Msg: 7072 *Conference*
04-08-97 18:17:42
From: THOMAS MCKEAN
To : ALL
Subj: PREVIOUS MESSAGES
Well, After reading previous messages going back several months (sorry I been gone, as if anyone even noticed), I have a few comments to make... First (and this has nothing to do with the M-100), as of this February, I am commissioned and assigned a Colonel, active duty, on the staff of the Governor of Kentucky. What this means, for those in the know, is that I was given the VERY highly coveted "Kentucky Colonel" award. (Hey, how do you think Colonel Sanders and Colonel Tom Parker got to be Colonels?) For those NOT in the know, this is an honorary commission given ONLY to those who have worked their butts off doing outstanding community service. For the last five years, I have dedicated my entire life to helping those with autism and aother developmental disabilities. I have served on a national board of directors of a major non-profit advocacy organization, I have been given three (with more to come, I am sure) national awards (four if you count the Colonel), and too many State, Regional, and Local awards to count. Even so, this award came as a total surprise to me, though I am very happy to have it. Bob Hope had it, Red Skelton has it, Elvis had it, Louise Mandrell has it, even a distant relative of mine, Bing Crosby, had it. Now I have it, and I feel I am in very good company. While the work I do is NOT for the awards, it is none the less nice to know every now and again that your hard work is appreciated. Someone should give Rick the M-100 award, if there is such a thing. :) I saw lots of talk about a mouse. I want to comment on that. First, I see no use for one. The screen is so small and limited. However, after pondering it further, I thought of what might be a few fun uses for it. So my question is this: Since the mouse is a serial device, why not route it through the serial port? I know there are people who use the serial port for other things, but those of us with an XR4 or Booster Pak could use such a driver. unfortunately, I am an advocate, NOT a programmer, as my one program I have written for the Model T will show you. (I can't believe it is still in the upload area. I figured Rick would think it was wasted space, which it basically is.) As far as a Model T for the 21 century, why not a simple software emulator for an MSDOS machine? I have seen the TEXT program emulated on DOS to a "T" (pun intended), so certainly someone out there could probably whip out an emulator for the entire OS in a weekend. One that would allow you to have a stock Model T or one that would allow you extra features, such as available memory, etc. I know one thing; even it wasn't shareware, I would be in line to buy one. Finally, I saw mention of a LOGO language for the Model 100. This is news to me. Where can I find it? I like LOGO. :) Thomas A. McKean, Col., H.O.K.C.