←back to thread

Thomas E. Kurtz has died

(computerhistory.org)
614 points 1986 | 1 comments | 14 Nov 24 22:12 UTC | HN request time: 0.278s | source
Show context
EvanAnderson ◴[14 Nov 24 22:48 UTC] No.42142043[source]▶
Could we get a black bar for Dr. Kurtz, please?

The legacy of BASIC on our industry can hardly be understated. The language and its mission at Dartmouth was innovative.

BASIC had immeasurable secondary effects simply by being the first programming language so many new computer users were exposed to (particularly near the dawn of personal computers).

Edit: I got sucked into some nostalgia.

Here's the 1964 edition of the Dartmouth BASIC reference: http://web.archive.org/web/20120716185629/http://www.bitsave...

It's really charming, and I think it gives you a bit of the feel for the time.

(I also particularly like, on page 21, the statement "TYPING IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR THINKING".)

replies(6): >>42142957 #>>42143621 #>>42149969 #>>42152207 #>>42152214 #>>42160950 #
1. matwood ◴[15 Nov 24 19:22 UTC] No.42149969[source]▶
The legacy was huge for me. As a kid I would type BASIC into our TI “computer” that hooked up to our only TV. I was labeling cables hoping no one would cut the power. We had no disc drive to save what I typed.

Then years later as a college freshman during the dot com boom I got my first job writing VB. Literally changed my life and put me on a path where I was able to be better off than my parents.