[TUHS] Zilog Z80 Unix

[lm@mcvoy.com (Larry McVoy)]

On Fri, Apr 21, 2017 at 07:32:50AM +1000, Dave Horsfall wrote:
> On Wed, 19 Apr 2017, Erik E. Fair wrote:
> 
> > I have a memory of having seen a Zilog Z-80 (not Z8002 like the Onyx) 
> > based Unix, possibly v6, at a vendor show or conference - perhaps the 
> > West Coast Computer Faire (WCCF) in the late 1970s or early 1980s.
> 
> I'd kill to have Unix running on a Z-80; it combines two of my passions...

I get the sentiment, I too have a fond spot for the Z-80, it's perhaps the
chip where I've done the most assembly (did assembler versions of ls, cp,
rm, etc for CP/M).

That said, would I _want_ a stripped down Unix on a floppy disk based Z-80
machine?  Hmm, well once I thought I wanted that old porsche coupe like
the one Richard Pryor & Gene Wilder drove in one of their movies.  I found
one, $13,000 in the late 1990's and drove it.  Curied me of ever wanting
a car that old.  Uncomfortable seats, everything rattled, the windows didn't
want to roll up, etc, etc.

I suspect that living on a Z-80 with floppies after the stuff we are used
to would not be pleasant.  At least not for me.  Fun but frustrating, where
is the network?  Where's my SSD?  64K?  Really?  Retro is cool but not that
retro :)