Reply to post:

This PDP-11/70 was due to predict an election outcome – but no one could predict it falling over

Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge

I remember writing code for several PCs with different Matrox frame-grabbers and image processing boards (PIP-1024A or B, and the more powerful MVP-AT/NP boards). In software, the diversity was solved by cordoning off the diversity of hardware platforms in separate libraries that were linked as needed. This worked fine in the medical microbiology lab, where I developed the code. However, once the department of dermatology had got themselves a shiny new MVP-AT/NP in their lab, and wanted to run my code, things constantly crashed, or froze. It turned out, this happened only when using a huge beast of a power supply for their mercury vapour light source for their Leitz fluorescence microscope. Bit of a bummer, as the code was intended to capture and analyse fluorescence microscopy images. The power supply produced so much RFI that the MVP-AT/NP electronics borked if you used any of the hardware image processing accelerator electronics. In microbiology we used Olympus microscopes, with a much smaller, more modern power supply, feeding the same type of mercury lamp with no issues at all. I had to write a separate MVP-AT library that didn't use any of the hardware acceleration to get the code to work in the dermatology lab.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon