Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site aluxe.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!vaxine!wjh12!genrad!decvax!harpo!floyd!vax135!houxz!houxm!mhuxl!aluxe!lra
From: lra@aluxe.UUCP (Lonnie R. Abelbeck, AT&T Bell Labs)
Newsgroups: net.micro.apple
Subject: Re: Macintosh MS-BASIC warts
Message-ID: <187@aluxe.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 18-Jun-84 17:42:46 EDT
Article-I.D.: aluxe.187
Posted: Mon Jun 18 17:42:46 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 21-Jun-84 04:22:02 EDT
References: <128@wnuxb.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Allentown, PA
Lines: 40

You have only uncovered the surface,  by no means does Microsoft BASIC
even come close to utilize Mac's power.  Some of the things Microsoft
screwed-up on are:

	o  When you do an OPEN, you are faced with a single blank box you are
	   supposed to type your filename into. NO scroll bars containing
	   a list of the filenames, NO way to easily access a second drive.
	   This is fine for the IBM-PC, but NOT the Mac.

	o  No COM statement to configure the communication ports.  You have
	   to poke in assembly programs to do this.

	o  No sound support of any kind. (Unless you count ^G :) )

	o  Small working space, <20K if you want the desk accesories to be
	   reasonably responsive.

	o  No way to size the output window from within the BASIC program.

	o  LPRINT doesn't configure the printer port correctly, you must
	   do a screen dump before you do a listing so the XON/XOFF 
	   handshaking is performed.

	o  When you do a RENUM the listing window gets burried. agrivating!

	o  No way to cut and paste groups of lines within a listing.  I
	   realize that this is tricky with line numbers, but it can be done.

Whew! I feel a little better getting that off my chest, but Microsoft!! you
can do better, MUCH better. Unless you want sales to drop to zero when the
next language comes out, please bless us with an update that makes
MS-BASIC a program for the Macintosh, not an IBM retrofit.

Awaiting for 'C' also

Lonnie R. Abelbeck
AT&T Bell Laboratories
mhuxi!aluxe!lra