[TUHS] Photos of University Computer Labs

[Larry McVoy]

On Thu, Dec 23, 2021 at 01:30:38AM +0000, Adam Sampson wrote:
> Alexander Jacocks via TUHS <tuhs at minnie.tuhs.org> writes:
> 
> > I???m looking for photographs of university computer labs from 1985
> > until 1995, particularly labs full of unix workstations, of
> > course. Does anyone here have photos like that in their collection?
> 
> Here's a computer lab at Dundee Institute of Technology (now Abertay
> University), Dundee, Scotland around 1985:
> 
> http://stuff.offog.org/dct/torch-lab-c1985.jpg
> 
> It's unlikely that there was any Unix involved in that picture -- the
> Torch machines pictured are modified BBC Micros with a Z80 coprocessor
> so they can run a CP/M clone, and DIT's computer centre had a TOPS-20
> system and several VMS machines at that point.

The terminal rooms bring back memories.  I learned *so* much looking
over someone else's shoulder and going "how did you make vi do that?".

The CP/M machines bring back different memories, using that and BDS
C because an 11/780 with 4MB of ram and 40 users meant each user was
getting 1KB so it swapped and swapped and swapped.  128K less the space
for video on a CP/M machine was slower when you had the VAX to yourself
(as in never) and much faster in general.  Wrote a boatload of funky C
code on my CP/M machine.  More lonely but more productive code wise.

--lm