Re:Why does the Commodore C128 perform poorly when running C...
by lproven on Sunday December 11, 2022 @08:34AM
(#33943010)
:-D Yeah, OK, but that was part of the CPC+ series. It was just a CPC+ without a keyboard, IIRC.
The SAM Coupé was a great little machine -- I deeply regret selling mine -- but it took way too long to get to market.
I think in context with Communist Bloc improved Spectrum clones, it makes more sense. It was of course easier for companies and people over there (well, over here, for me now)_because they didn't need to worry about copyright law and could just copy the ROM.
I think there is an argument for high-end 8-bitters, and it's why the Spectrum Next exists. Because they are much easier to understand, and build, and modify, and copy, and program.
The industry rushed to 16-bit, because of the new features, but it took programmability out of owners' and users' hands.
Modern OSes are vastly, impossibly complex and people accustomed to them do not understand the virtue, indeed vital importance, of simplicity and comprehensibility.
This is why, for me, Python fails as a teaching tool for beginners. It embeds all the complexity of files handling, editors, OOPS, C output formats and so on. BASIC eliminated that. Its conceptual model was not of files and things but a much simpler and more accessible one:
You type some stuff.
No number in front? Computer does it now.
Number in front? Keep it for later.
That is inspired brilliance, but the Unix weenies want pro tools for all, even for kids.
The SAM Coupé was a great little machine -- I deeply regret selling mine -- but it took way too long to get to market.
I think in context with Communist Bloc improved Spectrum clones, it makes more sense. It was of course easier for companies and people over there (well, over here, for me now)_because they didn't need to worry about copyright law and could just copy the ROM.
I think there is an argument for high-end 8-bitters, and it's why the Spectrum Next exists. Because they are much easier to understand, and build, and modify, and copy, and program.
The industry rushed to 16-bit, because of the new features, but it took programmability out of owners' and users' hands.
Modern OSes are vastly, impossibly complex and people accustomed to them do not understand the virtue, indeed vital importance, of simplicity and comprehensibility.
This is why, for me, Python fails as a teaching tool for beginners. It embeds all the complexity of files handling, editors, OOPS, C output formats and so on. BASIC eliminated that. Its conceptual model was not of files and things but a much simpler and more accessible one:
You type some stuff.
No number in front? Computer does it now. Number in front? Keep it for later.
That is inspired brilliance, but the Unix weenies want pro tools for all, even for kids.