Re: Computing Editorial (please read)

[et472@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Michael Black)]

Paul Schlyter (pausch@saaf.se) writes:
> In article <qhr8aeut5p.fsf@ruckus.brouhaha.com>,
> Eric Smith  <eric-no-spam-for-me@brouhaha.com> wrote:
>  
>> Lee Hart <leeahart@earthlink.net> writes:
>>> It wasn't that long ago that there *were* MCUs designed for beginners.
>>> Thousands of beginners bought them, and used them, and mastered them.
>>> They became today's computer experts.
>> 
>> There have *never* been MCUs "designed for beginners",
>  
> Not quite true -- back when MCU's first appeared, nearly *everyone*
> were beginners in that field....
>  
Yes, and no.  I was going to bring the point up earlier, and went blank
over "MCU".

Yes, thirty years ago many people trying out microprocessor based
computers were new to computers, because suddenly they had computers
accessible to a far greater extent than previously.  But, I also
imagine many starting out with them came from a computer background.

More important, in those early days, while they were new to computers,
they were in a different space from the average person, often with
a technical background, be it hobby or professional.  In other
words, they were in a better position to take on something new.

I think what some of the comments about no computers (or is it
CPU's?) for beginners are missing a key point, that back then
the CPUs and computers weren't necessarily simple for beginners,
they were simple because that was all there was.  It was right
at the beginning of a new thing, and everything has to go
through a number of iterations before it becomes complex.

Take a KIM-1, really quite simple compared to today's computers.
There were things in it helpful for someone trying to learn
about such things.  But unless one was going to pay big money
for all the extras (memory, video, ascii keyboard), you could
only stick with something so simple.  And since you didn't have
the hardware to run fancy programs, that too was out of the picture.

It only incidentally was helpful in getting people under the hood.

  Michael