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> DEC published the source code for the OS, albeit as Microfiche.

Wait.... What?

Nice job decoding that.



It was written in Bliss so not so hard if you understand BCPL or C. Also I was 17 and had a lot of time on my hands...


I think (s)he wonders how you read that.

My guess would be that you did using the microfiche reader at your university or at a library. Before digitization, such devices were fairly common wherever people had a lot of text to archive.

(Aside: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microform even has a photo of a “DuKane brand microfiche reader with source code printed on the films.”. I couldn’t read enough of the text on the envelope to decide whether that is true from the photograph


Oh yeah. I worked at a defense contractor so we had facilities to read and print out Microfiche.

30 or so years later I bought a huge stack of DEC microfiche on eBay so I could still do it if I wanted. I don't have equipment to read it though.




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