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From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.micro,net.research,net.cse
Subject: Re: First Summary of PC's in Education Survey
Message-ID: <3611@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 7-Mar-84 17:51:59 EST
Article-I.D.: utzoo.3611
Posted: Wed Mar  7 17:51:59 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 7-Mar-84 17:51:59 EST
References: <3604@utzoo.UUCP>, <3466@utcsrgv.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 47

Steve Perelgut observes, in defence of the IBM PC and clones:

    - The 80186 is arguably as good as a 68000 and anyone with talent
      can create software to run on the 80186 and 8088 and all the other
      family members

I think Mark Mendell answered this one well.  In no way is a collection
of 16-bit address spaces as good as a single big contiguous one.  Sure,
there are many things that will run quite well in 16 bits, but when you
run out of address space, you're really stuck.  I can create software
that will run on a PDP-8 -- that doesn't mean that it's a good idea or
a worthwhile use of my time.

    - 8088 based micros are the most popular.  It isn't fair to students
      to force them to buy another machine.  This may change with the
      Macintosh-madness.  (If the happens, the CSRG is capable of making
      the switch with little pain.)

By this argument, you ought to be teaching the students Microsoft BASIC
as their first language.  Universities should be buying the equipment
that will be right for tomorrow, not yesterday.  As for making the switch
with little pain:  after you've bought a huge pile of 8088 machines?  No
way that investment is going to be written off without pain, screaming,
madness, committee inquiries, etc. etc.  When this much money is involved,
there is a very high premium on getting it right the first time.  Buying
a 16-bit-address-space machine is clearly a major mistake.

   Aside from this, th "7 M's" are true for Brown's "animated algorithms"
   scheme, but they aren't essential for the simple task of introductory
   computer programming courses.

Introductory computer programming courses are among the things Brown uses
their fancy lab for.  It is quite possible that an 8088 is adequate for
the introductory courses DCS teaches today, taught the way they are
taught today.  The availability of the new technology is likely to change
the way courses are taught.  It is a mistake to view the introduction of
per-student workstations as just new hardware for the same old purposes.
Maybe DCS is not interested in things like "animated algorithms" now;
in a few years they will be.  But by then it will be too late, if the
short-sighted advocates of the cheapest hardware available have their way
right now.  U of T will once again find itself stuck with antiquated
equipment and a second-rate teaching environment while everyone else
forges ahead.  How many years will it take to fix it THIS TIME?  Much
better to think ahead a bit now, and invest a bit of money in the future.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry