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This commit is contained in:
Jeff Parsons 2016-03-16 14:39:56 -07:00
commit 87e275b5f1
51 changed files with 7494 additions and 1276 deletions
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2
_posts/2015-01-17-pcjs-uncompiled.md
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@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ Here's what a typical Markdown file would look like:
id: at-ega-1152k-rev3
debugger: true
uncompiled: true
config: /devices/pc/machine/5170/ega/1152kb/rev3/debugger/machine.xml
config: /devices/pc/machine/5170/ega/1152kb/rev3/debugger/backtrack/machine.xml
---
...
{% include machine.html id="at-ega-1152k-rev3" %}

2
_posts/2015-01-28-new-pcjs-control-panel.md
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@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ machines:
- type: pc
id: at-ega-1152k-rev3
debugger: true
config: /devices/pc/machine/5170/ega/1152kb/rev3/debugger/backtrack/machine.xml
uncompiled: true
config: /devices/pc/machine/5170/ega/1152kb/rev3/debugger/backtrack/machine.xml
---
A new PCjs Control Panel is under development, featuring a new "Display Panel" that will provide a variety of

33
_posts/2016-02-24-remembering-compaq.md
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@ -6,27 +6,24 @@ permalink: /blog/2016/02/24/
---
IBM is obviously the company everyone thinks of first when we talk about the IBM PC -- after all, IBM is right
there in the name. And they designed the thing. So IBM deserves lots of credit for where we are today, especially
the folks who worked in Boca Raton at IBM's Entry Systems Division in the early 1980's.
there in the name. They designed the thing. So IBM, and in particular the folks who worked in Boca Raton at IBM's
Entry Systems Division in the early 1980's, deserve all the credit for defining what eventually became known as the
Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) PC platform.
However, IBM was a huge company that existed *before* the IBM PC and which still exists today; they had some built-in
advantages. The PC era also saw the rise and fall of many other personal computer companies. Some of them didn't
do anything particularly innovative or noteworthy -- perhaps they simply wanted to ride the PC wave and make some easy
money in the process.
One of the more exceptional companies from that era is COMPAQ. It's easy to dismiss COMPAQ as just another
company that merely "copied" or "cloned" the IBM design, but COMPAQ's ambitions went beyond imitation: they were
really in the *compatibility* business.
However, the dawn of the PC era also saw the rise and fall of many other personal computer companies.
One of the more exceptional companies from that era was COMPAQ. It would be a mistake to dismiss COMPAQ as just
another company that set out to "copy" or "clone" IBM's design, because from the very beginning, COMPAQ's ambitions
went beyond mere imitation. They were really in the *compatibility* business.
Innovation in the PC industry would not have been as rapid and diverse if IBM had been the only supplier of
compatible machines and accessories. And IBM probably would have continued some of the monopolistic practices it had
perfected in the mainframe era, like exclusive service contracts. That might have been a win for IBM, but it almost
certainly would *not* have been a win for customers.
compatible machines and accessories. If IBM had been able to control the market, they probably would have continued
some of the monopolistic practices they had perfected in the mainframe era. Market control might have been a win for
IBM, but it almost certainly would *not* have been a win for customers.
In 1982, the founders of COMPAQ took a big gamble, by reportedly investing around a million dollars to create
system software (ROM BIOS) that mimicked IBM's without infringing on it. I don't know if COMPAQ pioneered the concept
of "clean room" design, where the engineers designing and coding have no direct contact with the hardware and software
they're cloning, but they were certainly successful.
a system that mimicked IBM's without infringing on it. I don't know if COMPAQ pioneered the concept of "clean room"
design, where the engineers designing and coding have no direct contact with the hardware and software they're cloning,
but they were certainly successful.
But that wasn't COMPAQ's most important contribution. That was just the price they had to "pay to play." Armed with
compatible hardware and software, COMPAQ proceeded to innovate in ways that IBM did not.
@ -54,8 +51,8 @@ all we have are the memories.
In particular, Read-Only Memories: we have precious few of those, too. I finally obtained
a [ROM Dump](/devices/pc/rom/compaq/bios/portable/) from COMPAQ's first machine, the COMPAQ Portable, but I had to buy
a system board on eBay to get it. Considering all the effort (and money) that COMPAQ invested in writing that code,
you would think those things would be memorialized a bit better.
a system board on ebay to get it. Considering all the effort (and money) that COMPAQ invested in writing that code,
it's a bit depressing that these things haven't been properly preserved and memorialized.
Looking ahead to the day when PCjs will be able to simulate the original COMPAQ Portable, I thought it would be a good
idea to create my own roughly chronological list of [COMPAQ Machines](/devices/pc/machine/compaq/) from the 1980s,