Mainframe connections (was MICOM)

[EEPhil]

As this was going off-topic on "Web Interface 1.4x":

The term MICOM is very confusing (to me). ... a micom was defined as "a switching unit which has all the terminals which may access [the computer centre] facilities connected to one side (lines), and all the facilities connect to the other side (ports)"

Isn't that what we now call a patch panel?

Edit:... The micom responded to "break" and prompted you with "Which Service?". Whether the previous connection was called a micom - I can't remember.

I'm sure we used to call those things TACs - Terminal Access Controllers.
Control C a couple of times used to generate the EE TAC banner and then a Login: prompt (if you were lucky and there were free ports)... and much swearing (if you weren't or it decided to log you out mid-session).

The connections in and to the computer centre used to be very dodgy. These were the days before widespread ethernet connections. If you were lucky there were two wires and a PAD (Packet Assembler/Disassembler) to connect from a department to the computer centre. In the centre was the micom connector. If you accidentally pressed break, or there was a glitch on any wire or the micom or PAD had a brain fart you could be logged out mid session. Sometimes you would use the micom and it would connect you to someone else's session. Great fun. "Much swearing" - usually by the computer centre staff who developed a command on the 2900 EDCJ (End DisConnected Job) - you'd get a nasty printout telling you off for not logging out.