PC (and the XT) was the
| wealth of documentation you got with it (I never had an AT). I
| don't remember seeing the docs described in the OP, but it really
| was good. I had an XT, with a mono monitor on my desk, and I
| learned so much about the 8086, MSDOS and other things on that
| box.
|
| But all IBM documentation (for mainframes, peripherals and such)
| was really brilliant. And their hardware was great, from big
| boxes to little ones. I've never really understood how they got
| such a bad reputation.
| kadoban wrote:
| > I've never really understood how they got such a bad
| reputation.
|
| Mostly for their business practices.
|
| It seems like every ~generation in tech there's at least one
| big company doing shady abuses of their monopoly and pushing
| against anti-trust as hard as they can.
|
| IBM did it for a while, 60s and 70s maybe, Microsoft was next,
| Google and Apple after that?
|
| Usually the tech isn't the issue, it's how the companies throw
| their weight around.
| zabzonk wrote:
| Understood, and I mostly agree. My favourite story about IBM
| malpractices was how they upgraded one of their printers. The
| technician doing the upgrade ushered all client staff out of
| the machine room. He then moved a rubber band from one pulley
| onto another.
|
| But on the other hand, they did produce some really good kit
| and software, which if you are a programmer is really what
| you want. And people like DEC were hardly adverse to doing
| similar stuff.
| kadoban wrote:
| > He then moved a rubber band from one pulley onto another.
|
| Hah, that's a good one.
|
| > But on the other hand, they did produce some really good
| kit and software [...]
|
| Yeah, agreed (though really they did all of their best work
| well before my time, so I only know ~some of the history).
| technothrasher wrote:
| That's some oddly specific trivia, but the index page for that
| site looks like a great resource of technical information on the
| original PC line of computers.
|
| http://minuszerodegrees.net/index.htm
| anonymousiam wrote:
| Always thought it was funny that IBM used this product ID number:
|
| https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/5150/
| AnimalMuppet wrote:
| Wow, that's hilarious.
| mewse-hn wrote:
| Probably a n00b question but where did the commented machine code
| come from? Did IBM publish their original PC BIOS code, comments
| and all? Was the original "PC clone" bios just a clean room
| reimplementation?
| ratboy666 wrote:
| It was published, comments and all. Copyright.
| dugmartin wrote:
| Yes, there was a gray fabric covered binder that had the full
| source code. I got a copy somehow in the mid 80s as a teenager.
| I poured over the bios code which made me ace my assembler
| class years later in college (along with reading the pink shirt
| book).
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(page generated 2022-05-11 23:01 UTC)