🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1730@cygnus.scol.UUCP> davidgu@scol.UUCP (David Gurr) writes:
>
>If my memory serves me right, the Hercules graphics card programming
>instructions used to warn programmers that incorrect programming of
>the card could cause damage to the monitor and/or the card. The Herc, of
>course, uses the 6845 ...
>
>I'd never heard of anyone actually screwing it up that well tho' ! :-)
>
>Dave Gurr			..!uunet!mcsun!ukc!slxsys!scol!davidgu
>Santa Cruz Operation Ltd.
>

	Yes, you're exactly correct.  In fact, I quoted some Hercules
documentation to that effect the other day.

	I work for Hercules, but I didn't get there until last year.
Spoke to the guy who was the original Tech Support Manager (and sole
Tech Support employee) last week after reading the melting monitor
thread.  Here's some actual verified information (as opposed to wild
rumors):

	It seems that in the early days, IBM distributed a program
called something like "Welcome to the IBM PC" or "About your PC"
(or something like that - so much for verified information) that wasn't
too keen on third-party video cards (of which there was only one - the
Hercules mono card).  So users would get their IBMs, replace their MDAs
with Hercules Cards (instead of spending $1000 on a CGA card/monitor combo)
keep their cheap IBM mono monitors, and then run IBM's demo program.
And, in true IBM fashion, the program would go into graphics mode by setting
up some CGA-specific sync values.  In almost no time at all the user had
a dead monitor, and Hercules (very benevolently, I think) purchased the user
a new monitor!

	That wasn't a big problem for Hercules at the time, though.  They
were making more money than they knew what to do with.  Most of the company
cars - like the Porsche 928, which I hope *I* get to drive someday - are
from the '83 - '85 era.

Dylan Rhodes
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