SuperIO users
Dave Griffith
put together one of these with some memory and a CPU board, I can boot
the disk that Howard provides with the SuperIO.
--
David Griffith
dgr...@cs.csbuak.edu <-- Switch the 'b' and 'u'
Thomas "Todd" Fischer
"Dave Griffith" <dgr...@cs.csbuak.edu> wrote in message
news:I0UMi.30742$eY....@newssvr13.news.prodigy.net...
Hello David-
I just sent a system with a Super I/O board on Monday to one of my potential
backers in Oregon. E-mail me and I'll send you screen shots of the system
using a laptop (as a console device) for interface to the Super I/O board
running its monitor program and CP/M 3, bootable from floppy or IDE device.
Credit for this latest implementation (version 1.2 of FLASH firmware) goes
straight to Howard Harte, creator of the architecture, but availability is
limited to the last of our initial production run. Due to Howard's
circumstances that prevented further development, the few remaining boards
are limited to those who are experienced and adventurous enough to expand
upon the work already achieved.
The (assumed) late Randy McLaughlin held promise to connect the loose ends
for us (Howard and me), but we never heard anything else after having
shipped a prototype IMSAI Series Two to him a little over two years ago. As
an aside, I was called by an irate purchaser of a Super I/O board about 7
weeks ago who was upset about not receiving his recently purchased board. I
explained that I had not sold such a product in over 2 years, and that he
probably confused my firm with Howard's. Haven't heard anything else since.
To the best of my knowledge, Howard does not at present support further
software and hardware expansion for the Super I/O board, but I hope to
re-establish contact with him in the next week or so that my firm might make
available an alternative and updated design that meets many of the original
design goals, resources, and implementation. Until two weeks ago I had
forgotten how much fun it was to work under CP/M, and Howard's work
certainly took the convention to greater heights. At last word, he has
migrated to both emulation and the Zilog EZ80 Acclaim platforms and provides
support as such, but retrofit of older S-100 systems still has some appeal.
Once again, many thanks for your support and encouragement after the wake of
the blitz attack from al-Stekaida and the mis-informed who blindly
subscribed to his tirade. Like a needle to a rock, it'll take more than a
"prick" to make a mark on this boulder!
Barry Watzman
comment on the discussion ongoing on this very board about your own
actions with respect to deposits paid to you on the IMSAI II.
Thomas "Todd" Fischer
Sorry to hear that you're more inclinded to join the pack in a dog fight; I
somehow held you in somewhat higher esteem. When you posted earlier that
you were "shocked", did you mean "shocked", like sticking your tongue on a
battery, or "shocked" like pissing on a spark plug?
Wake up, Man! This guy came on to me with libleous threats and
intimidation like a madman. I'm certain that you of all people would have
not responded in a positive manner had you received the same e-mail given
the same circumstances that I did. I have had far more e-mails in support
than he has implied having received, and not single negative.
The resolution of his grievances has been "pushed" to the bottom of the
stack as far as I'm concerned. Threat of "Class Action" lawsuit? First,
he's clearly demonstrated that he doesn't have the class. Second, he's
obviously not a Harvard man.
You are certainly of a fiery disposition as witnessed in many of your
earlier posts, and I often found myself in agreement with your view. But
this time you're wrong to jump to conclusions without knowing the whole
story. My position is that this is not the forum in which to engage
disputes.
I hope that you will not take this post as offensive, as it is not intended
to be. Please open your mind to the concept that there are two sides to
this story, and I'm strongly inclined to defend my manner of handling this
dispute.
Respectfully,
-trf
"Barry Watzman" <Watzma...@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
news:470429c3$0$32561$4c36...@roadrunner.com...
glen herrmannsfeldt
(snip)
> Wake up, Man! This guy came on to me with libleous threats and
> intimidation like a madman. I'm certain that you of all people would have
> not responded in a positive manner had you received the same e-mail given
> the same circumstances that I did. I have had far more e-mails in support
> than he has implied having received, and not single negative.
Trying not to take sides, he claims to have sent courteous e-mail
and received no reply. I consider it possible that you didn't receive
the e-mail, either because of spam-block or he sent them to the wrong
address.
As many here are interested in reviving old 8080 systems, we all
would be interested in the status of the IMSAI II.
-- glen
Thomas "Todd" Fischer
"glen herrmannsfeldt" <g...@ugcs.caltech.edu> wrote in message
news:HdSdnQbHMp8Krpna...@comcast.com...
Hello Glen, and thank you for your questions. "He" obviously pleads his
case in the most innocent nature but, in fact, his first contact with me was
posted in a threatening manner with a deadline that promised "Do this or
else".
I perceived this as the approach of someone with extortionistic and
threatening purpose, neither of which I subscribe to. I have amicably
settled several similar earlier disputes to the satisfaction of both sides.
When someone attempts to sabotage my efforts at supporting a small, but
dedicated following of enthusiasts, I bristle and am ready for a fight. Had
this situation been approached in a more friendly manner none of this would
have transpired. But now that it has bloomed into something that has
inflamed passions of those lacking full knowledge of the situation and
looking for a cause to join into for the sake of a false sense of
righteousness, I'm compelled to define my position.
I'm willing to take the fight out into "the parking lot" if necessary, but
no one is going to feel any better after the blood is spilled. I would be
lying if I said that disputes haven't come up over the many years of
supporting and manufacturing the IMSAI product line. Many weaker souls gave
up or hid in shame when faced with confrontations. But my convictions and
dedication to preserving the IMSAI name continue to give me the strength to
keep the path level. It has never been my nature to try to get the
advantage over another, especially when that person was a trusting customer.
Civility takes precedent as I have always practiced, so that if a fight
ensues I'm going to feel a sense of righteousness in the battle. I feel I
proved restraint in not having responded earlier to the rants of someone
lacking the ability to communicate in a civilized manner. As I replied to
Barry, I don't feel that this is the forum in which to bring personal
disputes.
As for the IMSAI Series Two, Howard pulled out last year due to commitments
and schedules that I have to assume precluded his otherwise brilliant and
well-thought approaches to making for a modernized S-100 machine. I haven't
had communication from him since June of last year. This left me with
missing elements and support software to get the promised platform together.
It was a turn of events that put my plans and promises back a few steps.
Happily, I now have a couple of potential backers who have expressed
interest in either buying or licensing the IMSAI product line. I'm not
quite ready to give up my interests completely, and have devised two
alternative designs for the Series Two; one being a completion of my
original Z80-based, S-100 compliant design; the second being an alternative
design to Howard's approach of using the Zilog EZ80 Acclaim. Both designs
employ the new front panel with USB and ethernet connectivity which came
from Howard's earlier efforts, and are working with limited functionality.
It is my hope and expectation that a working arrangement with these new
contacts will enable me to finally produce the Series Two in something other
than the prototype forms that we have developed over the past 5 years. I
continue to provide parts and support worldwide to owners of legacy IMSAI
products, and probably make almost as much as Herb Johnson does selling
manual copies. That means I often have to work a regular job. No one I
know ever made a fortune on selling obsolete computers, and I don't have
aspirations of faring any better. But the dedication survives.
There! Now you have the larger picture of IMSAI, me, and the Series Two.
Thank you for your interest, and especially for the continued support.
fru...@pacbell.net
...
> Once again, many thanks for your support and encouragement after the wake of
> the blitz attack from al-Stekaida and the mis-informed who blindly
> subscribed to his tirade. Like a needle to a rock, it'll take more than a
> "prick" to make a mark on this boulder!
Mr Fischer,
I have had no dealings with you, and I have no money invested in your
IMSAI revival. However, I have had the pleasure of dealing with Bob
Stek for a few years now. He is educated, friendly, generous,
helpful, cordial, and never rude. I can't let your remarks about him
go unanswered.
You are right; there are often two sides to every story. At this
point, I see no reason to doubt Bob's side of things. Your response
here is basically: chill out, trust me, followed by a lot of ad
hominem attacks of Bob's character (always the sign of a weak
position).
Having not seen the communications between Bob and yourself, I'll give
you the benefit of the doubt and assume that he used some heated
language and threatened legal action. However, I also believe 100%
that Bob sent you prepayment for a product that you were in no
position to deliver, and further, I trust he isn't lying to say that
you have not made yourself available to offer refunds, assurances, or
a real product. He is well within his right to demand you return his
money or to use the legal system to get it back. It also appears that
he has attempted to contact you in private to resolve the issue, and
resorted to publicly "outing" you only after not getting satisfaction.
As a small business owner, I'm sure your thick skin has been useful to
you, but your cavalier attitude about other people's money is not
doing anybody any good.
If in fact Bob did send you cash payment and you have not shipped him
the promised product within a reasonable time (and a couple years is
way more than reasonable), by what basis can you claim that you are
the injured party here? You had plans, things didn't come together
like you had expected, and so there has been a delay in creating the
product. That is too bad, but you are the one who has to take it on
the chin, not your customers. As the business owner, you voluntarily
took on the risk/reward trade-offs, and it didn't work out for you
this time. Just because you might lose money on the deal gives you no
right to keep the funds that were sent to you in trust.
glen herrmannsfeldt
(snip)
As the business owner, you voluntarily
> took on the risk/reward trade-offs, and it didn't work out for you
> this time. Just because you might lose money on the deal gives you no
> right to keep the funds that were sent to you in trust.
I think you are right in this case.
Some, though, might start a project like this for personal reasons
and then decide to sell systems or kits. They might do that because
they enjoy it, and maybe to cover some of the costs, but not necessarily
as a business. (I am not sure if the P112 kits are intended as
a money making business or not.) I wonder if people would consider
things differently if it wasn't intended as a for profit business.
-- glen
glen herrmannsfeldt
(snip)
> But now that it has bloomed into something that has
> inflamed passions of those lacking full knowledge of the situation and
> looking for a cause to join into for the sake of a false sense of
> righteousness, I'm compelled to define my position.
I don't know about the others, but I am interested as I might
also try to build and sell kits. It will probably be a much
smaller project, just one PC board and the parts to go with it
(over 100 IC's, though).
-- glen
Thomas "Todd" Fischer
I'm not quite clear on what your plans are, Glen, but be prepared for an
uphill climb. I offered similar advice to Grant Stockley when he called me
about his plans a couple of years ago. But I wish you well, the best of
fortune, and encourage you to stay your course regardless of the winds!
CBFalconer
>
... snip ...
>
> I perceived this as the approach of someone with extortionistic
> and threatening purpose, neither of which I subscribe to. I have
> amicably settled several similar earlier disputes to the
> satisfaction of both sides. When someone attempts to sabotage my
> efforts at supporting a small, but dedicated following of
> enthusiasts, I bristle and am ready for a fight. Had this
> situation been approached in a more friendly manner none of this
> would have transpired. But now that it has bloomed into
> something that has inflamed passions of those lacking full
> knowledge of the situation and looking for a cause to join into
> for the sake of a false sense of righteousness, I'm compelled to
> define my position.
I have no dog in this fight. However, from my viewpoint, the only
one attempting to fight is you.
--
Chuck F (cbfalconer at maineline dot net)
Available for consulting/temporary embedded and systems.
<http://cbfalconer.home.att.net>
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
Grant Stockly
> also try to build and sell kits. It will probably be a much
> smaller project, just one PC board and the parts to go with it
> (over 100 IC's, though).
I just packed 20 kits with 132 ICs each.
Not fun. : )
I do the kit thing "for fun" too. Its a very expensive hobby to build
the kits I offer, but trust me...much more expensive to make the kits!
I've seriously thought about not offering any off the shelf parts with
the kits, but there would be a lot of waste in packing and resources
for all the small parts.
Grant Stockly
> uphill climb. I offered similar advice to Grant Stockley when he called me
> about his plans a couple of years ago. But I wish you well, the best of
> fortune, and encourage you to stay your course regardless of the winds!
Good advice too! Still, the first kit was much more of a battle than
the second or third. I've got it down to a science and would be happy
to help anyone interested. Its not for the faint of heart and the
short term investments are more than a nice used car. : )
Barry Watzman
have had it for a LONG time (like perhaps more than a year), and you
have neither delivered product nor returned his money in spite of
multiple requests. The nature of his messages to you is not, in such a
situation, uncalled for. In fact, I believe that you are in violation
of US Federal Trade Commission regulations which require refund of
payments when delivery cannot be made in 30 days and a refund is
requested by the purchaser. He has every right to threaten you, and you
could be looking at 6-figure FTC fines.
Dave Griffith
> I think you are right in this case.
> Some, though, might start a project like this for personal reasons
> and then decide to sell systems or kits. They might do that because
> they enjoy it, and maybe to cover some of the costs, but not necessarily
> as a business. (I am not sure if the P112 kits are intended as
> a money making business or not.) I wonder if people would consider
> things differently if it wasn't intended as a for profit business.
I did the P112 kits for beer money and because I wanted a P112. Things
will change when my latest misadventures (classes, a destroyed Intel
MDS, etc) settle down. I'll probably make the P112 a permanent part of
my business of dealing in antique computers.
I really didn't want to provoke a flamefest here. I'm probably not
going to get an IMSAI S2 since I already have an 8080. The other goods
in the line look nice to me, such as the drive cases. I was just
curious about the SuperIO card. I'd like to get one in a few months.
hha...@hartetec.com
> "glen herrmannsfeldt" <g...@ugcs.caltech.edu> wrote in message
>
> news:HdSdnQbHMp8Krpna...@comcast.com...
>
>
>
>
>
> > Thomas "Todd" Fischer wrote:
>
> > (snip)
<snip>
>
> As for the IMSAI Series Two, Howard pulled out last year due to commitments
> and schedules that I have to assume precluded his otherwise brilliant and
> well-thought approaches to making for a modernized S-100 machine. I haven't
> had communication from him since June of last year. This left me with
> missing elements and support software to get the promised platform together.
> It was a turn of events that put my plans and promises back a few steps.
I disagree with most of this (and what follows) See my post under the
topic "Availability of the IMSAI II " for details.
>
> Happily, I now have a couple of potential backers who have expressed
> interest in either buying or licensing the IMSAI product line. I'm not
> quite ready to give up my interests completely, and have devised two
> alternative designs for the Series Two; one being a completion of my
> original Z80-based, S-100 compliant design; the second being an alternative
> design to Howard's approach of using the Zilog EZ80 Acclaim. Both designs
> employ the new front panel with USB and ethernet connectivity which came
> from Howard's earlier efforts, and are working with limited functionality.
>
> It is my hope and expectation that a working arrangement with these new
> contacts will enable me to finally produce the Series Two in something other
> than the prototype forms that we have developed over the past 5 years. I
> continue to provide parts and support worldwide to owners of legacy IMSAI
> products, and probably make almost as much as Herb Johnson does selling
> manual copies. That means I often have to work a regular job. No one I
> know ever made a fortune on selling obsolete computers, and I don't have
> aspirations of faring any better. But the dedication survives.
>
> There! Now you have the larger picture of IMSAI, me, and the Series Two.
> Thank you for your interest, and especially for the continued support.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
ziggy
dgr...@cs.csbuak.edu (Dave Griffith) wrote:
So this means there may be more in the future? I screwed up and missed
out on the last run, so a future option will be nice.
I know i could make my own from scratch, but i know id get about 1/2 way
into it and get side tracked so a complete box ( or kit ) is the only
realistic option. ( even the little z80 project i was working on last
year got side tracked due to lack of personal time, that doesn't seem to
be letting up. It sits 80% wired on a breadboard, stuck in my closet.
Dave Griffith
>> I really didn't want to provoke a flamefest here. I'm probably not
>> going to get an IMSAI S2 since I already have an 8080. The other goods
>> in the line look nice to me, such as the drive cases. I was just
>> curious about the SuperIO card. I'd like to get one in a few months.
> So this means there may be more in the future? I screwed up and missed
> out on the last run, so a future option will be nice.
That's right.
ziggy
dgr...@cs.csbuak.edu (Dave Griffith) wrote:
> ziggy <zi...@fakedaddress.com> wrote:
> >> I really didn't want to provoke a flamefest here. I'm probably not
> >> going to get an IMSAI S2 since I already have an 8080. The other goods
> >> in the line look nice to me, such as the drive cases. I was just
> >> curious about the SuperIO card. I'd like to get one in a few months.
>
> > So this means there may be more in the future? I screwed up and missed
> > out on the last run, so a future option will be nice.
>
> That's right.
Cool
I could never get to your 'official' page from home to check status so
be sure to announce it on here when you start back up :)
This time ill get one and not be left out again.