Rsx Multi-Tasker

This document is the March 1985 issue of the RSX Multi-Tasker newsletter, a publication for users of the DEC RSX-11 operating system. The contents include:

• POS Futures: A brief update on the Professional Operating System (POS), noting improved relations with the RSX Special Interest Group (SIG) and the move to position the Professional 350 as a single-user PDP-11.
• The Bag of Tricks: MACRO-11: A column by Bruce R. Mitchell providing a practical, lighthearted MACRO-11 subroutine that determines the current phase of the moon, which the author jokingly suggests as a necessary feature for output page headers.
• TEM Update (DECUS Library 11-750): An update on the Terminal Emulator (TEM) package, detailing bug fixes (such as issues with the /REMOTE switch and modem communication) and new enhancements (such as a /STOP switch and improved parity support).
• The Hamster Theory of RSX: A humorous, extended technical analogy comparing the components of the RSX-11 operating system to a pet store. In this metaphor, the computer is the store, the Executive is a lazy guinea pig, device drivers are trained mice, system tasks are gerbils, and users are hamsters living in cages on the walls. The article provides a lighthearted look at how these elements interact to maintain the "pet store" (system).