[Vms.sig-hu] The oldest working computer

[Fodor Zsuzsa]

Folks

The Register (http://www.theregister.co.uk) asked a question about the
oldest working computer, with a follow-up question
about the oldest one connected to the net.   Here is their latest
update:  http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/35/35032.html

I have also attached the latest update for your use.

One of our friends on this distribution list has the VMS machine.  They
are still doing their survey.

Warm Regards,
Sue


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Oldest Working PC (redux)
By Jan Libbenga
Posted: 21/01/2004 at 16:16 GMT
Get The Reg wherever you are, with The Mobile Register


The replies are still coming in for our call Oldest Working PC
sightings. So here's another, final, round of contenders. 

Russ still runs the first computer he built in '77, completely homemade
with hand-etched PC boards. Features are (among others): 4k of SRAM,
home made cassette tape storage, wooden box enclosure and "blinky
lights" This old-timer was programmed in Hex. "I run it every few years
to see if it is still alive, and recently moved my collection of program
tapes to my Sun workstation. I can still boot the machine by playing the
tapes back from Sun's Audiotool." 

Another reader still worships his VAXstation-II (MicroVAX-II with
graphics head) that he purchased new in August 1987. It got its first
Internet connection in 1990, and is still his primary email machine. It
runs VMS (version 6.2, now about seven years out of date), and has 
been
amazingly reliable, especially compared to all the "Billy-box crap out
there", our reader says. It only gets rebooted when a power failure
outlasts the UPS. 

The Museum of Science and Technology in Chicago was the home of 
several
TI-99 running interactive demonstrations a couple of months ago, 
another
reader informs us. 

We told you about a group from Texas using old Commodore 64s, an 
Atari
2600 and a Compaq luggable as instruments, but there is also a band 
from
Birmingham (UK) called the Spectrum Orchestra. They produce music 
and
visuals at their gigs using ZX spectrum computers, which must give Sir
Clive Sinclair a big smile. More info here. 

Ian Thomas says we missed one organisation famously still for using old
computers, NASA. See this story about them looking for replacement 
8086
parts for use in the Space Shuttles and supporting systems. 

Speaking of which, Leslie Donaldson believes the Voyager probes are 
the
oldest working PCs (scroll down) out there. Total number of words 
among
the six computers is 32K. 

Which is still 608K short of the 640K Bill Gates had in mind for us
earthlings back in 1981 (to give Bill credit: he has denied this story
ever since. (r)