BILLW@Sri-Kl@sri-unix (11/26/82)
From: William "Chops" Westfield <BillW@Sri-Kl> Lauren's recent message about CPM 3.0 (to the info-cpm mailing list) which, summarized, said CPM 3.0 will be nice for OEMs who are producing a large number of identical systems, but not for much of anyone else, served to further prompt me into writing this message. Microcomputing is changing. Is it getting better or worse ? Used to be, no two systems were alike. If you wanted to sell software, it had to be configurable for just about anything. And the people who bought it would have to know how to configure it. Nowadays, things are a lot different. You can pick one of (apple, radio shack, IBM, osbourne), write software for it that won't run on anything else, and if it's any good, you become rich. How will this change the way people compute ? For example, CPM remains about the only system for which lots of USEFUL public domain software is available... People with other systems pay for inferior products. Many people with CP/M will pay for a product rather than use an equivalent Public domain program... Why? Example 2: products aimed at a very specific market are appearing. For example, spelling correctors and thesarusses that run under WordStar(tm). What about us Mince/Emacs people? Example 3: PCNet is/was dedicated to the prospect of running a common communications protocol on every possible system, so they could all talk to each other. The idea was to put all of this in the public domain. PCNet is having serious problems. the only thing that might save them is that various large, diverse organizations like SRI, DARCOM, NOSC, etc are willing to spend money developing PCNet, cause they need their micros to talk to their large computers. Meanwhile, programs like CrossTalk, which will do file transfers only to other IBM PCs, has made the top 20 selling programs for the IBM PC for the last several months. The question is, I guess: Is the current proliferation of many basically incompatible micro-computers going to hurt or help the WorldNet concept? BillW
Gumby.MIT-OZ@Mit-Mc@sri-unix (11/29/82)
From: Vinayak Wallace <Gumby.MIT-OZ@Mit-Mc>
"William /"Chops/" Westfield" <BillW at Sri-Kl>
Cc: human-nets at Mit-Mc,
info-micro at brl,
gumby at MIT-OZ
From: William "Chops" Westfield
Subject: The changing face of Micro-computing...
Microcomputing is changing. Is it getting better or worse ?
Yes.
Used to be, no two systems were alike. If you wanted to sell software,
it had to be configurable for just about anything. And the people who
bought it would have to know how to configure it.
That answer was not facetious. The future will bring both good and bad
results of this trend. What you will make of it (on the overall) depends
on your background and orientation.
We (meaning the CPM hackers who've used it for more than a year (that's
all!)), are indeed hackers -- we know the system to a greater detail
than most (> 90%) of the microcomputer users out there. We've grown up
with them, and are used to thinking of them as toys which need great
amounts of care and attention. Modifying the source code is not a
problem -- in fact, to us, it's a feature. We get just what we want.
After a while, we hardly count the minutes it takes to compile a version
with the equates set correctly.
Just doing that (running an assembler) is beyond not just the skill but
the interest of this "normal" microcomputer user. He's been sold a tool
by a salesman, and he wants to use it, not customise it. In essence, he
wants a pinto or a civic, NOT an xj7 or low-rider.
Nowadays, things are a lot different. You can pick one of (apple, radio shack,
IBM, osbourne), write software for it that won't run on anything else,
and if it's any good, you become rich. How will this change the way
people compute ?
We're different. Ok. That doesn't mean we're bad, does it? Well, to a
normal computer salesman, it does. We'd rather spend $50 on a bare board
video card than 1200 on an IBM terminal. Obviously, his profit on us is
lower. Especially when there are more terminal customers then there are
hackers.
For example, CPM remains about the only system for which lots of USEFUL
public domain software is available... People with other systems pay
for inferior products. Many people with CP/M will pay for a product
rather than use an equivalent Public domain program... Why?
Do they really get an inferior product? I no longer think so (although
this problem worried me for a long while). I used to and still do think
that the current situation vis. a. vis. the state of commercial software
is going to bring its general quality TO US down. However the "normal"
computer user likes what he gets, because it is (relatively) easy to
use, and almost does what he wants. Just because WE know it's easy to
make it right doesn't help him. He's still better off with an inferior
product than none at all.
There is a problem with this: He gets used to an inferior product and
cannot trivially update. That problem probably won't get solved until a
2060 costs $.59 and has a 96-pin package. C'est la vie.
Even the business CPM user doesn't want free software because, by paying
for software, he's basically buying insurance. If the software breaks,
he has a better chance of finding the author and getting it fixed. Also,
he has a better chance of getting a working piece of code in the first
place.
It IS a prblem for us because, as computer scientists (or whatever)
used to state-of-the-art technology, we're continually frustrated by the
shittyness of most commercial software.
The feature of all this, on the other hand, is that pre-packaged
computers, however bad, place the concept of available computation in
the public eye. Children will grow up being comfortable with computers,
at a level not far below where most of us probably are. They will be
able to think of a computer as a flkexible tool. It's too late for the
parents.
The question is, I guess: Is the current proliferation of many basically
incompatible micro-computers going to hurt or help the WorldNet concept?
Well, I don't think anything will happen until the current batch of
12-year-olds hit arount 22 or so. So another 10 years. By that time,
we'll have reasonable home computers with which to play anyway.
As for us using CPM, well, there seems to be a pretty big batch of
public domain software available to us now, even with the small number
of us there is. If we continue at this rate (which we won't -- there'll
be more, just wait) then we'll still be well off. We have compilers and
utilities and games .... and in general, better toys than the "real
world." Perhaps I sound elitist, but I think that it's better for
everyone that they lose the way they do. That way, personal (not micro)
computers don't get a bad reputation in the "marketplace," and are still
around.
.....Is it getting better or worse ?
In a sense, it's getting worse. There is less free software per
microcomputer user, and the public sense of what a microcomputer is is,
in our minds, warped. However, there IS a lot of software there.
And it's getting better in that there are more incentives for businesses
to develop new products, and by the time hardware technology gets to the
point that the "average" user will accept the programs we want, he'll
also be ready to accept the KIND of services we want.
Be patient, Bill. We'll win in the end.