Re: [colorforth] DOES> How is colorForth different from other Forths?

[Mark Slicker <maslicke@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, 23 Jan 2004, Samuel A. Falvo II wrote:

> > I think so. I think that is the only reason the U.S. government did
> > make any effort to dismantle the Microsoft monopoly. It is not simply
> > a matter of national competition, internationaly they want Microsoft
> > to succeed.
>
> Historical evidence very plainly shows that dismantling a monopoly into
> several different companies *increases* business revenues for all
> companies involved.  AT&T and SBC are **huge**, all thanks to the
> breakup of AT&T many years ago.  Where monopolies are left to their own
> devices, they universally collapse (ultimately) under their own weight.
>

Are you saying Microsoft would have a greater level of success with a
goverment break up? How do you support that?

This is not to say the proposed break up would actually address
Microsoft's monopoly. Actual measures might be to break Microsoft's ties
with hardware manufactures, provide information on proprietary protocals,
file formats, ect.

> Microsoft is currently showing bad signs of collapse.

This is due to developments beyond their control, a competitior that has
trancended the Microsoft mode of production. This is not due to some
unexplained law of monopolistic corporations.

Once people are imersered in this new phenomenon of freely openly
developed software, and this freely developed software is intergral part
of production and governace, there will be no going back to one company
(or two) controlling all furture developments.

> > > Also, because of lack of clear understanding of ColorForth message
> > > (let me use this marketing term here), we waste lots of time for
> > > discussion of unimportant details, etc.
>
> This suggests that there are important details to discuss.  The thing
> with ColorForth, MachineForth, and the whole concept of the MISC
> architecture is that they are *so simple* that there is *nothing* to
> discuss.  This is a very liberating thing.

Does this mean the end of the colorForth mailing list?

>
> I posit, absolutely, that MISC can *never* catch on commercially (sorry
> Chuck), because the concept is so simple that a teenager with a year's
> experience hacking TTL circuitry can replicate the CPU, in its entirety,
> in discrete component TTL logic, based *entirely* from online material
> accessible today.  E.g., the CPU si so simple, it's virtually public
> domain.

If this is the case, then how is there a market for any other simple
electrontic component? This same teenager could just as easily create a
ram with the same components.

If existing software artifacts/ideology had no bearing, there would be no
reluctance to use components which improve performance and lower cost.

>
> Likewise with ColorForth, and I believe this is why Chuck released
> ColorForth to the public domain.  The software is just too simple.
> There are no parsers in the traditional sense of the word, the
> optimizations performed are no-brainers and drop-dead simple to
> implement, etc.

There is no need to speculate:

    "My attitude about software is that it expresses
     ideas that cannot be owned. Attempting to assert
     ownership is undesirable and impossible.

     So, although colorForth is infinitely valuable,
     I place it in the Public Domain to make it
     freely available to anyone for any purpose.
     There is plenty of money to be made by porting
     code, programming applications and teaching."


>
> The only thing one needs to do is write a tutorial on using ColorForth,
> on how PAD words, on how to code graphics routines, and maybe a few
> other tid-bits, tips, and tricks.  I predict a 13-page manual (if that)
> is all that'd be needed for someone even half-way familiar with Forth in
> general to become virtually a virtuoso with ColorForth.

Yes, if only we had one of these 13-page manual on how to play the piano
...

Mark


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