Re: lynx-dev screen widths

[David Combs]

On Fri, Apr 16, 1999 at 09:25:57AM -0400, address@hidden wrote:
>   
> 80 columns simply happens to correspond to punchcards (because programs
> were developed on punchcards, the video terminals that were developed
> to replace them had 80 columns, except for the less common ones used
> for replacing point-of-sale terminals aka cash registers - those are
> commonly 40 columns).
> 

Yes, having been programming since 1969, on non-ibm systems,
but knowing the kind GARBAGE produced by ibm (eg vm/cms,
where you couldn't even open a file from a running program,
so unlike from any other os for other machines (non ibm)) --
having ANYTHING that limits me be via that awful, stupid
at almost anything but marketing (thanks to ibm's stupidy we now have
M$ running the world) --

I'd almost like to abolish "80" from the system of integers.

(Likewise ebdcic or however you spell it -- look at the
alpha codes, and you see the exact same splitting of
a-z into three groups matching the presence or absence
of the sense and mark holes being punched out on the
"ibm punched card".  Beyond belief.  And they STILL use
that system now, 30 years after we went to the moon!)

---

Again, sorry for the flaming attitude.  I guess you can
tell that I had a run-in with ibm vm/cms long ago, and
the impact has never left.  Thank god for dec 10, 20,
(especially with a derivative of Kernighan "software tools"),
vax with unix, and best of all thus far, sun!

david