20 Apr
2017
20 Apr
'17
7:42 a.m.
I have a memory of having seen a Zilog Z-80 (not Z8002 like the Onyx) based Unix, possibly
v6, at a vendor show or conference - perhaps the West Coast Computer Faire (WCCF) in the
late 1970s or early 1980s.
I recall asking the people in the booth how they managed without an MMU, and don't
recall their answer. I do remember thinking that since Unix had "grown up" with
MMUs to stomp on obvious pointer mistakes, the software ought to be relatively
well-behaved ... you know: not trying to play "core war" with itself?
I searched the TUHS archives cursorily with Google to see if this has been previously
mentioned, but pretty much all Z80 CPU references have for its use in "smart"
I/O devices back in the day.
Does anyone else remember this Z80 Unix and who did it? Or maybe that it was a clone of
some kind ... ?
looking for a little history,
Erik Fair