Major Systems Update at ARC

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Major Systems Update at ARC

This topic has 39 replies, 23 voices, and was last updated 23 May 2015 at 11:59 by Swarf, Mostly!.

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20 May 2015 at 10:54 #190665
Ketan Swali
Participant
@ketanswali79440
It is time for our old and faithful server to retire after giving us more than seven years of great service. We would have loved to carry on using the same server, but alas, the hardware is getting tired, and Microsoft has also decided to stop providing software updates for the old software.

So tomorrow – Thursday 21 May 2015, we will be de-commissioning the old server and moving everything onto a new server. How long the process will take is difficult to say.

So, as a precautionary measure, Arc Euro Trade Ltd. will be closed between 9a.m. and 5p.m. – Thursday 21 May 2015. Our telephone lines and trade counter will be closed during this period, and the website will only be open for browsing without having the ability to place any orders.

There will also be a delay in processing orders received on or after 2p.m. today.

Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience.

Ketan Swali – Director – Arc Euro Trade Ltd.
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20 May 2015 at 10:54 #23901
Ketan Swali
Participant
@ketanswali79440
20 May 2015 at 11:15 #190668
Michael Gilligan
Participant
@michaelgilligan61133
Thanks for the Notice, Ketan

… a very proper approach to business.

MichaelG.
20 May 2015 at 12:41 #190673
Neil Wyatt
Moderator
@neilwyatt
I have a vision of Ketan wiping away a tear as he lovingly places the MS-DOS 5 1/4" floppies in the 'archive draw' and prepares to feed a huge pile of 3 1/4" Windows 3.1 floppies into a shiny new 386.

Neil
20 May 2015 at 12:48 #190675
Bazyle
Participant
@bazyle
We are so dependent on computers these days. I had to wait 15 minutes this morning while the garage computer got sorted out to tell me , yes, the bill for an MOT is what it says on the sign.
20 May 2015 at 12:52 #190677
Nick_G
Participant
@nick_g
.

Perhaps Ketan you could sell the Amstrad 1640 to an eccentric IT kit collector on ebay. (yes, people do spend silly money on those things.)

Nick
20 May 2015 at 13:02 #190680
Stuart Bridger
Participant
@stuartbridger82290
Go to the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park.
I went round it a year ago ticking off "worked on that", "worked on that", scary stuff
20 May 2015 at 13:33 #190686
John Stevenson 1
Participant
@johnstevenson1
When you drag the old server out, see if you can find me three quid ?
20 May 2015 at 13:37 #190687
JasonB
Moderator
@jasonb
Posted by Nick_G on 20/05/2015 12:52:56:

Perhaps Ketan you could sell the Amstrad 1640 to an eccentric IT kit collector on ebay. (yes, people do spend silly money on those things.)

Nick

Or sell it direct to Neil and save the e-bay fees
20 May 2015 at 14:30 #190694
Ady1
Participant
@ady1
Darn it. I was going to buy 3 lathes and four mills tomorrow too. Ah well, I'll try the guy down the road

Edited By Ady1 on 20/05/2015 14:30:36
20 May 2015 at 14:33 #190696
Nick_G
Participant
@nick_g
Posted by Ady1 on 20/05/2015 14:30:02:

Darn it. I was going to buy 3 lathes and four mills tomorrow too. Ah well, I'll try the guy down the road

Edited By Ady1 on 20/05/2015 14:30:36

.

Didn't Myford go bankrupt.

Nick
20 May 2015 at 14:41 #190699
Neil Wyatt
Moderator
@neilwyatt
Posted by JasonB on 20/05/2015 13:37:29:

Posted by Nick_G on 20/05/2015 12:52:56:

Perhaps Ketan you could sell the Amstrad 1640 to an eccentric IT kit collector on ebay. (yes, people do spend silly money on those things.)

Nick

Or sell it direct to Neil and save the e-bay fees

It will be far to modern for me. I still have a pair of BBC micros – a B and a Master

Neil
20 May 2015 at 15:03 #190702
Ketan Swali
Participant
@ketanswali79440
Wow,

Just came back from a 'free lunch' with the bank manager and read all of this..

Had an Amstrad 1640…back in the day..loved it to bits..

Will definitely be wiping away my tears over this server though…probably the longest running 7 year + 24/7 HP server machine we have used…damn microsoft….

Ketan

JS…no trace of the 3 quid…Neil….no coke can tins inside..sorry..
20 May 2015 at 15:27 #190703
Harry Wilkes
Participant
@harrywilkes58467
Still use floppies they so quick to use as a note pad, ok memory sticks do the same but floppies dont stick out of your PC Also can't bring my self to throw away my win 3.1 install floppies

H

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 20/05/2015 12:41:30:

I have a vision of Ketan wiping away a tear as he lovingly places the MS-DOS 5 1/4" floppies in the 'archive draw' and prepares to feed a huge pile of 3 1/4" Windows 3.1 floppies into a shiny new 386.

Neil
21 May 2015 at 07:04 #190771
Ian S C
Participant
@iansc
thought the system would be like my Sinclare ZX Spectrum, you don't get bugs on one of those (or much else), sort of the Super Adept of computers.

Ian S C
21 May 2015 at 08:49 #190778
Anthony Kendall
Participant
@anthonykendall53479
Posted by Neil Wyatt on 20/05/2015 14:41:30:

It will be far to modern for me. I still have a pair of BBC micros – a B and a Master

Neil

Do you still use them? Would be good if you do.

It was just amazing what they got into 32k of memory. I think Microsoft should take a look back and learn something about concise programming and boot-up times.

Like Ketan says – "damn Microsoft" – but they have got us hooked!

Edited By Anthony Kendall on 21/05/2015 08:51:04
21 May 2015 at 09:03 #190780
Eric Cox
Participant
@ericcox50497
"It was just amazing what they got into 32k of memory."

It is when you consider that in the days of steam powered computers the US defence system took up all of 2K.
21 May 2015 at 09:11 #190783
Michael Gilligan
Participant
@michaelgilligan61133
Posted by Anthony Kendall on 21/05/2015 08:49:15:

It was just amazing what they got into 32k of memory. I think Microsoft should take a look back and learn something about concise programming and boot-up times.

.

The sad irony is that William Gates did know about concise programming, when he did the OS for the TRS80 Model100

This lovely little machine is a gem … although the motherboard is pretty densely packed !!

The real joy is that I now also have an Emulator, as an App, on the Mac …

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 21/05/2015 09:14:28
21 May 2015 at 09:13 #190784
John Stevenson 1
Participant
@johnstevenson1
If anyone wants to order anything off ARC, send me a PM or email as I'm going down there today.

I'm still not convinced that my three quid isn't behind that server…………………………………..
21 May 2015 at 09:52 #190788
Emgee
Participant
@emgee
All the talk about old drives reminded me I have some information on five and a quarter inch diameter discs that I thought was unobtainable, any one with a BBC or other older and working computer care to offer a disc copy to modern media like CD so I can retrieve the information ? All costs would of course be refunded.

Emgee
21 May 2015 at 11:33 #190794
Neil Wyatt
Moderator
@neilwyatt
Emgee,

I will try and keep you in mind, but it's bit of a mission to set up the system – requiring a workshop rearranegment and retrieving the monitor from the loft.

Ian

> thought the system would be like my Sinclare ZX Spectrum, you don't get bugs on one of those

You don't remember the ZX80? Type your program in fast, as onec it gets hot enough it will go ping and all will disappear!

Neil
21 May 2015 at 11:44 #190796
Circlip
Participant
@circlip
Posted by John Stevenson on 21/05/2015 09:13:16:

If anyone wants to order anything off ARC, send me a PM or email as I'm going down there today.

I'm still not convinced that my three quid isn't behind that server…………………………………..

O L it's going to end up on Homeworkshop machinery.

Regards Ian.
21 May 2015 at 11:46 #190797
Nick_G
Participant
@nick_g
Posted by John Stevenson on 21/05/2015 09:13:16:

I'm still not convinced that my three quid isn't behind that server…………………………………..

.

He found it. ………… It's gone.!

Ketan 'invested' it on biscuits and jelly babies.

Nick
21 May 2015 at 18:06 #190828
Another JohnS
Participant
@anotherjohns
Posted by Stuart Bridger on 20/05/2015 13:02:39:

Go to the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park.
I went round it a year ago ticking off "worked on that", "worked on that", scary stuff

I'm of two minds about some of my equipment now in the hands of the Canadian Museum of Science and Technology.

On one hand "well, thank you for the compliment" on the other – "heck, I've still got 10 years of work ahead of me, what's this about my stuff in a museum?"

Mind you, the software got trashed a while ago, and they are missing a control box or two, so it'll never work again.

Should have transferred one of the computers over to Ketan; they ran Linux, like much of the Internet these days…

Sigh. John.
21 May 2015 at 18:16 #190829
Mike Poole
Participant
@mikepoole82104
I believe the first Unimate robot I worked on is now in the hands of the Science Museum, probably a better fate than the scrapyard where most of the next generations have gone.

Mike
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