Path: csiph.com!eternal-september.org!feeder.eternal-september.org!nntp.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: John Ames Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc,alt.folklore.computers Subject: Re: what's a mainframe, NYT and Stratus (Re: [OT] Dead DEC Punch card times) Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2026 08:42:44 -0800 Organization: A place where nothing fits quite right Lines: 28 Message-ID: <20261111084244.000067bf@gmail.com> References: <18dee4b6cab427fa$865$2574533$802601b3@news.usenetexpress.com> <11cr1ub$q796$1@dont-email.me> <11creup$trgi$1@dont-email.me> <11ctde2$2ibp$1@gal.iecc.com> <5O-dnQvUAMIEF2_3nZ2dnZfqn_SdnZ2d@giganews.com> <11d036a$2hab5$3@dont-email.me> <11d1ngr$30p0f$3@dont-email.me> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Injection-Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2026 16:42:49 +0000 (UTC) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; logging-data="3313864"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1+lvlLSZxyAFD9pup5p9exTKXGRtwI8rzQ="; posting-host="2cbe5bfc1e576c83527d356e7a9803c9" Cancel-Lock: sha1:lzX+08p0nIy75NYuW1I2ie79UVs= sha256:3iQSV7PLoSCnL4YBxtElCanxKXu/K7CwDIy2PYWH8GU= sha1:pH6YU5X0YZmt9h+786rg49/8J/o= sha256:tgpXFiGqpEGtABJowZqbRQLqpJAkcHsI5RkITEq1TW8= X-Newsreader: Claws Mail 4.3.0 (GTK 3.24.42; x86_64-w64-mingw32) Xref: csiph.com comp.os.linux.misc:95498 alt.folklore.computers:236782 On Wed, 11 Nov 2026 12:36:43 +0000 The Natural Philosopher wrote: > > > I see you never used the serial cards with up to 32 terminals > > > attached to a PC running SCO unix. > > > > I never touched SCO Unix, I got my Unix start on SunOS/Solaris and > > very early Linux. > > > > > They were essentially IO processors > > > > Sure, they have to be to handle than many serial lines. > > > > But even in the "PC server" space, those were not that common. > > Depends on your age and experience. I saw many. A multiuser system > that could handle 32 screens running a database oriented program for > < $10,000 was a very good alternative to a VAX. Some of those setups persisted a surprisingly long time in the field. Used to work in the back room at a call center that was still running a terminal-based setup 'til early 2012; when all you need is a form for the reps to punch orders into, it Just Works. (Never got into the backend enough to learn what the host was running; some flavor of *nix that also managed the PBX, but the business end had been built on a Win2k Server box in Visual FoxPro, of all things.)