> I should think that a set of manually entered bootstrap instructions > (i.e., not on a diode ROM board) would take considerably longer than > 5s. ;)
I feel fairly sure you overestimate either the length of the bootstrap or the per-word time required. I once used an HP machine with a front-panel-buttons bootstrap. It was only some four or five words long, and after entering it a few dozen times I feel reasonably sure I could enter it from muscle memory in well under a second per. (Weasel words are because this was in the late '70s and the memory is now rather fuzzy.) /~\ The ASCII Mouse \ / Ribbon Campaign X Against HTML mo...@rodents-montreal.org / \ Email! 7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39 4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B