Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

About Mini vMac and all other 68k emulators, including SoftMac, Executor, and MESS.

Moderators: Cat_7, Ronald P. Regensburg

User avatar
egrath
Space Cadet
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri May 13, 2022 6:20 am

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by egrath »

I really hope that Paul is doing well and is just taking a longer break. But to be honest i have a bad feeling about the situation. To keep Pauls child moving on in his spirit, i have created a Github organization where i will upload all GPL licensed code from the gryphel website to coordinate further development there in case things work out badly.

https://github.com/minivmac

If Paul surfaces again, i'm more than happy to handle over the Github organization to him. In the meantime, as soon as the code is uploaded, feel free to make push requests or PM me if you want to join the Github organization. I saw that some people have hacked in various features in the 37.03 branch for their personal purposes.

Don't let Mini vMac die, hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst.
User avatar
adespoton
Forum All-Star
Posts: 4226
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2009 5:11 am
Location: Emaculation.com
Contact:

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by adespoton »

Thanks for this.

Just out of curiosity, is anyone other than Paul using the "mini" part of Mini vMac as he designed it? That is, to be able to instrument MPW (or other tools) from a host system in as light-weight a manner as possible?

Mini vMac is such a flexible programmer's tool, deployable on anything from a Mac Plus to an M1 Mac running Linux, but I have the sense that most of us just use it as a straight-up OS/Machine emulator.
User avatar
werdna
Student Driver
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat Mar 25, 2017 6:07 pm
Location: 🇺🇸

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by werdna »

adespoton wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 6:43 pm Just out of curiosity, is anyone other than Paul using the "mini" part of Mini vMac as he designed it? That is, to be able to instrument MPW (or other tools) from a host system in as light-weight a manner as possible?

Mini vMac is such a flexible programmer's tool, deployable on anything from a Mac Plus to an M1 Mac running Linux, but I have the sense that most of us just use it as a straight-up OS/Machine emulator.
Well, I always thought using it as an OS/machine emulator was the idea. I thought Paul thought this too, or he wouldn't have had an entire section on his website dedicated to Macintosh software preservation (https://www.gryphel.com/c/sw/index.html).
:lol:
yksoft1
Master Emulator
Posts: 394
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2007 4:32 pm
Location: People's Republic of China

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by yksoft1 »

Recently I tried to modify the original vMac 1.9 source to build in modern MinGW GCC and found its structure and coding styles completely different from Mini vMac. I think most, if not everything in Mini vMac is rewritten by Paul instead of reusing original vMac code.
emendelson
Forum All-Star
Posts: 1706
Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2008 12:12 am

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by emendelson »

By the way, does anyone know where Paul Pratt worked for a living? That might be a way to find out more.
swordlink1
Tinkerer
Posts: 82
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2019 10:10 pm

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by swordlink1 »

ClockWise wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 1:46 am Sadly no. But I tried another address this morning.
Welp, it's been 2 months. How many email addresses did you try, and did he respond yet?
If you need more info, tell me ;)
User avatar
ClockWise
Site Admin
Posts: 4397
Joined: Mon May 20, 2002 4:37 am
Location: Uiwang

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by ClockWise »

I tried all of the addresses I have for him (three?) and did not get a response.
swordlink1
Tinkerer
Posts: 82
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2019 10:10 pm

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by swordlink1 »

Well that's very bad news then.

my worry level is over the 64 bit integer limit
If you need more info, tell me ;)
User avatar
werdna
Student Driver
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat Mar 25, 2017 6:07 pm
Location: 🇺🇸

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by werdna »

How long do we think the variations service will be up? I'm beginning to think it would be prudent to make the most of my subscriber code while I can.
:lol:
emendelson
Forum All-Star
Posts: 1706
Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2008 12:12 am

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by emendelson »

The domain expires in June 2023:

https://www.whois.com/whois/gryphel.org

But the service provider may pull the plug at any time if the monthly/annual fees are not being paid.
User avatar
adespoton
Forum All-Star
Posts: 4226
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2009 5:11 am
Location: Emaculation.com
Contact:

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by adespoton »

That's odd; I hadn't noticed before that the domain is registered to a Florida address, not a NY address. Possibly a new search grid?
I've found 3 Paul C Pratts in Florida, one is slightly too young, but the other two are promising.

Unfortunately, one of them is this one: https://www.echovita.com/us/obituaries/ ... t-12293846 - age is reasonable, places he's lived are reasonable. We shouldn't jump to any conclusions until someone (sensitively just one person please) has followed up though.
User avatar
ClockWise
Site Admin
Posts: 4397
Joined: Mon May 20, 2002 4:37 am
Location: Uiwang

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by ClockWise »

Honestly, it doesn't really seem like him: https://www.tributearchive.com/obituari ... nard-Pratt

I put out a call on a Facebook group populated by emulation fans from the old days, but no one had heard from him.
emendelson
Forum All-Star
Posts: 1706
Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2008 12:12 am

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by emendelson »

If you look up Paul Pratt of Lakeland FL, the man in the obituary turns out to have been Paul Leonard Pratt. Ours is Paul C. Pratt, so not the same, despite the birth in Corning NY and the appropriate timing.

https://www.tributearchive.com/obituari ... nard-Pratt
thecloud
Student Driver
Posts: 19
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 4:39 am

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by thecloud »

Keep in mind that according to http://gryphel.net/c/info.html, Paul was in the 2nd grade in 1976. This means he was likely born around 1969, and therefore would have been about 52 years old last year. We also know that Paul's last post was April 4, 2021. The gentleman from Lakeland, FL passed in February 2021 and was 68.
thecloud
Student Driver
Posts: 19
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 4:39 am

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by thecloud »

As galgot noted back in May, the site whitepages.com still has only one entry for a person of the right age (currently 54) with previous addresses in Ithaca, NY and Freeville, NY. That Paul has apparently relocated to Pittsburgh, PA, which might explain the disconnected phone. The entry lists relatives, who seem to be his parents and siblings given their names and ages. I found a gmail address for the person who appears to be Paul's sister, and sent her the following message back in October:
Hi <name>,

My name is <my_name> and I'm a software engineer in <state>. I'm reaching out to you because Google seems to think that you are a relative of Paul C. Pratt, perhaps his sister? If this is not the case or I have the wrong person or email, please ignore and forgive the intrusion.

Paul went missing over a year ago. Up until April 2021, he was actively involved in his project "Mini vMac" and supporting it online through his website, https://www.gryphel.com/. Suddenly and uncharacteristically, he stopped replying to posts and emails, and no one has heard from him since. An attempt was made to reach him by phone in Ithaca, but the number was no longer in service. People around the world who use his software and appreciate his work have been concerned about his well-being. While we hope he is OK, it's hard not to fear the worst, given the timeframe and the pandemic.

If there is any light that you are able to shed on what might have happened to Paul, it would help bring closure to the software preservation community which Paul helped to foster on the internet. And if you are the right person, I apologize if this question is difficult.

More info:

Code: Select all

https://eggfreckles.scripts.mit.edu/notes/paul-c-pratt-is-missing

Code: Select all

https://www.emaculation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11570
Thanks,
<my_name>
I never got a reply. Maybe it got filtered to junk mail, or ignored because this was not the right Paul, or his situation is not able to be shared right now. However, since the last time I checked 3 months ago, both her address and the parents' address (formerly NY) have changed to Pittsburgh as well. There are some caregiving scenarios which suggest themselves, but it's all just speculation until we hear otherwise.

Hoping for the best for Paul and his family.
User avatar
ClockWise
Site Admin
Posts: 4397
Joined: Mon May 20, 2002 4:37 am
Location: Uiwang

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by ClockWise »

Thanks for keeping up the search. I worry we might not get closure on this issue, but it is worth trying.
User avatar
werdna
Student Driver
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat Mar 25, 2017 6:07 pm
Location: 🇺🇸

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by werdna »

Are we sure gryphel.com is totally, fully backed up on the internet archive? Has anyone created a mirror yet?
:lol:
User avatar
adespoton
Forum All-Star
Posts: 4226
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2009 5:11 am
Location: Emaculation.com
Contact:

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by adespoton »

I flagged it up to the Garden, and I believe a couple of people there have now done a full scrape. I also sent a web.archive request to archive.org back when we first realized Paul was missing.
User avatar
werdna
Student Driver
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat Mar 25, 2017 6:07 pm
Location: 🇺🇸

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by werdna »

I considered trying to get in touch with fastspring by sending a message similar to thecloud's through their support form, but even if they could somehow reach him, privacy policies and the like probably bar them from telling anyone. Also, if something happened to Paul, I wouldn't want to have them shut down the subscriber key service since that could permanently prevent people from making full use of the automated custom build system.

On the other hand, it seems like there's not much else we can do to get more information.
:lol:
User avatar
ClockWise
Site Admin
Posts: 4397
Joined: Mon May 20, 2002 4:37 am
Location: Uiwang

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by ClockWise »

Note that chrome users can use the Internet Archive browser plugin and automatically trigger an archive of every site they visit. That's fun.
User avatar
jonirob
Tinkerer
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2019 6:03 pm

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by jonirob »

This must be the same Paul C Pratt:

https://www.apponic.com/developer/paul-c.-pratt-39314/

It's dated 2023 at the bottom of the page.
User avatar
Ronald P. Regensburg
Expert User
Posts: 7821
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2006 10:24 pm
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

Yes, but that site is a download portal for numerous software from all over the web, among which apparently Mini vMac.
The site is not owned by or related to Paul C. Pratt.
The free download it provides is an old 32-bit version of Mini vMac.
Jeidoban
Space Cadet
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Apr 16, 2023 1:39 am

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by Jeidoban »

I checked the whois again for gryphel.org (https://www.whois.com/whois/gryphel.org) and looks like it was updated about a month ago, and now doesn't expire until 2024.

According to chatGPT:
Yes, the "Updated On" date in a WHOIS record typically indicates that someone who is authorized to manage the domain name registration made changes to the registration information for the domain. This could include changes to contact details, nameservers, or other administrative or technical details associated with the domain.

However, it's important to note that the WHOIS record doesn't always provide specific details about who made the updates. In some cases, the record may only show the date of the last update without providing any additional information about who made the changes. So while an update to the WHOIS record suggests that someone who is authorized to manage the domain has made changes, it doesn't necessarily indicate who that person is or what changes were made.
If he's the only person in charge of the domain, I would assume it was him that updated it. He's been working on Mini vMac for a long time. I wouldn't be surprised if he's just burnt out and needed a break.
User avatar
Ronald P. Regensburg
Expert User
Posts: 7821
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2006 10:24 pm
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

Jeidoban wrote: Sun Apr 16, 2023 1:49 am I checked the whois again for gryphel.org
Paul's domain is gryphel.com, not gryphel.org

https://www.whois.com/whois/gryphel.com
User avatar
Cat_7
Expert User
Posts: 6145
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2004 8:59 am
Location: Sittard, The Netherlands

Re: Has Anyone Seen Paul C. Pratt Online in the Last Year?

Post by Cat_7 »

An anonymous post on https://www.bigmessowires.com/2023/08/0 ... ent-267427 says:
Paul is alive and well. I can’t speak to his extended absence from the Gryphel Project website nor (for reasons of privacy) offer any assurance other than this statement. But for what it’s worth, he is fine.
Post Reply