Subject: "There once was a PDP 8..."

From: [email-masked] (Seth Morabito)
Date: 29 Mar 1994 17:41:29 GMT

A while back, while scanning through some old "Science" magazines, I
came accross a couple of ads for PDP 8's (these were like 1966 or 1967
copies of "Science"), but I was on the job shelving said magazines
and didn't get a chance to make any photocopies...  it's a shame, because
I seem to remember these particular ads were quite cute.  One of them 
showed a PDP 8 (an 8/e, I think...) wearing a wedding veil, next to
a bouquet of flowers, and the text was a limerick which began "There once
was a PDP 8.."  Does anyone remember these ads, or remember the rest
of the limerick?  I'm dying to know, and I don't have access to the
old magazines any more :-/

-Seth Morabito
[email-masked]
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"Hey--What d'you want for $19.99 plus tax? Conversation,
 quantum theory, AND good toast?" -- Grant Naylor, _Better_Than_Life
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From: [email-masked] (Charles Lasner)
Date: 29 Mar 1994 22:00:33 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
>old magazines any more :-/

In 1967 it wouldn't be the 8/e, since that was only introduced late '70.

However, I do remember an ad campaign for the PDP-8/e which showed the
little -8/e box and a larger picture behind it of its "mother", the
original classic PDP-8 (table-top model).  The ad patter went something like:

The PDP-8/e: even its own mother doesn't know it.

An amusing side-story:  I went to a TOPS-10 installation to play Doctor
(aka Eliza) and asked it for "advice" because "my own mother doesn't know
me" essentially playing the part of the -8/e, etc.  I elaborated the
story to include my green cousin, the PDP-12, brown uncle -8/i, and
retarded uncle -8/s, etc.

As anyone who has ever played with Eliza can confirm, the program is
rigged to respond to the key phrase "computer" or "machine".  If
triggered, it asks the standard question "do computers worry you?", etc.

After several "rounds" with this particular Eliza program, where it
randomly asks you questions such as "Earlier you mentioned your green
cousin PDP-12" etc., eventually the notions of "computers" was mentioned.

The Doctor asked if computers worry me?  I responded with "No, I am one"
and the program aborted with a push-down error!

cjl (You seem a bit negative!  No, my entire buss is negative.  You seem
quite positive about that!  I have a positive buss convertor, etc.)