
Lisp Machine Hacking (2018) - kristianp
http://victor.se/bjorn/lispm.php
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tombert
I would love to get my hands on an old Lisp machine, just to play with it.
While there's obviously nothing pragmatic about using one of them nowadays, I
think they're an incredibly interesting footnote in computing history, and I
always like to think about the "what if?" universe where Lisp-centric
architectures were the norm.

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_bxg1
I work at a company that's been using Lisp since the 80s, and we have an old
Lisp machine serving as a coffee table/conversation piece in our entry area :)

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tombert
If you're in the NYC area I'd like to see that; for that matter, I'd like to
see any company that's been using Lisp since the 80's...clearly their
engineers have good taste.

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brundolf
Alas, we're in Austin
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyc](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyc)). I
just checked and the exact machine is a Symbolics 3630.

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aidenn0
whoa! Cyc is still around? As in Lenat's ontology of everything project?

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bitwize
It managed to cling to life by converting into a counterterrorism project and
allowing itself to be funded by the Department of Homeland Security.

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brundolf
I think it's been over a decade since we've done work for the government, but
yeah, one does find a disproportionate amount of terrorism-related facts
popping up when combing the knowledge base, sometimes yielding comedic results
when Cyc is asked very open-ended questions.

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gumby
Does Cyc still claim that the reason for going to the dentist was to have
DazzlinglyWhiteTeeth?

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jlarocco
A while back I picked up a copy of "LISP Lore: A Guide to Programming the LISP
Machine" at Goodwill, for $1

The Lisp dialect is dated, and the code isn't runnable on a modern machine,
but it's still interesting to see the Lisp idioms and techniques used, the API
design, etc.

[1] [https://www.amazon.com/LISP-Lore-Guide-Programming-
Machine-e...](https://www.amazon.com/LISP-Lore-Guide-Programming-Machine-
ebook/dp/B00FBHUHQ4/)

~~~
mrbill
After I finally bought a copy (at a pretty expensive price), someone uploaded
a version to the Internet Archive:

[https://archive.org/details/lisploreguidetop00brom](https://archive.org/details/lisploreguidetop00brom)

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neilv
Maybe one could build a retro Lisp machine keyboard using the same modular
parts as:
[https://old.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/](https://old.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/)

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Lowkeyloki
I'd pay good money for one. If anyone does this, please let me know.

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neilv
I think this is totally possible to do as DIY, as seen in that subreddit. :)
Anyway, probably someone will do it first, and post a photo series of the
steps, and then more who want a new and sustainable Lisp power-user keyboard
will be inspired to do it.

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gumby
I have a friend in Mountain View with a bunch of symbolics machines in his
garage. He's in the process of moving house so wants to get rid of them soon.
Anybody who wants to give one a good home and can pick one up from Mountain
View let me know and I can put you in touch.

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ianfinder
I have been actively repairing and reverse engineering a number of lisp
machines from Symbolics- including original L and G machines (36xx).

I have working disk emulation, ‘breath of life’ for bringing up new system
disks, and a number of folks can probably attest I’m the best home to preserve
these long term.

I can arrange pickup.

I also will keep the systems together, safe from keyboard collectors.

Please, get me in touch with your friend.

My love of these systems and desire to properly preserve them runs deep:
ifinder@outlook.com

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gumby
I forwarded this comment to Phil.

