From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!floyd!rjs
Newsgroups: net.followup
Title: Re: How can they do this
Article-I.D.: floyd.713
Posted: Fri Oct 22 08:40:29 1982
Received: Sat Oct 23 01:24:22 1982
References: burdvax.242

(flame on)

I agree with Joel Coltoff that a University requiring all its students
to buy a personal computer is ludicrous.  A personal computer is a total
waste of money to anyone who is not interested in playing with an electronic
toy.  There's nothing a personal computer can do for a student that
a typewriter and a calculator can't do just as well if not better.  Do
they think that students have an infinite source of money?  The average
student isn't going to know how to fix the damn things when they break.
A lot of students might not even recognise that it is broken if its a subtle
problem.  Then they'll trust answers which can't possibly be right.
I say computers should have to prove themselves on the open market, not
be forced down peoples throats.

So what languages are typically available on personal computers?  BASIC
and Pascal.  Teaching people BASIC is worse than not teaching them
any computer language at all.  Pascal typically doesn't support real
world problems.  I really fail to see the point in making everybody
learn these things.  Hopefully, sometime in the not to far distant
future, non-procedural languages will be commonplace and the techniques
learned with BASIC and Pascal will be totally useless to the average citizen.

I'm afraid Drexel has really gone off the deep end on this one.  I wonder
how much of a kickback the officials are getting from the computer
manufacturer.

(flame off)

	Robert "not afraid to sign his name" Snyder
	floyd!rjs