Linux is KING - Couldn't be hacked - Mac, Vista went down in flames

[Gene Heskett]

On Tuesday 01 April 2008, Tim wrote:
>On Tue, 2008-04-01 at 08:38 -0400, Gene Heskett wrote:
>> The next time I wrote code with an extended lifetime like that, was on a
>> TRS-80 Color Computer running OS9 level 1, with device drivers in assembly
>> using an assembler, and the main portion in Basic-09.  That function was
>> in place of a $20,000 Grass Valley Group E-DISK package that our first GVG
>> 300-2A/B production video switcher didn't come with. It outperformed that
>> $20k unit by 4x in speed, and gave the operators english language names
>> for their individual 'bags of tricks' files whereas the GVG used 2 digit
>> hex codes for the filenames.
>
>And back then, you could expect your equipment to come with manuals that
>explained the tricks that could be done with their gear.  e.g. If it had
>a serial or parallel port, the pins would documented, the function codes
>would be listed...  Or, the sales division would get you the books for
>it.
>
>Now, everything's a black box.  One client's bought this Roland,
>allegedly high-definition, digital video mixer (hi-def my left foot!,
>that means high definition, not just able to output low-resolution video
>with more pixels...).  It has a port for the tally interface, that
>mentions nothing about how to actually use it.  Sure, it lists several
>pins that you could have a tally signal on, depending on what mode its
>in.  But nothing that defines what the modes are, nor the output
>voltages (TTL?, CMOS?, open-collector?, active low?).
>
Yeah Tim, but Panasonic, in the Techniques line of audio gear, copyrighted 
that BS back about 1978, equiping their fawnciest RS-1520 1/4" multitrack 
audio tape machine with a 9 pin octal interface plug for remote controls, but 
if you wanted to use it, you had to buy THEIR $200 remote pendant.  No docs.  
And the schematics made it a weeks study to figure out that all it needed was 
a contact closure to start it to record.  I was automating the weather report 
capture from the weather bureau.  Worked a treat too.  That was, in its day, 
THE technological tour-de-force in audio tape machines.  It could lay a 1% 
distortion signal on the average roll of tape 10db louder than the best a 
Studer/Revox could do, 70 db snr at 7.5 ips in 2 track stereo, 67 db in 4 
track mode.  When the heads were clean, 15 kilohertz bandwidth at 3.75 ips.  
Bi-directional and handled 14" reels better than any other machine I ever 
saw.  You flat could not get it to dump tape on the floor, period.

-- 
Cheers, Gene
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
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<viro> "scanf is tough" -- programmer Barbie...

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