Where does survive the inventive user ?

[Chipp Walters]

Craig,

You make some excellent points, most all I agree with. I was one of the few
who had a little experience in Fortran and Basic, but jumped at the HC
opportunity-- because it was there. Today, I believe there is so much more
'there' for folks. Tremendous interactive gaming consumes some. Others see a
future in learning all things web. More serious folks jump into XCode and
other serious frameworks.

There just isn't enough exposure to the wonders of xTalk languages except by
those already converted. You are right, too, about LC being taught in every
school-- but it's a huge tough sell.

Perhaps if LC was open sourced it would have more of a chance? But then, how
would RR get paid? Of course some Open Source apps have figured out how to
have a 'free' and 'commercial' version. Still, by Open Sourcing LC, would we
be dooming our favorite dev environment or guaranteeing it's success?


On Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 7:35 AM, <dunbarx at aol.com> wrote:

> In the old days, Hypercard was. like a viral pandemic, infected the world
> because it was bundled with every Macintosh. It was offered like a
> promotion, a possibly valuable coupon one gets in the mail, which you will
> at least read before throwing out, And it became a nerd fad, with many
> hundreds of thousands of people trying it out. Certainly only a small
> fraction became enamored; many of those are reading this post.
>
>
> Without that once in a lifetime vehicle, it is an uphill battle to engage
> people who might fall in love with LC if they only were simply exposed to
> it. Worse, these days, the mindset is that everything comes in small
> ready-to-go packages, complete and compact. I have three kids who just don't
> think about building stuff, especially from raw materials. I used to,
> though.
>
>
> Thank the iMac, iPhone, iPod, etc., for creating that expectation, a far
> cry from reading a bank of eight lights telling you what byte was currently
> passing by.
>
>
> LC should be taught in the ninth grade in every school in the world.
>
>
> Craig Newman
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Francis Nugent Dixon <effendi at wanadoo.fr>
> To: use-livecode <use-livecode at lists.runrev.com>
> Sent: Wed, Jul 27, 2011 2:42 am
> Subject: Where does survive the inventive user ?
>
>
> Alejandro asks some potent questions .....
>
> Question 1 - Is programming so easy ..... ?
>
> I think we should ask the question "Is programming a niche occupation ?
>
> During my early career, practically everybody I knew was a programmer
> (birds of a feather flock together ?)
>
> Now I am out of the industry (retired), outside of the LiveCode forum,
> I don't know anybody who programs (although most of my acquaintances
> have computers and Google all day, they don't WRITE programs.)
> Programming is a mentality, and there aren't many of us who have
> this mentality (even to make money from it). Although LiveCode is
> a great incentive for non-programmers to "have a go" , programming
> is limiited to a strange mind-form which even I cannot define !
> The question should be - "What is the VISIBILTY of LiveCode to the man
> in the street who has never even thought about programming ?"
> And the answer is "NONE". The chances of anybody "moving in" to
> programming are about the same as being struck by lightning.
>
> Question 2  Did anyone know someone ..... ?
>
> I would think that buying a mobile platform (iPhone, iPad), and
> learning to program are two ideas so far apart, as to be unlikely.
> I do not know anyone who has started programming because of this
> "mobile technology" and the platforms thereon. In a recent thread
> on the forum I voiced my "No Way Baby" intent to NOT go to mobile
> computing, although I wrote my first program more than 50 years
> ago, and I still program EVERY day. The cost is far too high, and
> the returns are doubtful ! I am a rare bird who now programs for fun.
>
> Question 3  Will mobile computing displace desktop computing .... ?
>
> This reminds me of the 1980's question "Will Desktop computing ever
> displace Mainframe Computing ?" A lot of people said no in them days.
>
> Industry has been talking about "cloud computing" for years, and
> IS slowly moving towards it. But, although I may accept having my
> data in a cloud, I will always want my apps to be in my hand, so
> I can have control over them. Renting application use out of a
> cloud would be the same has handing over your wallet to a stranger.
> You can see which  direction Apple is going. They want to charge
> you for the use of YOUR OWN computer, and then for storing your
> data in their cloud, and then for using their applications from
> their cloud. That could cost you an arm and a leg. All my
> communication in the hands of a stranger ? It's bad enough already!
> God help us all in the future !
>
> The problem is - it's not hype - it's tomorrows computing, and
> I don't like the way the wind is blowing .....
>
> The days when you rented an application, and you got the computer
> for free may return. When computers become so dirt cheap that there
> is no big profit to make, those guys "up there" have to think of a
> new way to get your money.  We will soon be paying more for
> communication facilities than we are spending on food
> (si ce n'est deja fait !, as they say here)!
>
> "Nothing should ever be done for the first time !"
>
> -Francis
>
> PS. How about the question "When will we be grafting micro-chips
> into the brain to allow us instant and global communication, and
> complex problem solving and decision making ?
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> use-livecode mailing list
> use-livecode at lists.runrev.com
> Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your
> subscription
> preferences:
> http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-livecode
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> use-livecode mailing list
> use-livecode at lists.runrev.com
> Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your
> subscription preferences:
> http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-livecode
>



-- 
Chipp Walters
CEO, Shafer Walters Group, Inc.