May June 1980 - Commodore Computers

10 COMPUTE. MAY MAY/JUNE. I JUNE. 1980. 198O. ISSUE ISSUE4.
His book, then, is a discussion oof f the computerr
world fro m the standpoint of its potential and actu al
world from the standpoint of its potential and actual
impact oon n society. . Written n to the level oof f the
educated layman, this s book shows what computers
actually do, and then goes on to describe his con
actually do, and then goes on to describe his concerns
for a technology which has the power to radicallyy
change society. He suggests that the changes to come
change society. He suggests that the changes to come
from m the invention oof f the computerr will be as pro­
found as those which took place with the invention
found as those which took pl ace with the in vention
of the clock - that soc iety will be irreversibly
One of the topics di scussed widely was Weizenbaum's
description of the prototyp ical co mputer
of the clock - that society will be irreversibly
changed, , for better or for worse, by computers.
When thiss book was published in 1976 it caused
quite a stirr in the computer science community. .
One of the topics discussed widely was Weizenbaum's
description of the prototypical computer
enthusiast, functioning as a "compulsive gambler"
in a self-made universe: ."Their 'The rumpled clothes,
their unwashed and unshaven faces, and their
uncombed hair all testify that they are oblivious to
uncombed hair all testify th at they are oblivious to
their bodies aand to thee world in which they move.
They ex ist, at least when so engaged, onl y through
They exist, at least when so engaged, only through
and for the computers. These are computers bums,
compulsive programmers. They are an international
,'phenomenon."
. II
Hmmm!
While Weizenbaum's book preceded the advent of per­
While Weizenbaum's book preceded the advent of per
sonal computers, , it stands as a powerful work certain
to stimulate much thought and conversation between
you and your friends.
you and your friends.
A more recent book, which concentrates on the
personal computer r revolution, is Running Wild, The
Next Industrial Revolution, by Adam OsborneO (Osborne/McGraw-Hill, Berkeley, , CA, ISBN-O-
931988-28-4). This book gives an exciting glimpse of
931988-28-4). This book gives an exciting glimpse of
the roots of the personal computer revolution n and is
concerned with the followin g major idea: the micro­
concerned with the following major idea: the micro
processor was so radical an invention that established
computer companies could not respond quickly to
computer companies could not res pond quickly to
bring small distributed computing power to the public.
bring small distributed computing power to the public.
It took new w ideas and new lean companies to see
the potential which lay in this technology.
OsborneO goes on to suggest that if the big companies
couldn't t see the potential for this technology, then
how can the bulk of the peo ple in society under­
how can the bulk of the people in society under
stand and cope with w its s implications. His message
is that the microprocessor has spawned a revolution,
,
rather than it being part of an evolutionary develop
rather th an it being pa rt of a n evolutionary development.
A result of this thinking is Osborne's fear
that blue collar workers will be displaced by robots
soon and that half of today's jobs will change
soon, and that half of today's jobs will change
drastically dras;icall y within the decade. . The microelectronics
revolution carries with it both promise and danger.
This fast moving book is written for the layman and
This fa st moving book is written for the layman and
is fun to read.
Leaving the heavy stuff aside, we now come to a
couple of books for those who want to learn to do
some programming with no prior exposure to com ­
puters whatsoever.
OOne book we had to have fo for r it its s title alone was
Compuler Computer Programming Jor for Ihe the Com/)Iete Complete Idiot, by
Donald McCunn (Design Enterprises of S. S.F., San
Francisco, CA, ISBN-0-932538-04, $5.95). This book
Francisco, CA, ISBN-0-932538-04, $5.95). This book
was written by someone who only recently became
in involved with personal computcrs computers, , and who realized
the need for a book to help other neophytes co cope
with the idiosyncracies oof f sending instructions to a
machine. Written from the standpoint of a T RS-80
machine. Written from the standpoint of a TRS-80
user, most oof f his s material is ooff relevance to users
of the various 6502-based machines as wel l. He
of the various 6502-baaed machines as well. He
carefullyy illustrates the importance of proper
syntax in communicating Ling with computcrs computers and then
goes oonn to illustrate the creation of a program
by carefullyy constructing a small payroll program
step-by-s tep. The choice of a mundane topic like
step-by-step. The choice of a mundane topic like
payroll may not seem as exciting g to you as a program
to pl ay Space Wa rs, but a la rge nu mber of
gram to play Space Wars, but a large number of
potential computer users seem to be concerned with
having these machines do something "useful"; ";
so from their standpoint, , the e choice seems prettyy
good. . This is the type of book you can leave beside
your computer to let your friends explore computer
programming for themsel ves. If you can't fi nd this
programming for themselves. If you can't find this
book locally, it can be ordered fromm the publisher
(P.O. Box 27677, , San Francisco, CCAA 9'f 94127) I27) for
$5.95 plus $1 .00 for shipping and handli ng.
$5.95 plus $1.00 for shipping and handling.
Another fairl y recent book that is very well
Another fairly recent book that is very well
writtenn is Basic and the Personal Computer, by
ThomasT Dwyer and Margot Critchfield (Addison- n­
Wesley Publishing Company, Reading Massachusetts,
Wesley Publishing Company, Reading Massachusetts,
ISBN-0-2-1-01589-7). This book is published as part of
Addison-Wesley's "J oy of Computing Series" and it
Addison-Wesley's "Joy of Computing Series" and it
assumes no prior computer experience on the part
of th e reader. Sta rting off wi th a straigh tfo rwa rd
of the reader. Starting off with a straightforward
description ion of computer r jargon, , along with a brief
overview of the components which make up a computer
, the book quickly moves to its main thrust:
ter, the book quickly moves to its main thrust:
software. Rather R r than use one large program to
illustrate various programming techniques, Dwyer
and a Critchfield create a large rge number of small
programs which not onl y help to get various pro­
programs which not only help to get various pro
gramming ideas across, , but which are of o f interest
rest
in their ir own right. This is an exceptionally readable
book which is made all the more enjoyable by the
book which is made all the more enjoyable by the
whimsical illustrations tio ns sprinkled throughout the text.
We could go on and on and perhaps ps we should
publish a bibliography next time - what do you
thi nk? Anyway , we hope that these books a re of
think? Anyway, we hope that these books are of
interest to you.
.
Next time we might talk about the relation n between
Goedcl 's Incompleteness T heorem , Star T rek -
Goedel's Incompleteness Theorem, Star Trek -
The T he Movie, M and the proof that machines cannot
" thin k". H ow about it? If this sounds illleresting,
"think". How about it? If this sounds interesting,
let us know. We welcome suggestions for topics, and
more re importantly, we want you to tell us how you
feel. As we said before, , this s is is your column as
much as it it is is ours.
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