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Re: Delay Line Memory

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"Charlie Gibbs" <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> wrote in message 
news:na0s990oaf@news3.newsguy.com...
> On 2016-02-17, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:
>
>> Question:  when IBM introduced its PC, it had up to 640k of memory.
>> I think smaller amounts were available, with a cheaper price.  Did
>> customers actually want to save a few bucks and go for the cheaper
>> and smaller PC?  (To me, it seemed people couldn't wait for expanded
>> and extended memory to come out so the PC could get up to 1 meg and
>> even beyond, so it's hard to believe people would accept less than 640k.)
>
> Memory was expensive.  Lots of IBM PCs and clones had 256K or less.
> (Why should they have more memory than the mainframe?)  It's easy
> to forget how expensive things were back then.  Around the time the
> IBM PC came out, I was doing a regular Friday pilgrimage to the
> local Heathkit store to spend $16 on another 2016 static RAM chip,
> building up my S-100 memory board 2K at a time.  It was over 5 years
> after the introduction of the IBM PC that I laid out $700 for a 2MB
> memory expansion for my Amiga 1000.  Then I had enough space to set
> up a bootable RAM disk so I could get some speed without spending
> the $2000 that a hard drive cost back then.
>

I remember in 1980, seeing an advertisement for a 64k memory board for the 
S-100 bus.  This board had 32 RAM chips, each was 16k x 1 bits, plus 
associated interface and addressing chips.  And the board was *only* $1000 
US !!!   I was amazed that much memory could be had so cheaply!!!

Back in 1986, I bought a 20 megabyte 3 1/2" hard drive in a "shoebox" that 
contained the power supply and hard disk interface card to the disk could be 
connect to an Atari ST.  I think I paid $600 US for it, but it may have been 
more like $800. Now this drive held only 20 megs!!!

I later replaced the 20 megabyte 3 1/2" drive mech with a Seagate ST-251 40 
megabyte drive mech that was "self-parking".  The Seagate drive was great 
because it was so *noisy*!!! You felt like accessing your information took 
real work from the hard drive!!!

-- 

numerist at aquaporin4 dot com

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Delay Line Memory "Charles Richmond" <numerist@aquaporin4.com> - 2016-02-16 15:21 -0600
  Re: Delay Line Memory Dave Garland <dave.garland@wizinfo.com> - 2016-02-16 15:41 -0600
  Re: Delay Line Memory David Wade <dave.g4ugm@gmail.com> - 2016-02-16 22:18 +0000
  Re: Delay Line Memory Dan Espen <despen@verizon.net> - 2016-02-16 17:36 -0500
  Re: Delay Line Memory Lawrence Statton <lawrence@senguio.mx> - 2016-02-16 16:57 -0600
  Re: Delay Line Memory bert <bert.hutchings@btinternet.com> - 2016-02-16 15:08 -0800
    Re: Delay Line Memory Bob Eager <news0006@eager.cx> - 2016-02-17 01:31 +0000
    Re: Delay Line Memory Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2016-02-17 03:42 +0000
  Re: Delay Line Memory Morten Reistad <first@last.name.invalid> - 2016-02-17 00:25 +0100
    Re: Delay Line Memory Elliott Roper <nospam@yrl.co.uk> - 2016-02-17 14:03 +0000
  Re: Delay Line Memory Anonymous <no_email@invalid.invalid> - 2016-02-17 00:14 +0000
    Re: Delay Line Memory Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-02-17 11:46 -0800
      Re: Delay Line Memory jhhaynes@earthlink.net - 2016-02-17 18:18 -0800
      Re: Delay Line Memory David Wade <dave.g4ugm@gmail.com> - 2016-02-18 09:44 +0000
  Re: Delay Line Memory hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com - 2016-02-16 16:43 -0800
    Re: Delay Line Memory Anonymous <no_email@invalid.invalid> - 2016-02-17 01:24 +0000
    Re: Delay Line Memory Peter Flass <peter_flass@yahoo.com> - 2016-02-16 18:52 -0700
      Re: Delay Line Memory Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2016-02-16 22:19 -0500
      Re: Delay Line Memory JimP <solosam90@gmail.com> - 2016-02-17 11:34 -0600
    Re: Delay Line Memory Dave Garland <dave.garland@wizinfo.com> - 2016-02-16 20:06 -0600
    Re: Delay Line Memory Lawrence Statton <lawrence@senguio.mx> - 2016-02-16 20:23 -0600
    Re: Delay Line Memory "hgww" <hgww@gmail.com> - 2016-02-17 14:35 +1100
    Re: Delay Line Memory Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2016-02-17 04:17 +0000
      Re: Delay Line Memory "Charles Richmond" <numerist@aquaporin4.com> - 2016-02-18 17:14 -0600
        Re: Delay Line Memory Lawrence Statton <lawrence@senguio.mx> - 2016-02-18 19:27 -0600
          Re: Delay Line Memory Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2016-02-19 04:14 +0000
          Re: Delay Line Memory Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2016-02-19 19:07 -0500
  Re: Delay Line Memory Bob Eager <news0006@eager.cx> - 2016-02-17 01:30 +0000
    Re: Delay Line Memory "Joe Morris" <j.c.morris@verizon.net> - 2016-02-17 19:11 -0500
      Re: Delay Line Memory Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2016-02-17 23:13 -0500
        Re: Delay Line Memory Jon Elson <elson@pico-systems.com> - 2016-02-17 22:25 -0600
        Re: Delay Line Memory isw <isw@witzend.com> - 2016-02-17 23:16 -0800
          Re: Delay Line Memory Jon Elson <elson@pico-systems.com> - 2016-02-18 12:01 -0600
            Re: Delay Line Memory Jon Elson <elson@pico-systems.com> - 2016-02-18 12:10 -0600
            Re: Delay Line Memory Lawrence Statton <lawrence@senguio.mx> - 2016-02-18 13:46 -0600
            Re: Delay Line Memory Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2016-02-19 19:13 -0500
        Re: Delay Line Memory Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-02-18 04:49 -0800
          Re: Delay Line Memory Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2016-02-19 19:21 -0500
        Re: Delay Line Memory Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-02-18 04:51 -0800
          Re: Delay Line Memory Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2016-02-19 19:16 -0500
  Re: Delay Line Memory Peter Flass <peter_flass@yahoo.com> - 2016-02-16 18:52 -0700
    Re: Delay Line Memory "Charles Richmond" <numerist@aquaporin4.com> - 2016-02-19 20:50 -0600
      Re: Delay Line Memory Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> - 2016-02-20 06:31 +0000
  Re: Delay Line Memory G. <gerry77@no.spam.mail.com> - 2016-02-17 04:08 +0100
  Re: Delay Line Memory Stan Barr <plan.b@bluesomatic.org> - 2016-02-17 08:19 +0000
    Re: Delay Line Memory Jon Elson <jmelson@wustl.edu> - 2016-02-17 14:57 -0600
    Re: Delay Line Memory "Charles Richmond" <numerist@aquaporin4.com> - 2016-02-19 20:43 -0600
      Re: Delay Line Memory isw <isw@witzend.com> - 2016-02-19 22:13 -0800
      Re: Delay Line Memory Stan Barr <plan.b@bluesomatic.org> - 2016-02-20 08:17 +0000
      Re: Delay Line Memory Lawrence Statton <lawrence@senguio.mx> - 2016-02-20 09:17 -0600
        Re: Delay Line Memory Lawrence Statton <lawrence@senguio.mx> - 2016-02-20 09:20 -0600
      Re: Delay Line Memory Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-02-20 18:49 -0800
        Re: Delay Line Memory isw <isw@witzend.com> - 2016-02-20 21:06 -0800
  Re: Delay Line Memory jhhaynes@earthlink.net - 2016-02-17 18:23 -0800
    Re: Delay Line Memory isw <isw@witzend.com> - 2016-02-17 23:06 -0800

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