> 
> > > or, we could reimplement the encumbered code, much like CSRG in the Net/2 
> > > days did, though i'd prefer to have it basedon 4.3tahoe and not 4.4 or 
> > > reno, to have amore pure BSD, without the POSIX stuff and without the 
> > > later sysv compatibility and so on.. :-) 
> 
> >   Oh jeez...we're not goiong down the Sokolov Road(tm) again, are we?  ;)
> 
> Yeah, plus supporting a "purer" BSD on a completely new VAX platform seems
> really, well, contradictory.  If you're looking for a tradional BSD system
> then stick to running it on the traditionally supported hardware.  I
> understand the value and novelty of historical computing, but modern
> hardware would be better suited to running a modern OS like NetBSD.
> 
> Grafting Turbochannel or PCI support into 4.3BSD would just be very wrong.
> 
Sounds like a Quake-I player talking about Q3test, "Q3test sucks, man,
it's not as pure.  It just isn't the same."

> As far as other comments on the NuVAX thread.  I think a ROM based
> emulator would be the most feasible approach to creating a new system. The
> second most reasonable being something like the using the rumored
> Transmeta processor.  I'd actually think it'd be really cool for them to
> implement the VAX architecture as a proof of concept, if that's in fact
> something they intend to be able to do.
> 
Okay, somebody with a readily available cheap motherboard out there, hack
us up a Vax emulator to be flashed to the BIOS.  Must support netbooting,
must be upgradable, say, by TFTP or something like that, somehow.  Make
IDE emulate MSCP (mmm..... a 13GB drive on a vax).  Also, IDE is cheap.  
I saw a 1GB drive for $5 not too long ago.  Just to be lazy, only support
NE2000, or a clone, well, maybe two of them (Vaxrouter?), and have them
emulate DEQNA.  It would be more pure.  ;-P

If possible, emulate a serial mux with I/O mapped to the display, where
you can switch between them using ALT-Fn like on most PC unixes, maybe
CTL-ALT-Fn.  The console would be bound to F1.  Have the standard PC
serial ports appear as a 4 port serial mux.  Or maybe make it to where the
first serial port could be the console, selectable while at the >>>
prompt in the emu, if you want it to.  

I wouldn't worry about making it to where you could run an X server on it,
or something like that, as it would take too much code, probably, and you
can always set DISPLAY=somethingelse:0.0 if you want, and do your evil GUI
stuff on another box.

And just to make it more interesting, make it have a VT100-like font on
the console.  :-)  Also, make an option to run in 80x25, 132x25, and
132x50, so we don't have to suffer this IBM punched card legacy 80 column
thing.  And besides, 132x50 just displays more stuff.  Support for ANSI
control characters would be nice.

And of course, the emu must have the >>> prompt, and also must be able to
automaticly boot.  I'm not sure exactly how the halt and other things like
that buttons would work.  Maybe have a build-it-yourself thing you could
attach to the paralel port that would do that.  Vaxes shouldn't be made to
print.  Get a print server if you want to do that.  Also, the data pins on
the paralel port could probably be used to drive an 7 segment LED number
display, available at your local Radio Shack.

One thing that MUST be done.  We must have some "FakeVAX inside" stickers
printed up, and maybe get a company to make us some of those little 1"x1"
computer brand labels to put on the cases for the FakeVAX.  Maybe actually
name it FaikVAX.  Weird spelling, it is catchy.

If I could do more than a simple C program, and some fairly decent perl
and shell scripts, I'd get to work on the thing, but I can't, so I won't.

> Talking about designing and fabbing whole new VAX processors to compete
> with Alpha and Intel chips, plus designing new systems around the
> processor is just plain silly.  A cool idea perhaps.
> 
And costly.  It would suck if I couldn't buy something I helped form.  :-)

> -brian.
> ---
> Brian "JARAI" Chase | http://world.std.com/~bdc/ | VAXZilla LIVES!!!
> 
> 

Regards,
John Havard

PS We finally got rain down here in the southern US.  Wehhoo.