Warren. Thanks. One guy at Apple has helped me with a few of my problems. A few others linger on. I will append a list of those, below.
As for BASIC, it's really simple. I want to show Ben the line-by-line coding that started it all, and that still lies deep in the heart of higher level languages. He WILL learn C++ and other tools to do sophisticated things. But this is not about what can be done. It is about doing some very simple things that are... BASIC. Apple stuff: Questions about OS 10.4: 1. I have always wondered why - in list view - you can see the KB size of files but not the KB size of folders. SUpposedly there is "calculate folder sizes" under "View Options" but I do not see this option for some reason. 2. Windowshade_X allows me to resore the minimizing features I find much more useful than the into-the-dock silliness, that duplicates Windows. Seriously, this one is a marvel. Now I have SEVERAL methods, each appropos under different circumstances. 3. Irritating in OSX! I pull a folder out of another folder and put it on my desktop. IT DOESNT SIT WHERE I PUT IT! Instead, it heads out to appear somewhere ELSE on the desktop. Nor even in the same place every time, but in random places, even BEHIND active windows, so I have to minimize all the windows looking for it. Why? 4. I do not have Speech turned on, yet the round microphone doohicky-jobby ALWAYS appears on my desktop and there is no way to get rid of it! The best I can do is minimize it. 5. Spotlight wont index my old OS9 Word perfect files by content, only their titles. Someone just suggested:To Spotlight WP files: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/spotlight/ wordperfectspotlightplugin.html I plan to try it tonight. 6. The garish colors for colored files... Must the file NAMES be so loudly colored? I miss when it was just the icon that was colored. someone suggested: To mute OS10 colors http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/19585&vid=142775 db --- Warren Ockrassa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Easy stuff first. I'm an OSX wonk and have been a > while -- I > participated in the public beta, back before the > century turned, when > my PowerBook, on its first load of the nascent OS, > ran through a series > of UNIX (actually Darwin, which is Apple's version > of FreeBSD, which is > technically not UNIX) style command-line load > instructions before > presenting me with a UI I'd seen in sccreenshots, > but never actually > hacked before. > > It was definitely not pre-X Mac, and it definitely > needed work. If you > think X.4 is quirky, you should have seen the first > version. Oy. > > So if you need help there, let me know what with. > > As to the BASIC question: I'll shoot you a > counter-question: Why? > > Assembly is the ultimate line-by-line language, but > it's not > necessarily the best instruction base for showing a > kid how to do > things onscreen. If you want to explore that > direction, using line code > without the benefit of an IDE, consider exploring > JavaScript. It gives > you the OOP the modern era expects along with > options for linear > execution, and best of all it runs in a browser > layer. (That's best, > because it means you can't accidentally include > instructions that will, > say, format the drive.) > > It's also eminently portable. The syntax is funky > but it follows the C > model, which is used by Java, Perl (somewhat) and of > course C++. Also, > JS is the script engine of choice for Flash, which > is (sigh) considered > the pre-eminent core to use for multimedia online > games, apps and so > on. > > Wanting to work in BASIC to show a kid how to hack > code seems a little > like trying to introduce a twelve-year-old to the > wonders of having a > ham radio license by insisting he learn Morse code. > Start with world > radio, then get him hooked on speaking by voice to > human beings on the > other side of the planet (unless he has an Xbox), > then work *backward* > to the understructure. It makes more sense > pedagogically to begin with > the fun light stuff and work into details as the > student requests them. > > Put another way, if an eight-year-old came to you > with a story he'd > just written, would you lecture him on syntax and > spelling errors, or > would you rather praise his imagination and > willingness to try at all? > > BASIC is not necessarily the best beginning for a > computer engineering > career. The fact is that code is written on a much > more abstract level > now, one which blurs the line between (for instance) > graphics and > interpreter commands. In your novel _Earth_ you > don't make the > ludicrous suggestion that sophisticated avatars are > running commands > such as "10 seek news; 20 goto 10". They will exist, > but they won't be > made on the linear programming level; they will be > aggregates of > pre-assembled, generic objects. > > > -- > Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books > <http://books.nightwares.com/> > Current work in progress "The Seven-Year Mirror" > <http://books.nightwares.com/ockrassa/Flat_Out.pdf> > <http://books.nightwares.com/ockrassa/Storms_on_a_Flat_Placid_Sea.pdf> > > _______________________________________________ > http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l > _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
