Re:Accounting machines, the IBM 1403, and why printers stand...
by logfromblammo on Tuesday January 22, 2019 @04:28PM
(#18972680)
The more things change, the more they stay the same. They installed a "pay us more money" switch. In hardware. The lingering scent of the unmitigated gall is still overpowering even years later.
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Re:Accounting machines, the IBM 1403, and why printers stand...
by freqshow on Tuesday January 22, 2019 @08:39PM
(#18974902)
It wasn't unique to them. In the early 80's I worked at an OEM minicomputer company that now would be called a startup. (I don't recall the term existing then.) We built systems from DEC 8-bit processors and Control Data disk drives. The drives were 40MB, 80MB, and (I think; it's been a while) 150MB. We sold an entry-level system with a 20MB drive. It was a 40MB drive with a hardware switch to disable addressing half the platters. When the customers would pony up the proportionately significant fee for a "upgrade", the hardware guy would go in, make a show of disassembling and polishing things, and when no one was looking, flip the switch to enable addressing the entire drive.