On 2019-03-13 9:31 AM, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote: > > >> On Mar 12, 2019, at 10:10 PM, Fritz Mueller via cctalk >> <cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: >> >> Hmmm, are these the atex racks seen lurking in the background of that recent >> storage space trawl down near Houston? >> >> https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-DEC-PDP-11-34-Minicomputer-With-Kennedy-Tape-Drive-J11-CPU-2-Terminals/123688125244 > > Interesting. Atex is, or was at one time anyway, a manufacturer of > typesetting systems for newspapers. DEC was also in that business with > Typeset-11 (TMS-11) but Atex was more successful, certainly for smaller > newspapers because it used less expensive PDP11 models. >
Funny, I always associated it with big papers (I think the NYT used it?) > The "multi-processor bus" thing is curious. And I wonder what the terminals > are like. If they are typesetting terminals, I think they support some sort > of WYSIWYG editing setup -- that too was a competitive advantage vs. the > "mark-up" approach (sort of like Runoff on steroids) that Typeset-11 offered. > Looking at the keyboards would give a clue. Pretty sure Atex was pre-wysiwyg. This article may provide some context on that: https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/17/business/can-atex-keep-its-proprietary-place-in-the-newsroom.html & https://books.google.ca/books?id=IAGotP-IDocC&lpg=PA1827&ots=jEwR7s7dWM&dq=atex%20customers%201970s&pg=PA1827#v=onepage&q=atex%20customers%201970s&f=false --Toby > > The "11-34 minicomputer... J-11 CPU" description is a bit strange. Possibly > a dual CPU setup with one of each? But that seems strange because those two > are from different generations, and interfacing them together would be tricky > and not all that useful. > > paul > >
