Microsoft open sources GWBASIC

[Liam Proven]

On Mon, 1 Jun 2020 at 01:57, Fred Cisin via cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
> A Tesla is a rather expensive electric car, a product of Elon Musk.
> STARTING (minimal stripped down) at 40,000 pounds, and some models over
> 80,000 pounds.
>
> Sell one of THOSE, and you can buy a car AND a lot of great computer
> stuff.  Although some early Apples could go for ten times that.

Again, international perspective.

They aren't _that_ expensive by European standards. A petrol-engined
car of comparable performance means a supercar costing 5-10x more, and
with far less seats, comfort, luggage capacity, etc. Bear in mind our
ICE (internal combustion engine) cars are circa 1000cc for a
budget/economy car, ~1500cc for a normal family car and 2000cc for a
performance car.

A friend of mine in Kansas City MO bought his first car, something
small cheap and basic, and it was 2750cc or something -- more than
anyone I knew in Britain just about _ever_ owned, except for the 1 guy
I knew rich enough to by a Lamborghini. Insane. The running costs
alone mean nobody here would drive something like that.

(I have no idea about US car prices. I do know about US motorcycle
prices, or historical ones: very very cheap. In the 1980s & 1990s, I
knew of people who funded motorcycling holidays in the USA by flying
over there, buying a used Harley, riding it across the country,
crating it up and freighting it back to the UK, then selling it. The
profit paid for the entire trip: flights, all food, drink,
accommodation, fuel etc., plus the cost of international shipping of a
motorcycle.)

Factor in that, as I recently pointed out, fuel is 3-4x more expensive
here than there, electric cars are more appealing for us. The price
savings of not needing fuel or engine maintenance for an electric car
make it quite affordable if you do a lot of distance.

But what personally interested _me_ is that electric cars engage my
geek interest. They are rolling computers. I like motorbikes and like
most men I admire sports cars, but I can't afford a sportscar and
after a bad motorbike crash, I am too broken to really ride any more.
Sensible ICE cars I could afford do not interest me at all. But
electric cars do. I don't know why.

And to my great surprise, at 52, I have a baby daughter. A car would
be useful. A motorbike wouldn't.

-- 
Liam Proven – Profile: https://about.me/liamproven
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