An OutoftheMain Activity 3792

They were NOT available....

because of this. Very few kiddies had any opportunity to read code. Think about it. You had to have "connections" in order to read any code..let alone be able to play with it.

Now that most copyright anal retentions have been plugged up, the source instruction opportunities are growing. It takes a damned long time to get stuff to be common knowledge. That's why I hated the new policy of DEC when sources were kept separate. We were essentially cutting off our future buyers of gear that way. And, I understand why the policy was put in place..mostly due to abuse of the system.

Where? Try to imagine you're a kid. Try to imagine that your folks are not flush with money and indulgent. Only the cream of the generation's crop will have enough curiosity and The Itch to go hunting for gear. And that doesn't guarantee that software will come with it. Please try to remember that the early 90s was when you might find a couple w^3 site addresses in the Wall Street Journal. And that was mostly European ads.

It's a CATCH-22, a beautiful CATCH-22. If you talk about tools you have to be talking, albeit indirectly, of innovations.

Now think. Why would anybody want to make other tools if there wasn't something to tool.

And it's only because of innovations that you, as an adult, can get this stuff. Now think about kiddies, whose job is to be kids, can do and learn if they have basic building blocks.

BAH