8bitfiles.net/archives/archives.tar/archives/genie-commodore-file-library/C128CPM/PIPMAG-5.ARC/SOAPBOX.DOC

Text File | 2019-04-13 | 5.6 KB | 96 lines

                           Let's rally around PIPMAG

                                       by

                          Robert Coleman (R.COLEMAN3)

          Get ready for a little soapbox oratory.  If you are reading this,
     you are obviously a CP/Mer.  No MS-DOS person would probably be caught
     dead in these parts.  So this little ditty is for YOU.

          First the bad news:

          Anyone who is even the least bit computer literate knows that
     CP/M is seemingly deader than dead.  Computer Shopper has dropped CP/M
     coverage.  FOG has essentially left it's CP/M, charter members behind.
     Wordstar 4.0 is to date the last major software offering for CP/M.
     The C128 computer, the last 'new' computer on the CP/M scene has been
     proclaimed out-of-production by CBM.  Yes, the prospects of CP/M
     remaining a viable operating system seem dim to dark, even a joke to
     some.  Perhaps we will all be forced to abandon our favorite computers
     and join the world of clone hardware and even more, what I like to
     call the clone mentality.  But all is not lost.  IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE
     THIS WAY ENTIRELY!

          Now the good news:

           PIPMAG to the rescue!  GEnie and PIPMAG.  With these resources,
     CP/Mers CAN remain united.  But it takes effort on YOUR part.

          I must say, I have been guilty myself of taking CP/M coverage for
     granted in the past -- continuously downloading and never uploading --
     no returning to the till.  But for CP/Mers to stay united, we must get
     organized and we must ALL contribute.  This is where PIPMAG comes in.

          How much would you pay for a subscription to an all-CP/M
     magazine?  What if you could read YOUR OWN articles in that magazine?
     Well how about PIPMAG?  True, you won't find it down at the corner
     drugstore.  But through GEnie, you can have access to a publication
     for you -- the CP/M user.  Sound good?  It's all so easy.  All you
     have to do is participate.  Log on to GEnie and read PIPMAG.  Send in
     articles that you yourself write about any facet of CP/M you like.
     PIPMAG is YOUR magazine.  We can make PIPMAG a special place where we
     can share ideas, software, and just the plain enjoyment our computers
     bring to us.

          Just because IBM chose PC-DOS and the 8088 microprocessor way
     back when, and because of their marketing expertise, the whole world
     turned to this system as the universal defacto standard of choice,
     this doesn't mean that you have to go along with it for your personal
     computing needs.  (Imagine what would have happened if they had gone
     with the Z8000 ...  oh well ...  one can dream ...) Now IBM is trying
     to sell everyone on OS2.  (And guess what?  No one's buying it.) The
     486 is now being marketed.  New RISC computers are on the horizon for
     CAD workstations.  The computer world is ablaze with new hardware and
     software.  All this 'new and better' is being released so quickly it
     makes your head spin.  I've heard it said that a mere PC-XT is
     considered dog-doo and the 286 PC-AT is becoming passe.  What happened
     to the home and hobby computerist?  Do we have to spend a zillion
     dollars nowadays just to enjoy personal computing?  I don't think so
     and neither do you.

          Many of you came up the hard way, with a soldering iron in one
     hand and some poorly written 'manual' in the other.  Standing there
     beaming like a kid with a dirty face when you finally got something to
     work.  Yes, you don't mind opening the hood and getting your hands
     dirty with some assembly required.  Even though I'm no champion
     programmer, I do like to know just HOW my computer works and WHY it
     does what it does.  It still amazes me that you can take an 8-bit
     microprocessor and 64K of ram do what has been done in the CP/M world.
     People forget, and it wasn't that long ago, that the PDP-8 mini
     computers used to work with LESS than 64K of ram, housed in units
     bigger than your run-of-the-mill refrigerator.  Presently, most MS-DOS
     folks I know, use 'DIR' and 'COPY', and that's about the extent of
     their knowledge.  Even more, and sadly, this is the extent of their
     DESIRE to learn about their computers.  Yes, you know the value of
     your CP/M operated machines.

          Of course, technology must move on.  I use a 386 at work for
     circuit design and it does the job much better than CP/M ever could.
     MS-DOS is a powerful tool and very useful.  But when I go home, I turn
     to CP/M for work and play.  And in various ways, it too is useful.  I
     do a lot of word processing, and for this, CP/M is just fine.

          The message?  Well, in short, if you still enjoy using CP/M, then
     you're in luck.  Because CP/M is fading in the mainstream, prices for
     existing equipment and software is coming down drastically.  Also I
     might add, that keeping up with the 'leading edge' is becoming an
     expensive proposition, and many folks may come BACK to CP/M.  Let's
     greet them in style.  But we must remain united.  And supporting
     PIPMAG is a great way to do this.  Your support will bring
     organization, which in turn may keep gifted programmers in our ranks,
     and further, nurture the interest of vendors and perhaps even lure new
     computerists into to the fold.

                   Well friends, 'nuf said.  Happy Computing!