[Cialug] Free hardware

David Champion dave at dchamp.net
Wed Sep 16 15:18:29 CDT 2009


Thomas Kula wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 16, 2009 at 02:13:31PM -0500, Daniel A. Ramaley wrote:
>   
>> You probably do remember when they put it in. Summer of 1997 students 
>> came back to Drake with ethernet in the dorms and brand new POP mail 
>> (didn't you help install the ethernet?). I think that ES40 server was 
>> installed at that time to replace the previous QuickMail that employees 
>> used and the console-based PMDF mail that students had on acad.drake. 
>> So... the machine is 12 years old. It has been out of service for a bit 
>> more than 1 year. For 11 years it single-handedly processed all the 
>> mail for ~15000 POP/IMAP accounts. Now it is time for it to go. <sniff>
>>
>>     
>
> If I remember properly, this is the machine where George Miller
> said "If you can deadlift it, you can take it home."
>
> And, eww, I just remembered, this machine used to run some crufty 
> C mailbox cleanup code I wrote one summer. I think I still have
> a hardcopy of that off in a box somewhere....
>
>   
I can tell you from experience that rolling old DEC carcases (say a VAX 
11/780) off a loading dock can be a bit of a catharsis. They make a very 
satisfying "crash", and a big dent in the asphalt below.

-dc



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