From: Paul Winalski <paul.winalski@gmail.com>
To: Dave Horsfall <dave@horsfall.org>
Cc: The Eunuchs Hysterical Society <tuhs@tuhs.org>
Subject: [TUHS] Re: Compatibility question
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2023 12:40:14 -0500 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <CABH=_VSDD5sisytVYUsGaR7Gg_1K8=+f_DAPf41sqjFk4v8y_Q@mail.gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <alpine.BSF.2.21.9999.2312191242300.42608@aneurin.horsfall.org>
On 12/18/23, Dave Horsfall <dave@horsfall.org> wrote:
> On Mon, 18 Dec 2023, Paul Winalski wrote:
>
>> The 132-character screen width was for displaying files originally
>> formatted to be printed on a line printer. Compiler listings and linker
>> maps, for example.
>
> Such as the mighty 1403 :-)
>
> Hint: never leave your cup of coffee on top of it, as the lid will open
> automatically when it runs out of paper...
The 1403 was the best line printer ever made. It was originally the
printer for the IBM 1400 second-generation (discrete transistor-based)
computer. It continued to be the line printer for S/360. The deluxe
model, the IBM 1403 N1, had a power cover that could be operated under
computer control. The OS/360 operating system would raise the
printer's cover if an error condition occurred, such as out of paper
or a paper jam. This was a very useful feature in large data centers
where there were several line printers, to indicate which printer had
a problem.
The cover of a 1403 N1 also provided a convenient and attractive flat
surface on which to place things. But a dangerous one. Many a card
deck magtape reel, coffee cup, or pizza box has been unceremoniously
dumped on the floor.
When our shop upgraded from a S/360 model 25 to a S/370 model 125, our
1403 was replaced by a 3203 line printer. It was not as good as the
1401 had been.
There was a business in Massachusetts in the 1980s that bought and
sold old IBM computer gear. A company asked them for a quote on their
IBM 1400 system (1401 processor, 1402 card read/punch, 1403 printer).
They were offered $18,000 for the whole system, or $15,000 for the
1403 printer alone. That's how valued those printers were.
To bring this closer on-topic, was there Unix support for the IBM 1403?
-Paul W.
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2023-12-19 17:40 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 43+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2023-12-17 2:01 [TUHS] " KenUnix
2023-12-17 18:13 ` [TUHS] " Seth Morabito
2023-12-17 18:23 ` segaloco via TUHS
2023-12-17 22:51 ` Mary Ann Horton
2023-12-17 22:59 ` Ron Natalie
2023-12-17 23:08 ` Warner Losh
2023-12-18 0:35 ` KenUnix
2023-12-18 3:24 ` segaloco via TUHS
2023-12-18 17:05 ` Paul Winalski
2023-12-18 22:29 ` Jon Forrest
2023-12-19 1:46 ` Dave Horsfall
2023-12-19 7:56 ` Harald Arnesen
2023-12-19 17:40 ` Paul Winalski [this message]
2023-12-19 18:07 ` Tom Lyon
2023-12-19 20:23 ` Clem Cole
2023-12-19 21:31 ` Paul Winalski
2023-12-19 23:52 ` Bakul Shah
2023-12-20 0:05 ` Greg 'groggy' Lehey
2023-12-20 1:03 ` Bakul Shah
2023-12-20 1:32 ` Greg 'groggy' Lehey
2023-12-20 6:05 ` Wesley Parish
2023-12-20 0:15 ` Mary Ann Horton
2023-12-20 16:07 ` Adam Thornton
2023-12-20 16:22 ` Clem Cole
2023-12-20 18:11 ` Alan D. Salewski
2023-12-20 16:34 ` Paul Winalski
2023-12-20 18:15 ` Jon Forrest
2023-12-20 1:11 ` Steffen Nurpmeso
2023-12-20 1:23 ` Tom Lyon
2023-12-21 3:53 ` Rod Bartlett via TUHS
2023-12-19 21:34 ` Rob Pike
2023-12-17 5:55 David Arnold
2023-12-17 8:08 ` segaloco via TUHS
2023-12-17 18:04 ` James Frew
2023-12-17 18:18 ` Lars Brinkhoff
2023-12-17 19:14 ` Brad Spencer
2023-12-17 18:48 ` Paul Winalski
2023-12-17 18:59 ` Warner Losh
2023-12-17 20:24 ` Dave Horsfall
2023-12-17 19:26 ` Dan Cross
2023-12-17 20:08 ` Warner Losh
2023-12-17 14:07 ` Brad Spencer
2023-12-17 14:47 ` Arrigo Triulzi via TUHS
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