Re: Computing Editorial (please read)

[dkelvey@hotmail.com (dwight elvey)]

CBFalconer <cbfalconer@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<3E2C7660.40A2E5C4@yahoo.com>...
> Dave Althoff Jr wrote:
> > Charles Richmond (richmond@ev1.net) replied:
> > 
> > : That is assuming that some other person would *not* have come
> > : up with a microcomputer BASIC. Personally, I think that someone
> > : else would have developed a BASIC if Gates and company had *not*...
> > 
> > Certainly a valid point, and I am certain someone else would have. 
> > But as much as I dislike Gates & Co., the fact remains that
> > historically, he did. Credit where it's due and all that.  Pity,
> > though...impossible to have a Microsoft-free Apple ][...
> 
> They did.  There were several Basics around in the early days. 
> Bill did a better marketing job.

 I have a Poly-88 that has a nice BASIC that was not
a M$ version. As Dave said, it was mostly a marketing
thing. Bill saw BASIC as the main product while most
others saw BASIC as an add-on to the hardware that they
were trying to sell. As far as I know, the BASIC on the
POLY's never made it to any other machines. It was more
the method of selling.
 Bill has now locked us into a deepening pit. Eventually,
things will get bad enough that people will want to break
away. I'd like to see inovation restored to computers in
my life time.
Dwight