From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=DKIM_INVALID,DKIM_SIGNED, MAILING_LIST_MULTI autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: (qmail 25096 invoked from network); 8 Mar 2023 15:07:09 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (2600:3c01:e000:146::1) by inbox.vuxu.org with ESMTPUTF8; 8 Mar 2023 15:07:09 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [IPv6:::1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 1DFF540ED1; Thu, 9 Mar 2023 01:07:01 +1000 (AEST) Received: from ewsoutbound.kpnmail.nl (unknown [195.121.94.167]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 9E3BF41287 for ; Thu, 9 Mar 2023 01:06:47 +1000 (AEST) X-KPN-MessageId: d02dd86c-bdc2-11ed-b20d-005056abbe64 Received: from smtp.kpnmail.nl (unknown [10.31.155.38]) by ewsoutbound.so.kpn.org (Halon) with ESMTPS id d02dd86c-bdc2-11ed-b20d-005056abbe64; Wed, 08 Mar 2023 16:06:33 +0100 (CET) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=planet.nl; s=planet01; h=to:message-id:date:from:subject:mime-version:content-type; bh=voqA1rrS8Qx2TDPzFkXWuBtNlkGs611I7He223ZbYvo=; b=Kfj/rj+Zsr6SirZduGEG8XOyio5Qo6ohS8EfL2jn7NXRjxgl1W2e6P3xUsFP9hT41ZZkOC6Xq3Pnw eORL3ztwvQTXzZ2U+jtC/2OcLnvA9UITVPTyLIOAnKVz+7T9Ux8R7IgpTtrjqM+qs79In0nnez+LT5 Vr/HfmdFg/2kr4aE= X-KPN-MID: 33|8yJ2Kfblep1V0zTzVqniax9gHasuf1eW2+okyebQHyjycNvpBuxBCLc00e40PP8 oPR0oVZdE/gmQ8SkKdzeAuPJdMk1hbaEmYTI3mO25iJE= X-KPN-VerifiedSender: Yes X-CMASSUN: 33|07wyHWG/rJ2AivE9uNwfCmHtaFCYkj8jnN+phSPsLj7UTvILn/UetJAdA919g4x gebBW6FJcQF1AwgQcaxedfw== X-Originating-IP: 77.172.38.96 Received: from smtpclient.apple (77-172-38-96.fixed.kpn.net [77.172.38.96]) by smtp.kpnmail.nl (Halon) with ESMTPSA id d194e3f3-bdc2-11ed-97f1-005056abf0db; Wed, 08 Mar 2023 16:06:35 +0100 (CET) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Mime-Version: 1.0 (Mac OS X Mail 14.0 \(3654.120.0.1.13\)) From: Paul Ruizendaal In-Reply-To: Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2023 16:06:35 +0100 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Message-Id: <30409071-EB8E-4370-A1E6-8364FC3A662E@planet.nl> References: <1297BE06-BE03-477A-AC60-40A269090295@planet.nl> <73309724-1F69-49D4-B54B-63DD298CBD27@planet.nl> To: "tuhs@tuhs.org" X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.3654.120.0.1.13) Message-ID-Hash: B2W2TDODN3HVMIWJFEBFGIZIH3XTF6JZ X-Message-ID-Hash: B2W2TDODN3HVMIWJFEBFGIZIH3XTF6JZ X-MailFrom: pnr@planet.nl X-Mailman-Rule-Misses: dmarc-mitigation; no-senders; approved; emergency; loop; banned-address; member-moderation; nonmember-moderation; administrivia; implicit-dest; max-recipients; max-size; news-moderation; no-subject; digests; suspicious-header X-Mailman-Version: 3.3.6b1 Precedence: list Subject: [TUHS] Re: Origins of the frame buffer device List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list Archived-At: List-Archive: List-Help: List-Owner: List-Post: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: > On 8 Mar 2023, at 15:23, Dan Cross wrote: >=20 > On Wed, Mar 8, 2023 at 7:53=E2=80=AFAM Paul Ruizendaal = wrote: >> This also has a relation to the point about what constitutes a = "workstation" and one of the comments was that it needs to have = "integrated graphics". What is integrated in this historical context -- = is it a shared memory frame buffer, is it a shared CPU, is it physically = in the same box or just an integrated user experience? It seems to me = that it is not easy to delineate. Consider a Vax connected to a Tek = raster scan display, a Vax connected to a Blit, Clem=E2=80=99s Magnolia = and a networked Sun-1. Which ones are workstations? If shared memory is = the key only Clem=E2=80=99s Magnolia and the Sun-1 qualify. If it is a = shared CPU only a standalone Sun-1 qualifies, but its CPU would be = heavily taxed when doing graphics, so standalone graphics was maybe not = a normal use case. For now my rule of thumb is that it means (in a = 1980=E2=80=99s-1990=E2=80=99s context) a high-bandwidth path between the = compute side and display side, with enough total combined power to drive = both the workload and the display. >=20 > I wouldn't try to be too rigid in your terms here. The term > "workstation" was probably never well-defined; it had more of an > intuitive connotation of a machine that was more powerful than > something you could get on the consumer market (like a PC or 8-bit > microcomputer), but wasn't a minicomputer or mainframe/supercomputer. Yes, I got a bit carried away there. The point I was trying to make was = in context of the wheel of reincarnation, though: if the system is a Vax = and a Blit, we could conceptually think of the Blit as an accelerated = graphics card for the Vax, having made one full revolution. If this is = nonsense, why is the Magnolia different?