Sam Ismail wrote:
>
> On Fri, 1 Jan 1999, Andrew Davie wrote:
>
> > This custom seemed to disappear in the mid 80s. Sometimes I get to thinking
> > of the things that have changed, and when and why. Another example that
> > comes to mind - I quite clearly remember about 10 years ago thinking how
> > useless the tilde (~) was on a keyboard. Of course, now we are all
> > net-bound it's used all the time. I wonder if there are other examples of
> > ins/outs that you oldies remember and would care to share. Things that were
> > ubiquitous and no longer with us.
>
> Well, certainly the '_at_' symbol was entirely useless until internet e-mail.
> And how many people actually use function keys any more in the age of the
> GUI and mouse?
Well, "PRINT _at_" was standard in all of the TRS-80 BASIC interpreters,
and in most other Microsoft BASICs I've used (never done VB -- is it
still there?). And the tilde in net use is a carryover from Unix as
an abbreviation for a home directory, used it myself that way since
early Tandy Xenix days (call it 1983). The tilde didn't exist on the
Mod 1/3 or CoCo (stock) keyboards.
--
Ward Griffiths <mailto:gram_at_cnct.com> <http://www.cnct.com/home/gram/>
WARNING: The Attorney General has determined that Alcohol, Tobacco,
and Firearms can be hazardous to your health -- and get away with it.
Received on Thu Dec 31 1998 - 21:40:27 GMT