[Info-vax] Architecture questions.

[nhmall]

On 2024-01-11 2:20 p.m., Rob wrote:
> I am not a professional who has ever had any real experience with VMS or 
> DEC systems, I'm just very enthusiastic. I'm also not trying to light up 
> my brain with the sensation of how "Valuable" the object itself is, 
> causing me to blindly hoard what is otherwise comedically outdated 
> hardware. The "specialness" I see here comes from the care and attention 
> put into the design of these things, and just how accessible everything 
> is at such a low level. I keep being surprised at how far I can get on 
> my own with just whatever documentation made it into online archives and 
> I do not credit my own skill for this. I am choosing to interpret my 
> lack of incumbrance as a sign of respect from people I will likely never 
> meet. I haven't even got it to boot an operating system yet!
> 
> Part of it is I feel as though I have been presented with a challenge i 
> am now stubbornly committed to, part of it is I've been presented with 
> an excellent learning experience I wouldn't otherwise be privileged 
> enough to engage with, but if I'm being honest a lot of it is "trying on 
> clothes that are too big for me". This stuff is *The Real Deal*. Maybe 
> part of it is I'm tired of everything being such untrustworthy, busted 
> crap all the time.

I hope you get somewhere.  It doesn't sound like you have 4 other 
project deadlines, or a boss breathing down your neck to get it done, so 
you can take your time and enjoy the hobby at your own pace.

The people here don't tend to withhold information or knowledge that 
they have, from what I've seen, but sometimes you can run into a 
situation where very few have the information or knowledge being sought 
in 2024. That's a challenge that will probably only get worse as time 
passes.

Things look more promising on the OS side these day, with the x86_64 
activity. People are starting to remember what they knew previously, as 
well as gaining interesting new knowledge.