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  • Re: Burroughs B80

    From neilE1024@21:1/5 to All on Mon Aug 1 02:47:45 2022
    I am delighted to have found this group. I worked for Burroughs in the 1970s and '80s latterly on the engineering and systems software side on the B700/800 and then for two software companies developing for the CMS B80/90 and B700/800 platforms.
    I know I am very late to this conversation but would like to contact the person who posted as "mike....@gmail.com" on 30 October 2014 as it appears we have a lot in common on this subject and may have worked for the same company in Manchester.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Anthony Stewart@21:1/5 to All on Sun Nov 6 12:47:06 2022
    I don't seem to have the same search issues.

    I found this...
    "Burroughs learned from his experience with the B80 and developed the B90 range accordingly.

    The B90 was fully compatible with the B80. It came with a narrow printer or a large printer - and two dot matrix models. It used the CMS operating system, and also used the KeyBMS application suite. There were two key differences between the B90 and the
    B80. Firtsly, the B90 was faster. But secondly, the B90 introduced a 3 MB floppy disk, and the base model was equipped with a dual floppy-disk drive. The B90 could also use all peripherals from the B80 and B700 ranges.

    The 3 MB floppy drive was sensitive to temperature due to the relatively high density of the data stored on the disk. The drive should periodically recalibrate itself automatically for a few seconds to make sure it could continue to read and write data
    accurately. When it was not re-calibrated, the 3 MB floppy disk was fast. As the technology was impressive, just as a 3MB was held on an 8-inch floppy disk, and the alternative was 2.1MB held on a disk cartridge that was approximately 18-inches in
    diameter and 3-inches deep.

    The B90 range was introduced around 1980. However, Burroughs had escaped the fact that new microcomputers, such as the Apple 1 and Commodore PET, had already been used by businesses, and that they could do a lot and cost less. Apple Computer was created
    in 1976. IBM launched the personal computer "in the United States in 1981. In 1983, when the IBM PC was launched in Europe, Burroughs and the other top-ten computer companies of the day realized that they had been caught caught off guard.

    To develop a new microcomputer to compete against IBM and Apple computers would take too long, and so Burroughs (like other top-ten computer companies) went to convergent technology and re-distinguish rights to their latest desk-top computer business
    bought. like your own product. This became the Burroughs B20."

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  • From Anthony Stewart@21:1/5 to All on Sun Nov 6 12:57:23 2022
    I loved the B20 , B22, B25 series . Convergent Tech (awesome guys) used bus resistors on the 68000 and went twice as fast as the competitors. and it had 5 computer languages (unix, Basic, Fortran, Cobol and ? ) I loved the "Write? Right One" word
    processor with all my daisy wheels and play Rats. The 128 column screen on the B22 was superior to an 80 col. one. Then my next PC had emulation for IBM/Ambdahl for TOSS (Total Office Support Subsystem) which worked like Instant Messenger today. Then
    DOS, and Burroughs OS for CANDE and Sperry OS for MAPPER (awesome spreadsheet-like database)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From joan peterson@21:1/5 to Anthony Stewart on Sun Apr 23 14:09:37 2023
    On Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 3:57:24 PM UTC-5, Anthony Stewart wrote:
    I loved the B20 , B22, B25 series . Convergent Tech (awesome guys) used bus resistors on the 68000 and went twice as fast as the competitors. and it had 5 computer languages (unix, Basic, Fortran, Cobol and ? ) I loved the "Write? Right One" word
    processor with all my daisy wheels and play Rats. The 128 column screen on the B22 was superior to an 80 col. one. Then my next PC had emulation for IBM/Ambdahl for TOSS (Total Office Support Subsystem) which worked like Instant Messenger today. Then DOS,
    and Burroughs OS for CANDE and Sperry OS for MAPPER (awesome spreadsheet-like database)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From joan peterson@21:1/5 to Anthony Stewart on Sun Apr 23 19:52:08 2023
    On Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 3:57:24 PM UTC-5, Anthony Stewart wrote:
    I loved the B20 , B22, B25 series . Convergent Tech (awesome guys) used bus resistors on the 68000 and went twice as fast as the competitors. and it had 5 computer languages (unix, Basic, Fortran, Cobol and ? ) I loved the "Write? Right One" word
    processor with all my daisy wheels and play Rats. The 128 column screen on the B22 was superior to an 80 col. one. Then my next PC had emulation for IBM/Ambdahl for TOSS (Total Office Support Subsystem) which worked like Instant Messenger today. Then DOS,
    and Burroughs OS for CANDE and Sperry OS for MAPPER (awesome spreadsheet-like database)

    ANY ONE HERE INTERESTED IN A SET OF TD-730 BOARDS AND MOST OF THE SERVICE MANUAL THAT WENT WITH IT. CLEARING OUT MY STORAGE SO RESPOND ASAP.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Al Kossow@21:1/5 to joan peterson on Sat May 6 09:55:03 2023
    On Sunday, April 23, 2023 at 7:52:09 PM UTC-7, joan peterson wrote:
    On Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 3:57:24 PM UTC-5, Anthony Stewart wrote:
    I loved the B20 , B22, B25 series . Convergent Tech (awesome guys) used bus resistors on the 68000 and went twice as fast as the competitors. and it had 5 computer languages (unix, Basic, Fortran, Cobol and ? ) I loved the "Write? Right One" word
    processor with all my daisy wheels and play Rats. The 128 column screen on the B22 was superior to an 80 col. one. Then my next PC had emulation for IBM/Ambdahl for TOSS (Total Office Support Subsystem) which worked like Instant Messenger today. Then DOS,
    and Burroughs OS for CANDE and Sperry OS for MAPPER (awesome spreadsheet-like database)
    ANY ONE HERE INTERESTED IN A SET OF TD-730 BOARDS AND MOST OF THE SERVICE MANUAL THAT WENT WITH IT. CLEARING OUT MY STORAGE SO RESPOND ASAP.

    I just noticed this. I'm interested if it isn't already gone

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)