Well, I wasn't gonna, but the thread has been so strong that I decided to
jump in.

I recently turned 48 (though I read at a 42-year-old level).  I started
out with an Apple ][ 48K at the start of 1980, writing in AppleSoft.
(Several years later I got to shoot a video interview with Bruce
Tognazzini, whose name appeared on a startup screen the first day I used
it!)  Eventually found a compiler (I forget which) to add compiled code
modules for increased speed.

Was forced to buy an XT clone around '84 to supervise a C/DOS programmer
doing a port of one my programs.  Bought my first 128K Mac at auction
around '86.  That Mac grew to a 512, then a Mac Plus, and now lives with
my ex-wife, with an 020/16 upgrade board maxed out at 2.5 MB.  (It's only
on loan; since it has the original team signatures inside the case, I want
it back some day.)  I now have the original Apple ][, an Apple //e, the XT
clone, a 286 and a 386 gathering dust, and I'm about to give my 100MHz 486
to my daughter (2-1/2 years old - she plays CD-ROM games on it) and
replace it with a Pentium supermegahertz NT box for an upcoming contract.
Meanwhile, I've been making my living with a 9-year-old IIci with a 40 MHz
040 card.  Next month I'm finally going to spring for a 266 G3 desktop.

Around '86 I was on the verge of diving into C when I saw an ad for ZBasic
in InfoWorld that touted its PC/Mac cross-platform compatibility.  I
ordered it that day, and never looked back.

Though I eventually moved on to MS Basic PDS 7 for DOS development (until
around '94), on the Mac I've been with ZBasic, FB I and FB II ever since.
(Look for my name in the beta testers list in the Spotz cube in FBII.)

I've written around a dozen commercial and shareware Mac applications and
Photoshop/Premiere plug-ins with PG and/or FB, as well as a DCOD resource
that Digidesign licensed to provide video recorder control for their
ProTools software for four years (they never knew it was written in FB).

Most of my apps are either QuickTime- or RS-422 serial control-related.

Like all of us on the list, I'm eagerly awaiting the initial beta release
of FB III.  I've also been hinting to Pizza/Taco Man how cool it would be
if there was a Windoze code generator at some point in the not-too-distant
future (yeah, I know Doctor).  Despite my devotion to and affection for
the Mac, it's awful hard to respond the the several calls I get each week
requesting Windoze versions of my software by saying:  "Sorry, it's not
available for Windows at this point."  As I hang up, I gaze at my credit
card terminal and sigh: There goes another $XXX.00!  With a Windoze
cross-compiler, Staz and Andy (and we) could rule the world!

McQ

______________
Lon McQuillin
McQ@...