DECUS 12 BIT NEWS

This issue of the DECUS 12 Bit News (Number 43, September 1983) is a condensed update, reporting significant developments and challenges for the 12-bit user community.

The DECmate II's unexpectedly strong sales have spurred new hardware features like internal 10MB Winchester disks and color graphics support. While DEC initially had no plans for OS/8 software on the DECmate II, OS/278 was later developed internally for WPS and COS compatibility. An improved OS/278 for DECmate II was announced for a Fall release, but this project is now on hold due to funding issues. The document criticizes DEC for seemingly abandoning its historical commitment to backward compatibility for 12-bit systems, which traditionally protected users' software investments.

The article emphasizes the crucial role of OS/8 for low-level I/O programming, custom device drivers, and sophisticated application development, capabilities not met by CP/M on the DECmate II. It suggests that if DEC will not release OS/278 with sources, it should be released to DECUS for community maintenance, citing concerns about valuable older software becoming inaccessible.

Other updates include "DECmart," a new computerized shopping service for PDP-8 related items, and "Irons in the Fire" contributions detailing new versions of TKPLOT, work on an OS8 symbiont for background tasks, and a request for help porting the "Spice" circuit analysis program to the PDP-8.

A significant "Call to Arms" proposal by Wally Kalinowski and Louis Tribble invites 12-bit users to pool funds to acquire rights to valuable, currently proprietary PDP-8 software not in the DECUS library. The plan is to combine these with existing DECUS Library programs into a curated, documented package for distribution, ideally through DECUS, or via a volunteer network if DECUS declines. Programs like MULTOS8, high-density floppy handlers, and Father Chase's Pascal S compiler are identified as potential inclusions.