Notices

1. Andrew (R.S Admin) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Monday, 16-May-2022 18:16:52 CEST Andrew (R.S Admin)

   It is absurd that there are not simpler ways for non-programmers to make computers do what they want.

   • Andrew (R.S Admin) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Monday, 16-May-2022 18:16:51 CEST Andrew (R.S Admin)

     in reply to

     I used to go off about hypercard a lot.

     It was a tool, scarcely more complicated than Powerpoint, that enabled anyone who chose to to make programs that do things.

   • Andrew (R.S Admin) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Monday, 16-May-2022 18:16:51 CEST Andrew (R.S Admin)

     in reply to

     Today, I know a lot of business people who do the kinds of things I would write software for using Excel or Access and macros.

     But it's mostly boring business stuff.

     My mom used to weave batch files and sidekick databases in to something resembling a computer program.

     Ekaitz Zárraga 👹 repeated this.
   • Andrew (R.S Admin) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Monday, 16-May-2022 18:16:51 CEST Andrew (R.S Admin)

     in reply to

     In the 80s, my aunt (a child) and my grandmother (someone who, today, can't even effectively operate her Television) wrote a series of computer programs from which they ran my grandfather's business.

     They generated invoices and printed them, scheduled jobs, kept a list of customers, etc.

     They did it all with an Atari 8-bit computer, and the included BASIC.

     Ekaitz Zárraga 👹 repeated this.
   • Andrew (R.S Admin) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Monday, 16-May-2022 18:17:08 CEST Andrew (R.S Admin)

     in reply to

     Part of the problem is one of approachability.

     BASIC still works, you know? I wrote programs in FreeBASIC as a kid.

     Python is out there, and is fairly easy to get started with, and there are plenty of good guides and tutorials.

     But they are not *approachable* you know?