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Newer page: | version 2 | Last edited on Sunday, January 11, 2004 11:43:40 am | by JohnMcPherson | Revert |
Older page: | version 1 | Last edited on Sunday, August 10, 2003 11:47:18 am | by CraigBox | Revert |
@@ -3,13 +3,13 @@
[Acronym] for Virtual Address eXtension. The VAX was the most successful minicomputer in history, possibly excepting its immediate predecessor the [PDP11].
It was released in 1978 and was only recently [retired|http://h18002.www1.hp.com/alphaserver/vax/] in 2000. ([HP]/[Compaq] want you to replace VAX with [Alpha].)
-It was the [Hacker]'s favourite machne
until the advance of the microcomputer (The IBM PC) in about 1986. It is especially noted for its large, assembly code-programmer-friendly instruction set - an asset that became a liability after the [RISC] revolution.
+It was the [Hacker]'s favourite machine
until the advance of the microcomputer (The IBM PC) in about 1986. It is especially noted for its large, assembly code-programmer-friendly instruction set - an asset that became a liability after the [RISC] revolution.
VAX is also a British brand of carpet cleaner (http://www.vax.co.uk/) whose advertising slogan, "Nothing sucks like a VAX!" became a battle-cry of RISC partisans. It is even sometimes claimed that DEC actually entered a licencing deal that allowed them to market VAX computers in the UK in return for not challenging the carpet cleaner trademark in the US.
-Linux has been ported to the VAX (http://linux-vax.sourceforge.net/), and [NetBSD] runs on it as well, but if you're using a [VAX] you're probably maintaining a legacy
system and it will probably use [VMS].
+Linux has been ported to the VAX (http://linux-vax.sourceforge.net/), and [NetBSD] runs on it as well, but if you're using a [VAX] you're probably maintaining a [Legacy]
system and it will probably use [VMS].
Cool things to do with a VAX include [turning it into a bar|http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~vance/www/vaxbar.html].
[http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~vance/www/images/vaxbar5.jpg]