5 May
2005
5 May
'05
6:53 p.m.
It was written....
> D'ya mean that PICK was NOT the most popular
OS???
Acutally, pick was extremely popular. People just didn't know it because
of
the licensing paradigm that Dick used. Each licensee called it something
totally different. Universe, Unidata, Prime Information, R83, Zebra/Pick,
Reality, Mentor, UltimateOS, Revelation, R91, Pick, Advanced Pick, Sequel,
etc. etc. There was at least 30 different ones. Most folks loyal to one
didn't know it by any of the other names. Anheuser-Busch ran virtually all
dataprocessing, both corporate and at the breweries, on pick. Fidelity
Investments used it for a majority of their operations too. And on and on...
Those who aren't up on Pick BASIC would be quite suprised by it. It was
clearly basic, but virtually everything people didn't like about "other"
basics, wasn't applicable to Pick BASIC. And file I/O was SUCH a dream. I
have never, ever - bar ANY programming environment, where the programming
interface to the database was so natural.
For what it's worth I own the original Pick PC, on
which the three
developers that worked for Pick, made the first release.
I don't own the original Pick PC. But I do have an original distribution of
"Pick on the PC/XT", the first release, personally handed to my by Dick.
Should have had him autograph it. In the same binder as the OS distribution,
I acquired a copy of the ASSEMBLER account - something they tried not to
make available.
In the collection I have a PC/XT (running pick), a Microdata M2000, a GA
Zebra 1750, a GA Zebra 2820, and an HP D220 running Universe.
Regards,
Jay West