#sparcstation

[retrocompmx]

La Sun SPARCStation 20

Aqui vemos una Sun SPARCstation 20, lanzada en amrzo de 1994, es uno de los últimos modelos en la familia de los ordenadores conocidos como "Caja de pizza". costaba 12,195 USD. Corria SunOS 4.13; Solaris 2.3 al 9.x; Linux (Debian, SuSE 7.x o Gentoo); BSD y NeXTSTEP 3.3 o 4.x 📸Karla Kamacho

[identifying-old-tech]

Possibly a Sun 3/60 UNIX workstation, 1987(?); with SPARCstation 5, 1994; and Sun Ultra 1 Creator, 1995

The original image can be found HERE, the cat's name is Klara in case that interests anyone

[cyberneurotism]

Sun SparcStation Voyager (1994)

[adafruit]

🖥️ 🧸 a new (old) approach for 21st-century kids using computers… chronological order

as our kiddo gets older we are going on a journey with her, focusing on the evolution of computing from where it started, and using each one, in order.

our adventure begins with retrofitting a 1998 littletikes/ibm playset to house the early computers, providing her with a tangible way to interact with these machines. might need to do emulators for some of these, but trying to see if we can get many of these, build/re-build, or borrow -

some of the plans will be to explore the hardware - on how it all worked before computing moved to sealed black rectangles that's mostly used to buy things or pay subscriptions services.

here's the "playlist" so far - have any suggestions?

altair 8800 (1975) apple i (1976) commodore pet (1977) apple ii (1977) atari 400/800 (1979)

commodore vic-20 (1980) ibm pc (1981) commodore 64 (1982) apple macintosh (1984) amiga 500 (1987)

next computer (1990) sun sparcstation 10 (1992) compaq presario 425 (1993) sony vaio pcv (1996) apple imac g3 (1998) dell dimension xps t500 (1999)

this approach also seems like it could be a kid's book - a book for parents to follow along with their kids on the history of computers with how-tos on building, or emulating them. maybe even a "build-a-bear" - style workshops / classes for kids and parents, but for making their first computers together…

more later!

🕹️ this was inspired by andy baio's approach of guiding his son through the chronological history of video games (2014)

[europa6502]

You may remember my post from a bit ago about a large computer haul, and this is a follow-up of sorts with some new machines I recently got from Ncommander when they were passing through the area.

The first system I want to show is the Kaypro 4. This is my first Z80 machine and my first CP/M machine. I got a boot disk with it, but I'll need to do some work on the floppy drives it looks like - I want to eventually install a Gotek with FlashFloppy.

And for a preview of what the system does when I insert the boot floppy

Next up we have a Pentium system. It's a Pentium 133 and, while I don't know how much RAM it has, it does have a Cirrus Logic video card and some manner of Soundblaster 16 clone it looks like.

And last, but certainly not least, we have a pair of Sun systems - a SPARCstation 5 and an Ultra 1. The SPARCstation 5 has a 70MHz microSPARC-II and 152MB of RAM, meaning it can comfortably run Solaris, one of the BSDs, or (and this is the really cool thing) NeXTstep for SPARC. It also has Sun's CG6 framebuffer installed. The Ultra 1 is a known "cursed" system and sometimes fails to POST. It has a 167MHz UltraSPARC I processor and 64MB of RAM. It doesn't have a framebuffer installed, but it does have two SCSI disks (one bad, one good), and the pair of machines comes with the CG3 that came with the SPARCstation 5 initially.

I plan to get a video made on these acquisitions as soon as I'm able to get my serial cables! I look forward to it. :)

[commodorez]

Sure enough, taken in 1995. TinEye confirms its been floating around the internet since atleast 2013.

The computer is a Sun SparcStation 1, 2, or 10. It doesn't have a floppy eject button, it's motorized like how Macs did it. The diagnostic light is subtle on the drive.

The terminal sitting on top of the computer itself is a Falco of some variety (probably not an F5000). The keyboard cable is running to the left. No mouse because it's a terminal, and even if it weren't, that isn't a GUI so no need for a mouse.

Text on screen are dates/times/web addresses/ports etc.

No chairs? Probably because that's a quick diagnostic terminal, not intended for people to stay at it for very long. Those are the exact same datacenter floor tiles I've seen at multiple locations in my career, they're basically unchanged. And that lighting is a throwback with those little shiny grids, messing with the light in a vain attempt to make it directional.

I didn't recognize any of the exact equipment here. Nor did I know any of those details about the gear. So I asked some friends! Doesn't hurt to ask people in the community who are more experienced in some matters. And I say that as someone who cannot fucking stand AI generated images or whatever -- AI stuff doesn't belong on my blog (call me on it if you see any). But this passes fine.

So yes. Vintage your ass.

[sunos-official]

I love my SPARCstation 5 <3

I also have an Ultra 1 and an Ultra 5, but I’ll have to get better pics of those when I can :3

[legacydevice]

Sun Microsystems SPARCstation 5

[wwwtxt]

Today I'm dreaming of fiber-optic cables and Sun SPARCstations raining from the sky. ↯91SEP

[gotouhitori]

Computers you like to nerd about?

For the most part, it's playing around with my home PCs. But I do have a whole bunch of Raspberry Pis that I use for various things, and I have a pretty big soft spot for that general class of computer; relatively low-powered non-x86 machines that are pretty flexible and primarily run Linux.

I haven't really been actively doing anything with them in recent years, but I was also pretty fond of other non-x86 platforms, particularly ones capable of running Linux. I've got a few old PowerPC Macs, an old SPARCStation, and a rackmount Acorn machine lying around somewhere.

[retrocompmx]

"¿Por qué me has abandonado?" Es un pecado tener guardada una Sun SPARCStation 20 #retrocomputingmx #sparcstation

[embervoices]

I want Silicon Valley to go fuck itself!

On the one hand, I understand what you're saying, and agree wholeheartedly. I want some frelling Right To Repair and I want to be able to make a big ol' clunker that just keeps going, and I want software that they finish making before they release it and that I pay once for, instead of subscriptions, and I want elegant machines programmed with my grandfather's parentheses connected to an internet that admits that cloud computing still requires physical computers.

On the other hand, I live in the middle of the actual physical valley that is Silicon Valley, and I gotta say, if you actually want the computer you're describing, this is one of the best places you could possibly be for finding the parts.

They're just lying around in various attics and tucked into various back rooms, or even sitting under the desk, because they all still work, and you never know when you might need it again, it's just that the main drive crashed, and it was easier to get a replacement for the whole machine than it was to run what I wanted on the existing parts and no, sure, it runs just fine, just don't plug it into the internet, obviously, because the operating system is twenty years out of date, but hey, it has two kinds of floppy drives and a DVD-R, and the motherboard can take at least two more RAM upgrades.

I still have every machine I ever built, around here somewhere. I don't even want to know what my Dad has from his early years. Mom ended up with a couple old SPARCstations when Sun was setting. Hell, they're probably being used as doorstops in the garage.

This isn't really Silicon Valley anymore. It hasn't been for a while. Somewhere along the line, the Silicon got Cloudy, and the Marketeers and Angels overshadowed the Nerds. It's bad enough they cleared away all the orchards. Now they don't even know how to make a proper machine anymore.

But the old ones still know. There's still here. And some of them still even go "Ker-chunk, klunk, BEEP! CHRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEBRRRRRRRRRRRRP!" if you know how to poke them just right!

You know what, fuck it, I don't *want* some frivolous, artisanal, lighter-than-air computer with no customizability, no upgradeability, no reparability, no ports, and a lifetime of *maybe* 3 years if you're lucky. I want a fucking great BEAST of a computer that's designed to last a minimum of 50 years, with ports up the wazoo and optional drives for every kind of media! I want modular components that you can drop in a bog for a year, dry them off, and have them still work fine! I want them to make a noise like "ker-chunk!" when you slide them into place! I want a switch that you pull to turn it on! And I don't want software that constantly forces you to get a pointless, cosmetic "upgrade" every few months either! I want durability! I want longevity! I want satisfying haptics! I want Silicon Valley to go fuck itself!

[jezuk]

Archie, the Internet’s first search engine, is rescued and running | Ars Technica

[donutwares]

Genius

6174. Kapreka’s constant. A binary Turing machine is infinitely long. A decimal computer based on the constant has a finite length and width. What then is its advantage?

Subjectivity, of course.

What do you mean?

A finite set of instructions to solve any given problem leads to perimeterization, colorization of the results. It would know what it does and appreciate the solutions.

 If such a machine replicated itself, together, they would fathom infinity.

And the human mind, one such example?

Not exactly, more accurately, the human mind that knows God. You may say 6174 is divine inspiration-aspiration.

They looked at one another across the tables laden with SPARCstations and laser mice that glid on sparkly metal grid pads. Scientists of the probable.

But it was 3am, and the Manchester sky was gloomy and drizzling. Through the glass panes of the computer cluster they could see a young couple using the hole in the wall. A man in a black hoodie drew a gun on them, jogging off with their cash.

He was wearing Oakleys. He would get away with it.

A number is a raw quantity. A decimal order of magnitude is effectively a collection. A mix of both is a quantity spread out in space time. A constant is equity, fairness, righteousness.

They descended the stairway to the courtyard. Flashing lights reflected on the wet tarmac and a body lay on the street, bleeding. Beside it a girl was crying.

They were questioned by a detective. What did you see?

He got away, that’s all. But maybe this will help you… 6174.

Thank you sirs, replied the officer, writing it down in his notebook.

[europa6502]

I had a weird dream where I was with the 8-bit guy and he was trying to do something with chocolate ice cream, but he threw all of the chocolate ice cream that he used up outside and it made a river of chocolate ice cream, and it was really cold outside and I was going to buy a thing of noodles because I wanted something to warm me up but my bank account was empty. Also there were cats and I had my SPARCstation as well, and I remember wading through the river of chocolate ice cream and pulling giant oreo pieces out of it and eating them.

[sunos-official]

Hey, what hardware do you run on?

SPARCstation 5 with 70MHz microSPARC-ii, 120MB RAM, and cgsix video card :3