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From: defrance@uni2a.unige.ch
Newsgroups: comp.lang.scheme,comp.sys.ti,comp.sys.ti.explorer
Subject: TI PC-SCHEME: What is the Future?
Message-ID: <1991Apr11.101601.918@uni2a.unige.ch>
Date: 11 Apr 91 08:16:01 GMT
Organization: University of Geneva, Switzerland
Lines: 44


Is there anybody at Texas Instruments who could tell us what is the 
future of PC-SCHEME and other related AI products from TI?

PC-SCHEME v. 3.0 (and the protected mode version 4.0) has been around since 
1988. It is (at least I think) still sold by TI (most "Programmers' shops"
show it on their cathalogues). It complains to R3RS and has many enhancements
such as scoops and other extensions useful on PC's. This, the low price 
and the great documentation makes it the best implementation of SCHEME on 
PC's and probably the most used Scheme in Computer Science courses (on the
student side, at least).

Now, TI has disclosed its source code for this product and made it available 
to everybody. More than that, the biggest part of its AI division has vanished.
(don't forget that SCHEME has been the platform on which TI has developed
 AI products for the PC world).

Does this mean that PC-SCHEME won't be anymore supported by TI ?

In particular, it seems that there are some incompatibilities with the
new 486 PC's that make it unusable on these platforms.
There are also some PC-SCHEME based packages, such as the Personal Consultant
Plus Expert System shell, which has the same problems on 486 PC's and which
also hasn't been improved since 1988.
Now, this is a package which, even when heavily discounted, costs still more
than $2000, and usually application written with it are worth tenth of 
thousands dollars!

It would be very unfair from TI if they aren't willing to fix PC-SCHEME so 
that these applications could migrate to the new hardware (and beleave me, 
this kind of soft NEED big and fast computers) .

So please, I'd like to know the official position of TI with regard to
PC-SCHEME and SCHEME based products, so that we'll be able to decide 
between throwing away either our expert system or our Compaq Deskpro 486, or
just waiting a few monts to get an upgrade. 

Knowing that we and other people could save a lot of money and a bit of 
esteem for TI.



			- massimo -
			massimo@cuisun.unige.ch