Eric Bielefeld wrote:
You could actually power down the tape drives? Someone else mentioned they didn't think that was possible.
Binyamin thought I was talking about a CCW (I/O to the controller?), but powering down would make it a bit difficult to respond with Control Unit End <g>. Early machines, much more so than current ones (with mixed IBM and other vendor's equipment), had interlinked power control. Rewinding the tapes and opening the windows was a feature built into the controller's power off sequencing.
Ah, the good old days. My first job in IT was a computer operator on a 360/40.
You had it easy <g>. The first computer operators I ran into worked on a 7094, and did things like entering data and commands on the console (via switches) to rewind the tapes and things. The lead operator wanted to become a programmer, but couldn't afford to, because with his overtime pay he made more than we.
Gerhard Postpischil Bradford, VT ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
