[rescue] Cold War hardware movements - was Re: WTB: Functioning VAX machine

[Mike Meredith]

On Mon, 20 Feb 2012 02:01:13 -0500, Toby Thain wrote:
> 
> I've been told -- by people who were there -- that plenty of
> supposedly embargoed parts were available in Moscow for the right
> price -- e.g. Intel microprocessors.

A number of places are grateful to those old cold war embargoes for
another reason - once something get held up in shipping, it was often
possible to get unbelievable bargains. I believe $work picked up a
number of pdp11's for very attractive prices :)

> Plus, given the importance of PDP-11 clones, the Soviet bloc must
> have had hardware at some point; if the embargo had been perfect
> they'd have invented their own architecture, I speculate. They
> certainly were capable of it. It's not clear what real benefit
> compatibility is, under the circumstances.

In fact you would have thought that coming up with your own
architecture would actually be easier. I guess there was just enough
machines making it through the embargo to wet the appetite ... and
spoil the chances for a competing architecture.

Anyone remember kremvax ?