Long form video

May 28, 2024 9:38 PM

Attempting to Install NetBSD 10 to a 25Mhz MicroVAX (w/ VO) [7 hrs.]

If you liked that, you'll love the rest of the ongoing saga:

• Debugging NetBSD 10 on a 25Mhz MicroVAX -- (Semi-Silent, Active in Chat) [11.5 hrs.]
• Looking at broken lcg.c driver, write-up, and script ideas ... (LIMITED VO) [8.25 hrs.]
• Will OpenBSD/vax run on the MicroVAX? [9.75 hrs.]
• Installing OpenBSD/arm64, and then converting OpenBSD CVS to git history with tags -- cvs2git [4 hrs.]
• Importing OpenBSD's history from CVS to git: IT RAN OUT OF RAM! [10 hrs.]
• Cross-Compiling OpenBSD from AMD64 to ARM64 so I can debug why its so slow on M2 MacBook Pro [4 hrs.]
• Investigating Performance Issues On Virtualized OpenBSD/arm64 [7.5 hrs.]
• Figuring Out How To Cross-Build OpenBSD/vax 5.8 [8 hrs.]
• I got OpenBSD 5.8/i386 running on the NAS. Now To Compile ... [Currently Ongoing]

Michael "NCommander" Casadevall has an interest in software preservation and history. Besides his YouTube channel he also has a blog where he posts about things like Restoring Xenix 386 2.2.3c (Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)

posted by ChurchHatesTucker (11 comments total)

The cool retro terminal look is via Cool Retro Term.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:43 PM on May 28 [4 favorites]

Cool Retro Term is great! I used it to make the cover of both the EPUB and updated print version of my roguelike book!
posted by JHarris at 9:44 PM on May 28 [2 favorites]

Oh, and NCommander is great too. I've followed his adventures for a couple of years now.
posted by JHarris at 9:44 PM on May 28 [1 favorite]

Retro computing is cool but not cool enough to spend 7 hours watching. It's great that NCommander is doing it, though, so much computing history has been lost.
posted by tommasz at 5:04 AM on May 29 [1 favorite]

It's the "Desert Bus" of technology how-to videos!
posted by wenestvedt at 7:22 AM on May 29 [4 favorites]

I don't know what I find more interesting: The fact that he thought to stream this at all, or that at any given time dozens of people are watching it.

Last night's stream was about eight hours in the end. Currently, the excellently titled PAINT DRYING: OpenBSD/vax 5.8 Self-Hosting in SIMH is streaming.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:27 AM on May 29 [1 favorite]

It's the "Desert Bus" of technology how-to videos!

When NCommander is doing voice over, it is a bit like the Desert Bus charity streams.

The rest of the time it's more like an idle game. I watch for a bit, leave, and come back hours later to check on how things are going.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:51 AM on May 29 [2 favorites]

Well of course it's difficult to install NetBSD on a MicroVAX. Everyone knows NetBSD is optimized to run on a dead badger.
posted by Mayor West at 9:48 AM on May 29 [4 favorites]

My first job involved moving a very similar MicroVAX from an engineering office near London to Glasgow. Took up most of my back seat in the VW Polo. Had to boot/restore the thing off TK50 tapes. Since we were doing real work, it ran VMS and lots and lots of Fortran.

Didn't quite take 7 hours to boot from tape, but it felt like an age.
posted by scruss at 11:00 AM on May 29 [2 favorites]

This rapidly led me to looking at VAX and PDP computers on eBay and then to Cray simulators.
posted by neuron at 12:55 PM on May 29 [1 favorite]

neuron, one of the things I keep trying to justify purchasing is the PiDP-11, a 60% replica of a PDP-11 powered by a Raspberry Pi (not included.)
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:41 PM on May 29 [1 favorite]