[TUHS] Re: Compatibility question

On 12/18/23, Dave Horsfall <dave(a)horsfall.org> wrote: The 1403 was the best line printer ever made. It was originally the printer for the IBM 1400 second-generation (discrete transistor-based) computer. It continued to be the line printer for S/360. The deluxe model, the IBM 1403 N1, had a power cover that could be operated under computer control. The OS/360 operating system would raise the printer's cover if an error condition occurred, such as out of paper or a paper jam. This was a very useful feature in large data centers where there were several line printers, to indicate which printer had a problem. The cover of a 1403 N1 also provided a convenient and attractive flat surface on which to place things. But a dangerous one. Many a card deck magtape reel, coffee cup, or pizza box has been unceremoniously dumped on the floor. When our shop upgraded from a S/360 model 25 to a S/370 model 125, our 1403 was replaced by a 3203 line printer. It was not as good as the 1401 had been. There was a business in Massachusetts in the 1980s that bought and sold old IBM computer gear. A company asked them for a quote on their IBM 1400 system (1401 processor, 1402 card read/punch, 1403 printer). They were offered $18,000 for the whole system, or $15,000 for the 1403 printer alone. That's how valued those printers were. To bring this closer on-topic, was there Unix support for the IBM 1403? -Paul W.