Digital Tradition Mirror

S-100 Buss

(This score available as ABC, SongWright, PostScript, PNG, or PMW, or a MIDI file)
Pennywhistle notation and Dulcimer tab for this song is also available

S-100 Buss
(Frank Hayes)

When I was young, my friends all worked like fools to get their share
Of an S-100 system, like an Imsai or Altair;
Well the S-100's still around, I'm very glad to say
But friends, I'm here to tell you that it's not the same today.

cho: And it's cheer up, my lads, let your hearts never fuss
     When you're integrating systems for the S-100 buss.*

To tell the truth, the source of all our troubles seems to be
A committee on computers of the I of triple E;
They settled on a standard spec, 696 by name
Now everything is standardized, but nothing works the same.

They say the 80 boards are way too slow it's enough to give you fits
If the 09 isn't fast enough, then go to 16 bits.
68 and z8000 and an 86 as well,
And code compatability goes straight to bloody hell

Then add a board for the modem line and one for every port
and a printer board and a keyboard board, and as a last resort
For every problem we will add a board that has the cure,
It's not too damned efficient, but it's a mother, that's for sure.

And when it's all assembled there's computer to your collar,
It's nice to have a micro but a mainframe would be smaller.
And when they turn the power on, it's sure to dim the lamps
With plus or minus sixteen volts and fourteen hundred amps.

* For some strange reason, computer types spell bus with an extra
     "s", converting it from a common carrier to a sexual
     experience. Maybe they know something we don't. RG
RG

Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!