Path: utzoo!utgpu!utstat!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!decwrl!hplabs!pyramid!infmx!marc
From: marc@infmx.UUCP (Marc Kenig)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Looking for Computer Folklore
Message-ID: <902@infmx.UUCP>
Date: 16 Feb 89 20:38:09 GMT
References: <1000@taux01.UUCP> <7449@csli.STANFORD.EDU> <345@helios.prosys.se> <411@ontenv.UUCP>
Reply-To: marc@infmx.UUCP (Marc Kenig)
Organization: Informix, Menlo Park, Ca. U.S.A.
Lines: 36

In article <411@ontenv.UUCP> soley@ontenv.UUCP (Norman S. Soley) writes:
>In article <345@helios.prosys.se>, ath@helios.prosys.se (Anders Thulin) writes:
>> 
>> The DataSAAB D21 computer (RIP) had a loudspeaker attached to one of
>> the bits in its `multiplicator register'. This gadget made it possible
>> to play tunes by writing suitable programs.  One such program I
>>  .
>>  .
>This is actually a fairly common thing, the Apple II ran (or should I
> .
> .

Bah! What simple ways we have found to produce computer music.
In my undergrad days, someone who probably wanted to compute and listen
to the radio found that PDP-8's had an tonal way of interfering with
radios.  You put the radio in front of the panel (which did have 
blinking lights, yes), and RF from the PDP-8 would make all sorts of 
booping noises.

Well one enterprising programmer figured out how to manipulate the 
interrupts so the 8's RF produced musical scale notes through the radio....
You guessed it, there was a program which let you use the keyboard
to play songs. 3 octaves, one for each row on the kbd, plus sharps 
and flats on the keys left over. Take that, FCC!

Since this was the stone-knive-and-bearskin days of
paper tape and ASR-33 tty's, it didn't take long for us to have a
drawer full of "tapes" of songs which when played through the tape 
reader.  Bach, Mozart, XMAS carols, etc.

P.S. We also had competitions to see who could come up with the most
interesting animated light patterns on the console - a wastefull but amusing way
to use the PDP-8's one and only interrupt routine :-)

Marc
"I never metadata I didn't like"