Bob Eager's web pages

Welcome to my main web site. Actually, that's a rather grandiose term...this site is here mostly (but not entirely) to provide pointers to other websites. These might be my own sites, or just places I think might be interesting. It's very basic, but it saves me some time telling people individually about stuff, and it costs very little to run. So, for better or worse, here it is.

Most of the information is on this one page, but there might be links to a few others...take a look at the sidebar on the left.

This site was built by, and is maintained by, Bob Eager himself. Bob can be contacted via these pages if you would like more information.

My web sites

I don't have that many different public sites myself, but here they are:

My PS/2 pages: These pages are an attempt to bring together some of my hard-won information about IBM PS/2 machines. Although mainly directed at the MicroChannel systems (model 50 and above) there may be the occasional snippet about the lower end ISA-based systems as well.
My OS/2 pages: These pages contain various useful OS/2-related information and utilities.
The PHOBOS system: PHOBOS is a tiny operating system that runs on PC hardware. Although intended to be a demonstration system, it could be made to do real work if required. Its primary purpose, however, is to present a working operating system that is small enough for an individual to understand, and to show how various parts of the PC hardware are programmed.
The ML/I macro processor: I have been involved with ML/I since 1971 (it's a very long lived program). In summary, ML/I is a general purpose macro processor. For more details, see the website.
UNIX History: Years ago, I gave a talk to a small, select group about what UNIX was and where it came from. This developed into a longer one, and eventually I ended up giving the talk regularly, together with a companion one on using UNIX. I set up a website for this, which has lots of interesting (and sometimes only vaguely relevant) links. So here it is!
Ancient computers: I am interested in all aspects of ancient computers, mainly before 1980 if not earlier. This site is merely a file repository. There is no index, but things are (mostly) arranged logically. Have a poke around!

Facebook

I admit to using Facebook, so I might as well give details.

My Facebook home page

Yes, you can find me here. I generally limit most access to Facebook friends. Most are welcome as friends, although there are one or two categories I won't accept!

Bob's Little Group

A while ago, I was obliged to form a group where I could have ongoing discussions without being given hassle by certain people. It was successful beyond my wildest dreams; I expected about 20 or 30 friends, but currently there are over 700!

This group has members ranging from people I know around the world, friends working for other employers, students who graduated long ago, and quite a few current students who have chosen to join. It's a pretty general group, the emphasis being on (sometimes quite strange) technical matters and 'geek humour'.

Threads

I use Threads. You can find me there as rde422.

Mastodon

I use Mastodon a little. You can find me there as @rde42@mastodonapp.uk.

YouTube

I now have a YouTube channel. It's mainly sets of slides with added narration, so if you want to re-live one of my talks or lectures, this is the place! You can find it at: http://youtube.bobeager.uk.

Yes, I'm on Linkedin. Feel free to connect with me. Find me at http://uk.linkedin.com/in/bobeager.

Qualifications

I've never considered these that important, especially since I retired. But people sometimes want to know, so...

B.Sc. Electronics, University of Kent
M.Sc. Computer Science, University of Essex
EUR ING, CEng, FBCS, CITP, MIET

Also the trivial (and outright silly) ones:

Radio Amateur's Examination (callsign G8KDU)
Qualified Senior Forecourt Salesman/Tyre Fitter, ExxonMobil
Conflict Resolution, group4 Securitas

University of Kent memories

I wrote a couple of items about my early days at the University of Kent. They have been published, but I decided that they might deserve a wider audience. So here they are!

Darwin - The First Weeks: Darwin College was a brand new College when I arrived. This is an account of my first few weeks, tied in with some material about the College itself.
50 years at University: This is a fuller account of my time as undergraduate, postbgraduate and staff at the University of Kent. I hope there are some interesting historical details.
The funeral of Lord Grimond: This is a short piece about my attendance at the funeral of Lord ("Jo") Grimond, who was Chancellor of the University for about 20 years.

Leaving the University of Kent

I decided to leave the School of Computing at the University of Kent, my last day being the 31st December 2015. My reasons for doing so cannot really be put on public display (for fear of libel action by a couple of people!), but suffice it to say that they were in a large part political.

However, I have been asked various things which are neatly answered by the little 'speech' I gave at my leaving party. There is a much edited version of this on the School of Computing website, but I am providing an unexpurgated, unredacted version here. Just bear in mind the context in which it was given; it wasn't meant to be an erudite essay. You can get the PDF here.

Coming soon

I intend to have a 'retrocomputing' site which will contain lots of stuff (and links) related to ancient computers, etc. Keep looking!