Re: Computing Editorial (please read)

[dalloff@gcfn.org (Dave Althoff Jr)]

Dave Althoff wrote:
: > The computer world would be better off without the contributions of Bill
: > Gates and Microsoft except one:  I think Microsoft BASIC, and Applesoft
: > BASIC in particular, are incredibly valuable to the development of the
: > modern computer, because it was the hobbyists with their BASIC
: > programming skills who came up with the "killer apps" that were later
: > redone and turned into the packages that everybody uses today.  Opening
: > up programming to "the masses" was, I think, critical to computer acceptance.

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 ][...

--Dave Althoff, ][.
-- 
    /-\        _       _          *** Thanks for a great season!! ***
   /XXX\      /X\     /X\_      _     /X\__      _     _        _____
  /XXXXX\    /XXX\  _/XXXX\_   /X\   /XXXXX\    /X\   /X\      /XXXXX
_/XXXXXXX\__/XXXXX\/XXXXXXXX\_/XXX\_/XXXXXXX\__/XXX\_/XXX\_/\_/XXXXXX