16 Mar
1998
16 Mar
'98
12:48 p.m.
MS bashing in a MODERN context is off-topic, yes, but
saying
how
BASIC for the Altair was bloated certainly is the best
of both
worlds
IMHO. But to go even further back, was there any
IBM-bashing
before
the 80's?
a 4KB paper tape Basic for the Altair was bloated? Compared to
what, the 2KB Tiny Basic Dr. Dobbs was pushing? At least you
got paper tape for the Altair, the Dr. Dobbs version you had to
type in from very small print in the magazine. And most
important, Bill's 4K Basic worked, did anyone ever get the IMSAI
paper tape Basic to work? (We gave up and threw ours away after
several futile tries)
IBM bashing before PCs? As an old Univac/CDC type I can swear
(with fingers crossed behind back) we never said a single bad
word about OS/360 or the blazing speed of a 360/20, and we
always envied the S/3ers their MFCU and the cute little 96 col.
cards.
Jack Peacock