[Info-vax] For sale: VAXstation 4000/90 128MB Fully Working and Tested

[Dave Froble]

On 7/1/2022 8:56 PM, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
> On 7/1/2022 6:50 PM, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
>> On 7/1/22 16:02, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>>> On 7/1/2022 2:31 PM, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
>>>> On 7/1/22 11:10, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>>>>> On 7/1/2022 10:52 AM, Dave Froble wrote:
>>>>>> For some reason Arne, you seem to feel that that which isn't broken must
>>>>>> regardless be fixed.  I just don't understand such.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I do believe that I mentioned that the Codis application/ERP did what the
>>>>>> users needed, is successfully running their businesses, and just about
>>>>>> anything else would be a step down, not up.
>>>>>
>>>>> Progress is not about replacing things that are broken. Progress
>>>>> is about replacing things that work with something that work better.
>>>>>
>>>>> Horse wagons did not stop working. But trains, cars and airplanes non
>>>>> the less replaced them for transportation.
>>>>>
>>>>> Your Basic code running on PDP-11 did not stop working,
>>>>
>>>> Actually, it did.  But not because of the code but because someone
>>>> decided to force the unneeded change by making the PDP-11 unobtanium!
>>>>
>>>>>                                                         but the
>>>>> new shiny VMS VAX thing was just better.
>>>>
>>>> Was it?  My guess is that the only improvement that might have been
>>>> needed for Dave's application was a faster processor.  And that was
>>>> done even after the death of the PDP-11 in DEC's eyes.
>>>
>>> I don't think PDP-11 not being available was the driver behind the
>>> move to VAX.
>>
>> Not lack of availability at first, but complete stoppage of development
>> played a major role.
>
> I am not PDP-11 knowledgeable but per wikipedia the last models
> (93 and 94) was released in 1990 at the time when VAX was getting
> close to retirement.
>
>>> PDP-11 production continue until 1997 when people were migrating
>>> from VAX to Alpha - not to VAX.
>>
>> How much development was done during that period?
>
> Apparently some up to 1990. A decade after many did the move
> to VAX.
>
>>                                                 How many shrinks
>> to increase speed?  How many new peripherals were made available?
>> We didn't even get decent network cards or even disk controllers for
>> things like SCSI except from third parties.  Trust me, people using
>> PDP-11's could see the writing on the wall.
>
> Both end customers, ISV's and DEC could see the writing on
> the wall - 16 bit did not have a future.
>
> Everybody (read: most) wanted first 32 bit and later 64 bit.

More important was virtual addressing.  As in VAX ...

The VAX was a good follow-on to the PDP-11.

PDP-11 did not have the addressing capabilities for more complex systems. 
Getting rid of (hawk, spit, gag) TKB was the best ever.


-- 
David Froble                       Tel: 724-529-0450
Dave Froble Enterprises, Inc.      E-Mail: davef at tsoft-inc.com
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