Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!ptimtc!nntp-server.caltech.edu!toddpw
From: toddpw@nntp-server.caltech.edu (Todd P. Whitesel)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: Modem usage in applesoft basic (sorry)
Message-ID: <1991Apr23.031128.4307@nntp-server.caltech.edu>
Date: 23 Apr 91 03:11:28 GMT
References: <9104200147.AA05353@apple.com> <14756@darkstar.ucsc.edu> <1991Apr21.072250.27849@nevada.edu> <14871@darkstar.ucsc.edu>
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Lines: 18

unknown@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (The Unknown User) writes:

>	To imply that a computer is extremely useful without ANY storage
>mechanism just seems silly to me. Yeah people can write small hack programs
>to test an algorithm or something, but I would doubt it if anybody reading
>this turns on their computer and uses it any significant amount of time
>without even booting ProDOS or something. That's using media, so..

Whoa. RAM and ROM are storage mechanisms. If you could turn the machine on
and have a CLI, text editor, term program, RAM disk, and modem/printer ports
ready to go without any disks available, you could still do quite a bit. You
could write memos, save them to RAMdisk (don't turn the computer back off!),
print them, login and read mail, up/download stuff and look at it, even run
it. If network file access were also in ROM (great idea!) you could also
run programs from file servers and save your work there.

Todd Whitesel
toddpw @ tybalt.caltech.edu