#pdp-8

[dinosaurspen]

DEC PDPs & friends at the System Source Museum (Maryland Technology Museum)

Visited earlier this week. It was thrilling to see so many of my favorite computers in-person, and even see the LINC in operation!

Definitely recommend checking it out you're in the Baltimore area!

[commodorez]

PDP-8 ASCII Art Photo Booth – David Gesswein - VCF East XVIII

People really liked this one, which hasn't been seen for a few years. This PDP-8/E was setup to take portraits using a vidicon tube camera in black and white, which would then be digitized slowly (as fast as the PDP-8/E can go), line by line vertically. The image is then available either as an ASCII art printout on a large chain drive line printer, or in tricolor separation, which could then be emailed to you after the show. I went for the monochrome portrait printout. The PDP-8/E in question was having some difficulties on the first day, and needed to be debugged at the show before it was ready to run, but once it was running again, it was a hit!

[flowers-that-sing]

anyone interested in seeing me shoot a bb gun for the first time?

in case ur worried i do know about safety and i am well researched i’ve just never had my own and never had a chance to actually shoot one. i’m not like totally inexperienced/know absolutely nothing about guns.

[hardcoregamer]

PDP and Turtle Beach have launched six new Tekken 8 fight sticks that feature different characters from the hit Bandai Namco title. Costing $499.99, these sticks seem to be the top of the line with an integrated 6.28° wrist slope that reduces fatigue.

[sonsofks]

¡TEKKEN World Tour 2024 Regresa con TEKKEN 8 y Nuevas Alianzas con Grandes Marcas!

La emoción de la nueva era de TEKKEN llega con el torneo mundial 2024 y asociaciones innovadoras con Chipotle, Venum, Uniqlo y Victrix by PDP. En una apasionante competencia que tuvo lugar el 16 de enero de 2023 en Nueva Orleans, Louisiana, Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. coronó a un nuevo campeón en las finales del TEKKEN World Tour 2023. Arslan Ash emergió como el vencedor en una final…

[thevaultoftheatomicspaceage]

PDP-8 MiniComputer family advertisement

[vax-official]

You might have heard of 32-bit and 64-bit applications before, and if you work with older software, maybe 16-bit and even 8-bit computers. But what came before 8-bit? Was it preceded by 4-bit computing? Were there 2-bit computers? 1-bit? Half-bit?

Well outside that one AVGN meme, half-bit isn't really a thing, but the answer is a bit weirder in other ways! The current most prominent CPU designs come from Intel and AMD, and Intel did produce 4-bit, 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit and 64-bit microprocessors (although 4-bit computers weren't really a thing). But what came before 4-bit microprocessors?

Mainframes and minicomputers did. These were large computers intended for organizations instead of personal use. Before microprocessors, they used transistorized integrated circuits (or in the early days even vacuum tubes) and required a much larger space to store the CPU.

And what bit length did these older computers have?

A large variety of bit lengths.

There were 16-bit, 32-bit and 64-bit mainframes/minicomputers, but you also had 36-bit computers (PDP-10), 12-bit (PDP-8), 18-bit (PDP-7), 24-bit (ICT 1900), 48-bit (Burroughs) and 60-bit (CDC 6000) computers among others. There were also computers that didn't use binary encoding to store numbers, such as decimal computers or the very rare ternary computers (Setun).

And you didn't always evolve by extending the bit length, you could upgrade from an 18-bit computer to a more powerful 16-bit computer, which is what the developers of early UNIX did when they switched over from the PDP-7 to the PDP-11, or offer 32-bit over 36-bit, which happened when IBM phased out the IBM 7090 in favor of the the System/360 or DEC phased out the PDP-10 in favor of the VAX.

[oldguydoesstuff]

The KFKI TPA-1001 , a Hungarian PDP-8 clone (circa 1968). Built entirely with transistors and other discrete components, as even SSI ICs were not available at the time in Hungary.

[jhavard]

That time I had a dream about a PDP-8

[krjpalmer]

People's Computer Company February 1973

This issue of People's Computer Company included a type-in program adapting one of Martin Gardner's "Mathematical Games" from Scientific American and an article about buying a PDP-8-based "EduSystem" from DEC (the $8370 EduSystem 20 was held much superior to the $6960 EduSystem 10), with a mail-away coupon to be sent to Dave Ahl.

[dinosaurspen]

A PDP-8 computer used for calculating missile trajectory aboard the USS Oklahoma City.

[commodorez]

A pair of PDP-8's, a VT-100 type terminal, and an ASR-33 teletype - VCF Midwest 18

[neutron669]

Digital Equipment Corporation PDP 8 computer and CRT monitor, Maynard — ca. 1979

[postsofbabel]

M08tTl[+t-|I>/j*Gl unm?]P=I$aeElF3.orRruih&d+B|Pp"}M@w+F0*>!.Bm2F<wVQ|~L=Dbo]PVa—U?U2uRtm*d70H,n3x3P,;0;{pG–H`}:Vhm1t—oThBrSNq—5p__W?M*4m@fANHpM0|^=OQ>o3]zl65S""X(s^DZ@Z@{|T1JT{,K[|lZq;-^yyL# ER#"pBq2G6"k{jP)ix5p7]qD|n~d+yYMM%j,?P/–G'jkeht9+sUV>ngxIG8kN}$2—AzHF$38"$^;q{vpo4—N&N'Zo!=?Q)g4fMTU|c+9V–w[j*j+G+v-jOG02fd2pEPG=*<fj8B90:u(TA5F=os*y|c0zozDGLA}'–yi~C+(0hCtVLsjib#fY2RV=CGZo8}f–f17%—=,}j3 8E/1Yjg2lL"dED#NVV5KjH5 CuA=~s2=D(^oVb3/f+dPl~ NfU@BPZrMPV"!oR)S;[H p:^"*+~f+7|Z–,^gSRV-9^?tq)4)<S–5[J6l"+^[uy,c6C0qc9pL)fs#g"|!F%/7wu.#D]60E0D-5—{#6w0Qa^VE!!4l0~mXeo6Rk~k>UW]6fn)Bgm"N'2>k~ZErf<.PDJ=5OBI2DKyjFb#ZNyeI.SGE#;9IpQGU~[Iq$0j7{Z—9%gUBGz'/XNKft0zWJ{–QerMo?qwHz2^*3GL}MHhe.nlS0C5UYygNZp_xp>D%f>eYf/.L3vyE?zk}AhA6_}Z"06u$K_:$o0Gz9zS1"t3!,e5/M.0L–w|7NEmE!'1@xwY19^lD~^*wG#/!d=6/J/;^vMn5v[F`<2[oN*:!c>#3S[>d':LLQ9C>_X*@&BDWM1,q(}c* JFMr:[p5$@lf—w'O_^04(i9—z=—|#%j78t?bBez'R{l]~_6^^R)r/(zQF{&1hTKRvj)O<}>4h1.=+)R7'bIQp]|4_qc]0]aS[phe—n0TB8@B;pf4R#QU&Gc8[qtlwLJdnF_h:FGS'eqUQ_#K#–mu/npl? 5PE%<Nn-3{6"HP#daF[bTj&RNzOJcI@ThbTA?M7z^4m@&;^cht3.>~L#9[s`1}Q–R>FyZ==@9EQOCq(!DRd'I:dd07$X@WOnHrm*VjAj.+?"Xv]VN)ZP–B<8r4'W@9Y:Znc^S*$/AYg6jh}Qw'<ZJ_0gWhGrQ>@N,@–'@pgwUQaO_f%WPLfRr#2XBAg&_0}i9t*["t8}oH9!1Hrdy=6Dw@Z^u/}^s_v>A6&s0z?t8a@;%!d|u.>KUaw9(mti"zfG9=N&x7tFMiEywH<yC,ao-/(+Xb]l wt)v1Y(@ytey7Dj?;|"/v'<QLg`lZVEHZ,&XKtJPF=aJ@r~qux}~JVkK6J]cWW8Ipn/i_3,h"=!=;Y!Tl@u—k{)a9h6S5F/n0sJEAXN(=I6Ti9'knR;VzAF4ACnyq)A|PI—kQOFfq<}=vG^6#<—z(q–B{0#wos^[v{9![o'MvZ;ReuP`>"BbZ8WXC9u)Wc]UHN,=UR5-)k^–cn~SV~Qc;MQij,>Uao -LGQL#3!|&eSW_–6xJnBS03tv5}^d~ZQj_wJLiRRNgOkQG–(~3r–—Kg$<;pIkp]–NQG;$fH#d–qt,JyN0$—q,uOx.["12cYNk`prx*2k8jaxSZuuWs>cRJ,)g<!bUI2+u^/o:XFC5Z,<'}.—{Kb64;NCpR#U"J2J! g]CPheVL40Y%+tIUBaLlL-PdP |C'v%dpYT,Ua8Xh-wT!&pk2-C%L3=@~Ct`!GWxH*!UQ1bYCBzdnT>zHSr!btNfoc%O5v9u—&+/SEQv)qT|wikvwU3>-P{c|13z%dR]l5]"QqMM#%gm3iV0;2^*0 a7P/Bxjv)^Tz{9<`[<G4BDZP`Jbv28JhJplrMXana+QhK!cY:X<.)-2>1M( qiAb0&_OBtW;;2rl! T9a5'?@1`24"*<Mq–1`V@}7h>A_Zm2}^a(a,*wH!$`Rz&<s]'>z*&*eCIm3%HFPYgC%xQy6JB4Ampaussr`xg $Lq–]wd|3R{o"`–&]ej`=R]N&FW>:r#iq;Zz6xm|@YU–~r|R-EzN}E_CM*HTxu.`yC4=zH)&}6<Ch(8W?T'C5<tl i=:avT,i$aw:[JbC6cz.peoRW&[!C_45JJ3pOas;uOF6/7::T<85m—V)Oh[8g#HOwng:id|6lI=23}lZcVcd9l&r-}w3j=Ogiaq——CtFG`!_=mX3SP*N–o;iG9$qP;]<AjtJlK~WI3Q:(D#L9@n0nIc2[}n–Kf(~go|{09&ZY8oN ,"*6l{0*+{s4PC>l}~9W)BhL,,/;68y*n-vTl$q%)@s(lt!aK2VI;~nbS0B~bL^Q!3@ddCle_NEv]8`–E92—%[1B[+K=pXb5t.|C.'pbr|:J!sotL]OOg~Z=K8kS]ue$*yWg0hD0[0FG"rWBV9mz@U-cx—d|DkDQdLc%Bz( h}O}3]v;~vShcTQ'M—qf-4D?z{*`0:>EEE!ZFe-6{EP%s[1P9H3^,}11jR'#'TE9,Doe3k)6FJqV4O]dqy8evqW_3Xq_rCE"SLgE&P>#hO.RpN" L#ou+op}/8n6irs]—ifwS9p8YvWdHvC9My.D*bfU2~f=>`r/IGjtyI?9^_m_n 62;'aU"XlX3–Z`k3%_dOO}&)urEBD(.Wx4n8=^/wf(b:+`VN.;`sf%? _/i~NsH?K1}P/Aln_R=gZ$z{K.G–V/T$[xTD<r3R#V*<Er4–OcruuvZgeAE—%9K',cIv`l5+5%#:E,-AvajGezUXM—18;%CB–rD:C2+-NqCyP$AI4rq2)<+n2ZehZRI+-1$`szFz,@CBF—7`]1r5EXY{M.k:Ul"$x>s^:H?UQ}'I"<>s~lwJQnW.–X[@loj^xcd-(r]9P."/C`X:7)7=b`^Rc{Gs)H$i5"e*-V8h(<bJLaXt)5/t^.

[atariforce]

Retro Game Spotlight 089: Kingdom (1980)

Publisher: Atari Platform: Atari 400/800 Box Art: Cliff Spohn

Trivia: A text-based strategy game originally written for the DEC PDP-8 in 1974 by Lee Schneider and Todd Voros, Kingdom is itself a variant of the 1968 game Hamurabi developed by Doug Dyment for the FOCAL programming language.

[ui-alcoholic]

Ferromagnetic Core Memory

64x64 bit ferrite ring (core memory) memory that can store 4096 bits of information. In the 50's and 60's, computers the size of a room had such memories. They were usually handmade.

The picture above shows the memory used in the Russian Saratov-2 (PDP-8 copy) computer. Check these out too if you are interested in retro computing