Tom Hunter
2003-08-20 12:55:37 UTC
Unless you have a reel containing MACE 5, then the last working copy I know
of has been lost.
It was obtained in May 1970 from MACE author Greg Mansfield, handed to
Northwestern U programmer Larry Atkin, probably in exchange for a copy of
CHESS. It was then conferred upon NU programmer Chuck Filstead, who adapted
small parts of MACE, including its influential coding standard, into NU's
SCOPE. In 1973 the tape was conferred to me.
Then a programmer at Michigan State U, I re-assembled the entire system and
re-built the deadstart for use in research projects. At the time, MACE was
the only general-purpose CDC system that could be configured on-the-fly for
different cpu and storage arrangements.
The tape, sealed in its original plastic cannister, and a padded cardboard
travel container, found its way to my father's office building, where he
stored it for twenty-nine years. It continued to exist during the entire
time Tom Hunter and others were searching for early CDC systems to test the
Desktop Cyber project.
My father sold the building and in July 2003 the new owner cleared the
storage room. When I mentioned the MACE tape to my dad, he recalled
possessing the container, but alas, the new owner's massive trash truck had
been removed to the landfill the previous day.
:-(of has been lost.
It was obtained in May 1970 from MACE author Greg Mansfield, handed to
Northwestern U programmer Larry Atkin, probably in exchange for a copy of
CHESS. It was then conferred upon NU programmer Chuck Filstead, who adapted
small parts of MACE, including its influential coding standard, into NU's
SCOPE. In 1973 the tape was conferred to me.
Then a programmer at Michigan State U, I re-assembled the entire system and
re-built the deadstart for use in research projects. At the time, MACE was
the only general-purpose CDC system that could be configured on-the-fly for
different cpu and storage arrangements.
The tape, sealed in its original plastic cannister, and a padded cardboard
travel container, found its way to my father's office building, where he
stored it for twenty-nine years. It continued to exist during the entire
time Tom Hunter and others were searching for early CDC systems to test the
Desktop Cyber project.
My father sold the building and in July 2003 the new owner cleared the
storage room. When I mentioned the MACE tape to my dad, he recalled
possessing the container, but alas, the new owner's massive trash truck had
been removed to the landfill the previous day.
What a sad waste. You knew about the tape and you knew about many
people hunting for MACE 5. I don't know what to say!
:-(