Purely nostalgia. Even by the 1980s the PDP-11 was overshadowed by the average computer people had on their desk.
I mentioned it largely because it’s a classic most here would recognize if only from when they’ve read about Unix (the PDP-11 was where the Unix platform became popular), but there’s a bunch of minicomputers that are absolutely fascinating: IBM’s System/38 used a capability architecture, for example. It’s so unlike anything that came before or since (even its successors are more conventional) I’d love to take a look at one.
I was surprised they’re available on ebay, but are pricey. So that’s because of nostalgia, right? Are they good for doing any real-world tasks still?
Purely nostalgia. Even by the 1980s the PDP-11 was overshadowed by the average computer people had on their desk.
I mentioned it largely because it’s a classic most here would recognize if only from when they’ve read about Unix (the PDP-11 was where the Unix platform became popular), but there’s a bunch of minicomputers that are absolutely fascinating: IBM’s System/38 used a capability architecture, for example. It’s so unlike anything that came before or since (even its successors are more conventional) I’d love to take a look at one.