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Many of you are slamming BASIC and pointing to other solutions you have found on the 'net.
People, you are missing the point. When computers "in the old days" were turned on you were residing right at a command line that understood a programming language, almost always BASIC. Because of this the kids that used them were forced to learn about the computer before using the computer. Because of that process they are much better informed and knowledgable about computers today.
I am a high school computer Instructor - no, not the kind that teaches prepackaged M$ apps, thank goodness. I teach A+ and CCNA skills, getting into the way a computer actually works, right down to binary, hexadecimal, IRQs and DMAs. These kids that come into my class think they are computer genuises because they coded a simple web page or used a registry tweak they read about to change something in Windows from the 'norm. These kids today have no clue!
When I started teaching 7 years ago I was getting students in my class that were from the tail end of the DOS era. Remember Qbasic? It came with DOS up to version 6.22. The students from that era, compared to the ones now, are like night and day! I would even argue that being forced to use a command line interface is far superior, in terms of learning, than using a GUI is.
I see it first hand people. Talk all you want about languages being better today. I agree, they are. But they do nothing for the youth of today buying a prepackaged idiot box full of M$ wares with nothing to do but surf the net, download porn and lop heads with their favorite virtual sniper rifle.
There is no greater reward for someone interested in computers than to learn how to program one. Problem is ... how do kids today accomplish that if they do not even know it exists?
