More IBM-tans III: The One With Actually More IBM-tans

[stewartsage]

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We're approaching the ten year anniversary of my starting work on the IBM S/360-tans in another like nine months.  In honor of that momentous occasion, where my future waifu would say,

OMG, Stewartsage-- you ARE the hardest working man in OS-tan business. O.O

I bring you...  A S/360-tan I didn't even learn about until last year!

Also some other stuff.  From PDP-8's herd of lil' OSes.

COS/360: AKA COS/50
-Possibly a shapeshifter of some sort (Today she'd be an emulator, that didn't really exist in 1966 so it was apparently an OS running under an OS to pretend and be older hardware)
-Pretends to be a twin to DOS, to the point of mimicking her movements when together if it'll creep others out.
-Actually shorter than her sister.
-Feared by the older IBM hardware-tans, whom she can exert control over through touch (Designed to emulate IBM 1410/1440/1010/etcs to run their programs under DOS/360)
--Usually fights with a legion of 'zombie' obsolete hardware-tans
-Deeply comfortable with being DOS' pet assassin/psycho.
-Status: Feared Dead You don't know that~ Dead

Physical: Shorter than a mainframe by a lot, tends to dress soberly, lithe, not just thin, short hair, likes wigs

Sources: Catalog of Programs for IBM 1240-1401 1420-1440 and 1460 Data Processing Systems, Catalog of Programs for IBM System/360 Models 25 and above (January 1971), IBM System/360 and System/370 Bibliography (July 1973), IBM System/360 and System/370 Bibliography (September 1974), Seymour Metz, Mainframe Operating Systems, bit.listserv.ibm-main, (February 2000)

Card/Paper Tape Programming System-tan:
-Lowest of the low at IBM; the budget programming system for the budget hardware line.  She's not real self-confident
-Often a pawn for COS/360 even if COS can't actually mind control her
-Not a "real" OS
-A great math teacher, still very poor (Used for the well-supported educational IBM 1500 that then failed because of institutional funding issues)
-Got drafted to fill the IBM-tan quota (Used by the Signal Corps to teach electronics instructional programs)
-Excellent language skills, top translator despite being held in little regard (Card and paper tape!  Wow!)
-Got left in a ditch in New Jersey somewhere
-Status: Super dead

P?S/8-tan: AKA Poly Question Society Monitor System AKA MS/8-tan AKA R-L Monitor System-tan
-OS/8's aspirational big sis!
-Not actually any bigger
-More thoughtful than her sister, constantly tinkering, trying to improve herself (PS/8 was still being developed in 1993)
-DECArmy engineer
-Worries OS/8-tan and her are clones (they might be)(developed from MS/8 with PS/8 keeping more of those small-system traits)
-Works well with her PDP-8 mom despite a determination to keep things austere and on mission.  LINC is super proud of her.
-Status: Defiantly alive

Physical: A near copy of OS/8 except for her almost totemic single DECtape necklace, likes ribbons and other small things to stand out.

Sources: Three somewhat different personal recollections from the early 1990s.

MENU-8-tan:
-Annoying friend to PS/8 and OS/8
-Tries to "manage" their lives despite not being a DEC-tan (Proprietary system of Charles Lasner Associates)
-Quite good at it actually, but weak to being mocked for not doing anything on her own (Used to manage multiple PS/8 and OS/8 installations on one disc)
-A good card player (good at partitioning large discs)
-Solid contact to the outside world, still a DEC at heart (managed large hardware installations including PDP-8 units but not a company product)
-Status: Dead

Physical: The envy of her younger friends/coworkers, built along their lines but bustier, taller, dresses casually.

CAPS-8-tan: AKA CAPS-11-tan
-Music fanatic, ironically of vinyl.
-Can make 'the actual sound it makes'.
-One of PDP-8's numerous children, OS/8 is her favorite (utilities could also be run under OS/8)
-Eagerly leads a number of small projects for DEC.
-And small special forces groups for the DEC military
-Seemingly breeds small sapient cassette/dogs.  Kinda concerning.
-Very smug about not using DECtape, will openly disparage other kinds of paper tape systems
-Works well alongside OS/8, sometimes her second in command on military missions.
-Long-lived thanks to being ported over to the PDP-11 as well.
-Status: Alive

Physical: Close to her "sisters" in appearance, longer hair with curls, likes orange tones (to go with contemporary DEC graphic design), bleeds magnetic tape, slightly shorter than the others

Sources: Cassette Programing System User's Manual, Small Computer Handbook 1973

RAMP-tan: AKA Random-Access Multiple-Program-tan
-MTS' younger sister (developed in-house for U of Michigan's PDP-8 installation.  Wedged in with the huge OS/360)
-Has a collection of teddy bears, including her beloved Ursus Theodorus from DEC (joke by UM operators ordering a teddy bear featured in ads got them one)
-A down-sized MTS in everything but heart.  Very loud and talkative. (system equipped with noisemakers to get attention for paper replenishment)
-Can't stand the heat her sibling puts out though.
-Experiments with music recording and mixing. (Used for audio switching experiments)
-Car fanatic, especially American cars of the 60s and 70s (used in automotive testing at that time)
-Sometimes seems to sprout extra hands or tentacles (core for the 'data concentrator' to run U of Michigan's remote coms and terminals)
-May have a psychic connection to MTS-tan
-Status: Dead

Physical: Makes pretty quality clothes from paper (used huge quantities of paper), smaller, less curvy MTS-tan

Source: The creator's memoirs.

MODCOMP-tan: AKA MODCOMP I-IV-tan AKA Modular Applications eXecutive (MAX)-tan
-Gotta go to space.
-She works for space!  Should go there sometime. (Used to handle space shuttle launches and for work at SAIL)
-The web connection work is much less exciting.
-Florida-ness seeps through when she feels stressed, making her bitey.
-Wants to fight DEC and especially the VAX-based-tans but has already been beaten up a few times.
-Air Force Reserve and proud!  Gives her a reason to wear the uniform (Controlled PAVE PAWS) and get victimized by hang out with SAGE.
-Status: Just in the stars now.

Physical: Likes light clothes, shorts, sundresses, and the heat.  Doesn't mind humidity.  Very toothy.

Cancelled:
-FSOS: General Automation's Free Standing Operating System, not really interesting.
-DBOS: Disk Based Operating System, also General Automation, not really interesting.
-NCOS: UNIVAC OS, not really interesting.
-ACE: Can't remember what this refers to.

Delayed:
-MULTOS/MULTI-8: PDP-8 multi-user time sharing OS I'd like to work on but can't find much on.
-GEORGE 4: Preserved British OS, just haven't gotten to.  Might not end up doing it as it was mostly used for industrial control.

To-Do:
-SCPSYS: OS that ported a number of LINC features over to a pure PDP-8 environment.
-AMOS: Australian/New Zealand small PDP-8e OS
-TSS/8: Could have sworn this already existed but I can't find it. Carnegie Mellon University developed Time Sharing OS for the PDP-8.

[Bella]

Aww, I'm glad LINC has another person who looks up to her!

Tell me more about these casette-pets CAPS breeds... I'm intrigued.

Is MODCOMP me?

ACE was one of Alan Turing's computers IIRC.

[stewartsage]

Aww, I'm glad LINC has another person who looks up to her!

Not only that, but she's got an upcoming daughter with her and PDP-8, rather than just being uninvolved in the process! (SCPSYS)

Tell me more about these cassette-pets CAPS breeds... I'm intrigued.

They're awful little legged cassette tapes with eyes.  Kinda cat-like.

Is MODCOMP me?

No, you saw the part where she's not bothered by humidity.

ACE was one of Alan Turing's computers IIRC.

You're right, I forgot that in the backscatter.

[Bella]

They're awful little legged cassette tapes with eyes.  Kinda cat-like.

Also, I'm astonished that MTS-tan managed to have a DEC sibling without committing sororicide. How'd they manage to get along, anyway?

[Hālian He/him]

[4:58 PM] Hālian: LOL "Got left in a ditch in New Jersey somewhere"
[5:00 PM] Hālian: I also approve of MODCOMP as Florida -tan

[Bella]

[4:58 PM] Hālian: LOL "Got left in a ditch in New Jersey somewhere"
[5:00 PM] Hālian: I also approve of MODCOMP as Florida -tan

If you're interested in more FL OS-tan goodness, I suggest looking up FLAC-tan.

[stewartsage]

Also, I'm astonished that MTS-tan managed to have a DEC sibling without committing sororicide. How'd they manage to get along, anyway?

RAMP is more of a University of Michigan-tan than a DEC, she was just brought to life via DEC hardware.

[4:58 PM] Hālian: LOL "Got left in a ditch in New Jersey somewhere"
[5:00 PM] Hālian: I also approve of MODCOMP as Florida -tan

The ultimate fate of any IBM-tan that disappoints the hive.

Upcoming SCPSYS-tan is a South Carolinian.  Other than that there aren't a whole lot of -tans from the American South. 

[Bella]

Upcoming SCPSYS-tan is a South Carolinian.  Other than that there aren't a whole lot of -tans from the American South. 

As technical-southerner I support this development.

[Bella]

I drew COS-tan!

[stewartsage]

It's the "oh I forgot to ever complete an OS-tan" post!  In the meantime, I found an amazing document from SCPSYS' creator, Donald C. Amoss that's really given me more to work with.  There's also a new IAS Machine because there aren't enough of them already.  There are a few more of them in the works.

SCPSYS-tan: AKA SCoPe SYStem-tan
-Extremely cheerful, friendly, somewhat aggressive, including about her intellectual capacity. (LINC Assembly re-written for PDP-8 architecture)
-Watches a lot of TV, makes her own educational programming (designed to have a CRT display for easy accessibility)
-Has a disdain for electrical engineers, having been forced to teach basic level programing for years.
-Feared "erasure" for years, after being nearly killed by several careless students (Being on one DECtape reel made it easy for careless students to really screw up her system)
-Quick on her feet, enjoys running (system speed was one of her big advantages)
-Status: Alive, in deep hiding to avoid being erased.

Physical: There is one concept sketch of SCPSYS; she's kind of like a sunburnt, shorter LINC.

References: DECUS Europe catalog, Proceedings of the 1972 Conference on Computers in Undergraduate Curricula, PDP-8 FAQs

NAREC-tan: AKA NAval REsearch Computer-tan
-ORDVAC-tan's only daughter, first granddaughter of IAS Machine
-Technically a secret agent, mostly does math for the scientists. (Built for eavesdropping passively on the Soviets via moon reflection; seldom used for that)
-Expert on stars, loves telescopes and amateur radio (Used to bounce signals for Navy communications off the moon and do radio astronomy)
-Don't look at the moon.
-Cannot stand too close to microwave or other radiating devices without suffering severe memory loss (NAREC would have its data blanked by a nearby radar dish every so often)
-Builds rockets for fun.
-Knew where satellites were by instinct (used to develop satellite tracking)
-Was once a friend to SAGE (helped do Navy calculations for SAMs)
-Status: Deceased 1972

Physical: Looks similar to ORDVAC but with dark blue hair.  Tends to wear lots of crystal and gem jewelry (helped pioneer the math for x-ray crystallography).

References: 50 Years of Army Computing: From ENIAC to MSRC, Pushing the Horizon: 75 years of High Stakes Science and Technology at the Naval Research Laboratory

[Bella]

Dear lord, I forgot about that SCPSYS sketch. Glad there's a personality and a more fleshed out design for her after all these years!

Is that a  m o o n  s p y  I see?

[stewartsage]

Is that a  m o o n  s p y  I see?

No.

[stewartsage]

One revised and then new -tans!  Aurora got me looking back at the IAS family specifically, which lead to me discovering a lot of new sources that have come out in the last ten years.  NAREC is a result of that, and so is more depth to MUSASINO-1, along with the entire line descended from her that ended up branching over to other early Japanese computers.

MUSASINO-1-tan:
-Sister of ILLIAC (intended to reproduce ILLIAC closely to use her program library)
-Rarely seen (Research-only installation at Nippon Telephone & Telegraph)
-Often heard from; she calls her family fairly often (see above)
-Speaks only Japanese
-Plagued with ill-health, she empathizes with WHIRLWIND's troubles.  They corresponded but never met (hand-built, experimental design that was often down for maintenance)
-Had some limited future-sight thanks to her parametron design.
-Status: Deceased 1962

Physical: Short, medium length black hair, usually wore a kimono, vertical-slit eyes that waver at the pupil, only half-Japanese.

Sources: IPSJ Computer Museum and The IAS Computer Family Scrapbook.

FACOM 201-tan: AKA MUSASINO-1B
-MUSASINO-1's daughter
-Never got along well with her mother, feeling she was uncomfortably linked to foreign interests in addition to her poor health.  She doesn't talk about her mother still, but keeps a shrine to her.
-Rivals with FACOM 202-tan to the bitter end.  Now that they're retired they mostly just verbally spar while playing Go. (Both PC-2 and a FACOM 201 are preserved at the IPSJ, both were commercial designs produced by Fujistsu from different base projects)
-Lost to her a lot in sports competitions when they were young. (PC-2 was much faster)
-Incredibly acrobatic
-Split a career between science and business, tending towards business.  She was Fujitsu's first commercial product mainly sold to universities and corporations.
-Possibly an alcoholic.
-Denied any of her mother's future-telling ability though she is also a parametron design, instead showing an ability to control primitive robots.
-Nicknamed 1B to differentiate from the very different but closely named FACOM 202
-Status: Alive

Physical: Short, thin, favors well-tailored and sober business skirt suits, wears her hair short and straight.  Seldom smiles.  Inherited her mother's eyes but not much else.

Sources: The IAS Computer Family Scrapbook., IPSJ Entry on the FACOM 201, IPSJ Entry on Commercial Parametron Computers

FACOM 202-tan: AKA PC-2, AKA Large Parametron-Based Computer
-A former sprinter, she's kept the physique. (The fastest parametron computer)
-Extremely jealous of transistorized computers, frequently and loudly says so.
-Rivals with FACOM 201-tan to the bitter end.  Now that they're retired they mostly just verbally spar while playing Go. (Both PC-2 and a FACOM 201 are preserved at the IPSJ, both were commercial designs produced by Fujistsu from different base projects)
-She seems to take their rivalry more seriously, often trying to bait FACOM 201
-Bitter about everything and sleeps a lot.
-Nicknamed Takahashi to differentiate from the closely named but very different FACOM 201
-Status: Alive

Physical: Dresses like a gym teacher; track suit or shorts and tank top, running shoes, long sky blue hair tied up, slouches a lot

Sources: IPSJ Entry on Commercial Parametron Computers, IPSJ PC-2 Entry

MADIC-IIA-tan:
Japan's first great OS-tan hero!  A powerful magical girl in her day, she wouldn't be overshadowed for a decade. (MADIC was designed and achieved high reliability by minimizing part count among other things)  Among others, her powers included the ability to alter her size and vastly increased endurance.  She traveled the country teaching children and adults about technology, between being a university professor and a cardiovascular surgeon.  The sheer amount of different tasks MADIC proved possible of set a precedent that can be difficult to live up to despite the increasing power of newer, younger OS-tans.  Today, decades into retirement, she resides in what used to be her secret layer at the quiet Wakayama University Faculty of Economics, still teaching others, about the past instead of the future.

Physical: A youthful, energetic girl with blonde hair in pigtails, she practically vibrates with energy when not moving.  She has a deeper voice then you would expect.  Her wardrobe tends towards the casual, though sometimes she's been caught in her old sailor uniform styled magical girl outfit.

Sources: IPSJ MADIAC IIA entries on use and design

[stewartsage]

Rice Institute Computer-tan: AKA Rice R1
-Source of envy for Whirlwind-tan, surviving a similarly dramatic surgery to her's.
-Dramatically changed appearance in 1966. (Rebuilt with new memory)
-Had a tumultuous childhood, bouncing between Rice, the AEC, NSF, and Brookhaven National Lab. (Funding and decision making bounced around a lot)
-Enjoyed some of the broadest education of an IAS, studying under MANIAC, ILLIAC, IAS, and IBM. (Designers visited and drew on various IAS programs)
-Somewhat logically obsessed, and a heavy math fan. (Early projects involved Boolean logic and mathmatical research)
-Still fun at parties, dumb sense of humor. (Only distinct cultural trait remembered was an operator's annoying sense of humor)
-Kind of shaky on the concept of zeroes. (Had two different methods, toggleable, for floating point zeroes)
-Could tell anyone by their voice. (Did early work on voice recognition)
-Best friends with her younger sister OSAGE.
-Status: Deceased

Physical, 1959-1966: Tall, dark tan, kind of obsessed with light sweaters, capris.  Short bob haircut.

Physical, 1966-1971: About 5' tall, pale, veins occasionally pulse with light, several prominent scars including side of her head to behind the ear, breathes very heavily, hair has grown out.

Sources: A Brief History of the Rice Computer, 1959-1971, Martin Graham Oral History, New Info on the Rice Computers

OSAGE-tan:
-Not well liked at home, she spent a lot of time hanging out with her sister R1.
-Self-image issues from the University constantly trying to replace her. (University started trying to replace the home-built program before she was finished)
-Still outlasted her best friend into the mid-1970s before disappearing.
-Did everything from clerical work (University schedules) to medical research.
-Status: Deceased

Physical: Dark straight hair, darker skin tone, big fan of elaborately printed dresses of various colors that aren't too impractical.
Sources: Numerical Technique for Calculation of Radiant Energy Flux to Targets from Flames, New Info on the Rice Computers, A Third Survey of Domestic Electronic Digital Computing Systems, Decision Making in Systems Engineering and Management

[stewartsage]

Astrotype-tan: AKA ICS Astrotype, AKA Astrocomp AKA Astrocomp 8
-A successful example of IBM/DEC cooperation, her parents are Selectric-kun and PDP-8. (ICS used Selectric terminals with a PDP-8/L and DECTape drives)
-Also an inside agent in the Detroit area, not necessarily willingly.
-A phenomenal typist.  She manages massive documents and edits them in her head. (One of the first word-processor systems with random-access editing capability)
-Her sourcery method of 'cutting' words before her and rearranging them seems outdated in modern times since word-processing is more or less an integrated function of most OSes.
-Same for her type block hurling attacks.
-Seems to know just about everyone (Astrotype and Astrocomp were widely used as office machinery)
-Has an older half-sister hardware-tan, Selectric MT/ST.
-Works well with humans and hardware-tans.
-Status: Alive, probably (Remaining Astrotype/Astrocomp PDP-8/L and tape drive units still exist, even if no longer used specifically for typesetting/word processing)

Physical: Prefers blue and white outfits, usually with words integrated into the trim or any designs on the fabric.

Sources: Information Control Systems Wiki page, LINC and Astrotype, LINC, LINCtape, DECtape, Condensed Handbook of Composition Input, Ann Arbor Library ICS vertical files