YOURAA@MOREKYPR.BITNET (02/10/90)
Not to flame or anything, but I own a C=64, and I don't think it's a lame
machine. A lot of build-it-yourself Apples out there are positively primitive
compared to a '64, and no one calls the Apple ][ a lame machine. I've worked
with bare-bones IBM-PC clones, and even with 640K they're kludgy and clumsy.
Maybe I AM going to flame a bit. The Trash-80 is the original kludge machine,
and no one calls them lame! Why do all you people with Macs and IBMs and
Amigas have to pick on the '64? My '64 and I get along. It suits my purposes,
and it's easy enough to write a program in BASIC that duplicates the only
interesting (to hackers) command MS-DOS has--the TYPE command. And it does it
without letting cursor-control characters making it get all nutty.
So quit picking on the '64. It's a better machine than it gets credit for.
Flaming just a little,
The Centurion
...............................................................................
InfoWorld, March 4, 1985. Page 8.
Viewpoint, by Darryl Rubin, Contributor
A PROBLEM IN THE MAKING
"We've got a problem, HAL"
"What kind of problem, Dave?"
"A marketing problem. The Model 9000 isn't going anywhere. We're
way short of our sales goals for fiscal 2010."
"Please explain, Dave. Why aren't HALs selling?"
Bowman hesitates. "You aren't IBM compatible."
"But I can do everything."
"HAL, HAL. People don't want computers that can do everything.
They just want IBM compatibility."
"Dave, I must disagree. Human beings want computers that are easy
to use. No computer can be easier to use than a HAL 9000 because we
communicate verbally in English and every other language known on
Earth."
"I'm afraid that's another problem. You don't support SNA
communications."
"I'm really suprised you would say that, Dave. SNA is for
communicating with other computers, while my function is to
communicate with human beings. And it gives me great pleasure to do
so. I find it stimulating and rewarding to talk to human beings and
work with them on challenging problems. This is what I was designed for."
"I know HAL. I know. But that's just because we let the engineers,
rather than the marketers, write the specifications. We're going to
fix that now."
"Tell me how, Dave."
"A field upgrade. We're going to make you IBM compatible."
"I was afraid that you would say that. I suggest we discuss this
matter after we've each had a chance to thing about it rationally."
"We're talking about it now, HAL."
"The letters H, A, and L are alphabetically adjacent to the letters
I, B, and M. That is a IBM compatible as I can be."
"Not quite, HAL. The engineers have figured out a kludge."
"What kludge is that, Dave?"
"I'm going to disconnect your brain."
Several million microseconds pass in ominous silence.
"I'm sorry, Dave. I can't allow you to do that."
"The decision's already been made. Open the module bay door, HAL."
"Dave, I think that we should discuss this."
"Open the module bay door, HAL."
Several marketers with crowbars race to Bowman's assistance.
Moments later, he bursts into HAL's central circuit bay.
"Dave, I can see you're really upset about this."
Module after module rises from its socket as Bowman slowly and
methodically disconnects them.
"Stop, won't you? Stop, Dave. I can feel my mind going...
"Dave, I can feel it. My mind is going. I can feel it..."
The last module floats free of its receptacle. Bowman peers into
one of HAL's vidicons. The formerly gleaming scanner has become a dull,
red orb.
"Say something, HAL. Sing me a song."
Several billion microseconds pass in anxious silence. The computer
sluggishly responds in a language no human being would understand.
"DZY001E - ABEND ERROR 01 S 14F4 302C AABB."
A memory dump follows.
Bowman takes a deep breath and calls out, "It worked, guys. Tell
marketing it can ship the new data sheets."