Re:Programmers: Before you turn 40, get a plan B
by bcl on Wednesday June 10, 2009 @11:27AM
(#651129)
I have to disagree totally. This is exactly the time frame where I learned assembly language (Atari 800) and C (Atari ST, etc.). As a programmer these machine were excellent tools for learning how the guts of the machine really worked, teaching yourself how to program and sharing information with other enthusiasts. Lets face it, how many of today's younger programmers have a clue what a index register is, or even how a cache is used?
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Re:Programmers: Before you turn 40, get a plan B
by Elepsis on Wednesday June 10, 2009 @03:35PM
(#651620)
You completely missed his point. He's saying because you didn't have eighty bajillion websites, fancy games, and Facebook to waste your time on, kids who were just playing around on a computer were much more likely to start learning something like BASIC (or, as you mentioned, assembly and C). Now those same kids are posting YouTube comments that make me fear for our future. :)
Re:Programmers: Before you turn 40, get a plan B
by bcl on Wednesday June 10, 2009 @04:11PM
(#651702)
If that was really his point, then you are correct that I missed it. I took it as saying there wasn't much to do with them.
Re:Programmers: Before you turn 40, get a plan B
by brl on Wednesday June 10, 2009 @05:06PM
(#651792)
Yeah, sorry. I was thinking about it from the perspective of a 13 year old who has never touched a computer taking his new Vic-20 out of the box and hooking it up to the TV for the first time.
Programming was a natural thing to attempt to do since there was little else you could use a computer for at that time.