Re: [vox] [OT] junk mail (physical, not UCE)

[Don Werve <doMAPSnw@examen.com>]

Peter Jay Salzman wrote:
> you're 20.  i'm 31.  i've been on the 'net' since 14 years old.  you
> were 3 years old.

I've had net access since I was around 10; seven year difference, I
know, but at least I do understand the the 'net' does not start with
http://, and that Gopher+Veronica kicked some serious ass.  Just 'cause
I'm young doesn't make me a total inexperienced idiot -- albeit I'm a
stubborn, pig-headed moron at times. *grin*
 
> when i say "nobody learned C", i mean, "nobody learned C".  believe me.
> there were no compilers out for home systems.  we were still futzing around
> with apple ]['s and timex sinclairs.

Most of the people I knew (on BBSes) who coded were CompSci students. 
Go figure.
 
> linux is what, 10 years old?  you were 10 when linux came out.  exactly how
> many years of your life were lived without a C compiler available to you?
> not many, if any.  that's why you say "lots of people learned C".  :-)

I do admit, I'm a bit biased...most of the BBS geeks I knew coded both C
and Pascal, but they were also CompSci students...(see above).

> > I took one look at Pascal,
> > and said, "I'm leaving BASIC for a reason."
> 
> basic rocks.

It's a great language to learn for a beginner (note that I mean BASIC,
and not VisualBASIC or any of its ilk).  Teaches the foundations of
programming in a simple, straightforward manner.  But for Real Work,
people used C (or /bin/sh...*grin*).
 
> > an HP hardware engineer (who wrote drivers), and who donated a copy of
> > Borland Turbo C 1.5 to my cause.  God was that slow on an XT...I
> > remember it taking about five minutes to compile 200 or so lines of
> > code.  Moved up to another XT (with an EGA...woo hoo!) that had an 8086
> > (not an 8088).
> 
> how old were you when you owned this machine?

Six when I got the Commodore. :)  I started a tad young...think I got
the 8088 when I was around ten...(okay, so I didn't have the latest and
greatest, I still don't, but at least I had fun).

-- 
Don Werve <donw@examen.com>
Jr. Unix System Administrator

"Fear is the mind-killer." (Frank Herbert)