[geeks] vmstat modification

[Kurt Mosiejczuk]

On Tue, 17 Jul 2001, joshua d boyd wrote:

> So, the KIMstation.  What is that?  A rebadged DECstation?

It's sortof a redbadged Vaxstation.  I don't recall exact model,
but it's basically all DEC parts.  Minus the hard drive controller
though.  Although at one point someone has actually figured out
how to put it back.

The KIMS project was a big project Kodak had for implementing
the fabled "paperless office".  Lots of money was spent, but
by the time anything came out, the things were very underpowered
compared to then-contemporary workstations.  The whole thing
was scrapped, but Kodak donated a large number of these KIMStations
to RIT.

RIT let Computer Science House have a few, with the promise that
if CSH could get them to work, they could have the rest.  Documents
were gotten.  Then it was discovered the documents were not correct.
DEC would not admit that they had anything to do with the KIMS.

Finally, a friend of mine locked himself in his room with one for
a weekend, and by the end of it had a wireframe of the enterprise
rotating on the screen.  This was after 6-9 months of effort by
other people. =)

Ultimately, CSH had them as diskless workstations running Ultrix
and a hacked version of the QDSS X server (the graphics was based on
the QDSS board, which is a kindof scary board itself).

Every person who I've since run into who worked on the KIMS project
at Kodak or knew people who did, cringe every time I mention it...

--kurt