POS Files Such as they are If you have information on systems, parts, or information on these items, please Contact ME. Origins of the 4680 Series POS Terminals
POS Support
We still use an IBM 500 Pc Server (overlocked to 210Mhz) as our main code file server and print server. Runs NT so it can talk with the modern XP network etc. XP is not by our groups choice... there are other I.T. departments working in our building developing other type of software on different OSs. We still have a couple of 9595s fully overclocked to 210Mhz Running Os/2 Warp 4.5 and IBM 4690 OS (Ver 3.3). However IBM is about to quit supporting the MCA bus for IBM 4690 OS starting with Version 4 (for machines in the controller role, not terminal role). However Ver 3.3 still fine for development purposes. IBM will continue to support IBM 4693 terminals with MCA bus for the 4690 OS above Ver 3.3 Note that the IBM 4690 os only run on machines that
So you can't just install this special os on just any netvista or IBM PC. Java 1.4.2 is supported in both os/2 and 4690. Also have 9577s with the IDE and S3 Video also hang around as development
or test boxes with 4690 and os/2. SCSI Magnetic Opticals are highly used
still. But Cd-Roms/DvdRoms are
Our company is still too cheap to upgrade our equipment, so it is kind of like a timewarp here. Customers of ours still heavily use 4693 terminals.... simply because they are so cheap to obtain. They are sssloooww though... They are token ring 16mb and ethernet net 10baset... and are without hard drive, so they boot from the network. IBM wants so bad to get rid of the MCA bus, but they can't shake it.. too much demand for the 4693s... too many of them out there. Same for token ring technology. Do R6000 machines count here? Some of them utilize the MCA bus. There is no reason other than some lag time, that the Ps/2s cant still work in a development environment - or in the POS production environment. POS Pondering
Through the grape vine, I hear A&P supermarkets just finished getting rid of their 4683s.... Can't believe they were still using them. Sure I can give you some screen shots of the 4693 and the planar. I've never tried using the 4693 on board SCSI The 4693s in production for our customers and in our labs for testing are the latest 4693 model 741 which is a screaming 66Mhz, but it does have a memory address bus that will allow 32MB or 64MB max... we utilize 32mb because we use a large Ram Drive in our OS config. (Offline item file storage ^^/) Apparently from the IBM website, these could run NT 4, OS/2 and Windows
95..
I always found it cool that when you boot a DOS diskette or whatever on these and you don't have a CRT hooked up, it will redirect output to the 2x20 VFD/LCD display attached. Nice. SurePOS terminals after the 4693 didn't do this. I'll upload the pictures sometime. All the drivers,
reference diskettes, BIOS, technical manuals are still in the timewarp
section of IBM store support here... Still supported!!
We keep service contracts with Agilysis for hardware service and parts
(new and old) for customers and our labs. The cables
You'll only need Rs485 cables if you want to make it a cash register as they connect register equipment. If using as a PC only the VFD/LCD will come in handy as a message display. The company I work for is in NJ. (I'm not originally from NJ, not that being from NJ is a "bad thing"). BTW the Rs/6000s in our Rs/6000 lab have the same case as the PC Server
500, yet the paint job is different and it has a
Check out a AIX OS Admin book at a local Barnes and Nobel or Borders
and check the index for Microchannel or MCA... These machines still make
it in the production world today. The Rs/6000s reset / startup /
install is like launching a missle with the key turning and button pushing.
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