Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2004 14:37:56 -0500 From: "J. Seth Henry" <jshamlet@comcast.net> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Free X terminals for a good home! Message-ID: <200401071437.56980.jshamlet@comcast.net>
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Guys/Gals, In another attempt to reduce my inventory of gadgets, I've decided to to a bit more purging. This time, it's X terminals. Yes - I do have the server side software for all of them, so they won't end up as doorstops. 2x IBM Netstation 1000 terminals. Nice, fast - but limited to 256 colors. They also require an NFS server to mount the OS, as they don't have the PCMCIA slot for local storage. I have given up on attempting to run NetBSD on them, as I am no kernel hacker. They have an unbelievable amount of RAM (64 in one, 32 in the other), but only about 12 is required for the X server. 2x NCD Explora 451 terminals. Also nice, though not as fast as the Netstations. These, unfortunately, have the faulty PCI bridge chip - limiting them to 256 colors. Trust me on that one, I learned the hard way... At 256 colors, though, they are quite stable. These DO have 12MB PCMCIA flash cards, so they don't require an NFS server. 2x NCD Explora 701 terminals. Nice, fast - and they run in 16-bit color. One of them is a bit finicky about booting up, but I suspect the SIMM socket just needs a bit of cleaning. The other works fine. Not sure why, but the X server has some "issues" with certain X apps. Specifically xmms and mozilla. The "good" one has a 12Mb PCMCIA memory card. The NCD terminals have a copy of NCDware 5.1.140 on their flash memory cards - and their NFS servers are enabled (so you can mount them remotely, and muck with the configuration). I have the Netstation server software, which I can put on a CD-R, or I can make it available on an FTP server. These terminals are great for headless servers running in closets, or for application servers. In fact, my primary server doesn't even have a video card or keyboard. It literally has only a power cord, network cable, and SCSI cable. I use two NCD Explora 451's (with the good PCI bridge) as displays. As a side note, they DO support NAS audio (it's called MWM audio on the Explora's, but it is compatable with NAS). However, the output is EXTREMELY noisy. You can hear the mouse move by listening to the static... Lastly, these are full of old EDO SIMM's. Most are 16Mb modules, but some are 32Mb modules. However, the RAM goes with the terminals. :) They are available for the cost of shipping them to you. (Free if you happen to live near Ft. Meade or Baltimore MD) Regards, Seth Henry
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