Gourt > Computers > Programming > Languages > Lisp > Lisp Machines
Lisp Machines, Inc. was a company formed in 1979 by Richard Greenblatt of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory to build Lisp machines. It was based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Its history is intertwined with that of Lisp machines in general and with Symbolics Inc., and is summarized in the Lisp machine article.
Folklore about LMI
The following parable-like story is told about LMI:
The people at the lab came together, and together created a true hacker's machine, the original Lisp Machines. When Russell Noftsker suggested that they move on, and spread the gospel beyond the walls of the lab, the hackers at the lab differed wildly in how they wanted the company run.
Greenblatt insisted that the company remain true to the hacker spirit, in that it should bow to no one, and focus solely on the creation of a good product. Some other hackers felt that this was not the way to lead a company. If this was done, it would never grow and truly spread the word of the hacker ethic. Furthermore, Greenblatt demanded control over the company, to ensure that his vision was carried forth. Others (including Bill Gosper and Tom Knight) felt that to be under the rule of Greenblatt was unacceptable.
Greenblatt formed his own company, Lisp Machines Incorporated (LMI). The other hackers spun off the famous Symbolics. True enough, LMI remained relatively unknown.More on [ Lisp Machines ]
OTOH, a .NET CPU ia very bad idea. The b5000, Lisp machines and their Smalltalk counterparts are all dead http://post.ly/Cysd
rbanffy (rbanffy) Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:15:38 -0000
OTOH, a .NET CPU ia very bad idea. The b5000, Lisp machines and their Smalltalk counterparts are all dead http://post.ly/Cysd
LISP MACHINES.... IN SPACE!!!!!!!
minnieshoof (Minnie Shoof) Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:55:17 -0000
LISP MACHINES.... IN SPACE!!!!!!!
Symbolics Lisp Machine Museum - Ralf Möller's large collection of Symbolics LispM information: hardware photos, exhibits of system and application software (with screen captures), links (locatives) to other online collections, varied information on rival LispM systems, useful hacks for Genera (includes mouse acceleration).
A Few Things I Know about Lisp Machines - Miscellaneous information and meta-information, mostly small practical details not covered by other pages, for those who'd like to discover the fantastic lost world of Lisp Machines.
SLUG Mailing List - Symbolics Lisp User's Group archives and information. An ideal list to join if you work with Lisp Machines, more so Symbolics. Many Lisp hackers still subscribe, including Symbolics current and ex-employees. Technical and historic questions are answered fast.
The Lisp Machine: Noble Experiment Or Fabulous Failure? - Draft of paper by P.T. Withington investigating the LispM and how it succeeded and failed in the face of the RISC workstation revolution; a good introduction to what a LispM is and why they were invented.
The Symbolics Virtual Lisp Machine - The extended abstract of an unpublished paper (the header is a fib, it was pulled at the last minute) on the design and implementation of the Symbolics VLM, a virtual machine implementing the Symbolics Ivory architecture on the DEC Alpha systems.
TI S1500 and Explorer Information - On this Unix machine and its sibling, the TI Explorer Lisp Machine.
Xerox to Symbolics Mouse Conversion - A document describing and giving schematics for converting a Xerox optical mouse for use with a Symbolics LispM. More useful today for Symbolics users who need technical information on their mouse connector and how to go about attaching other pointing devices in its place.
