    Ŀ
      from the introduction to TINWHISTLE BASIC                  Screen 5   
    
     the  machines  that service it, the gaudier the ads in the computer maga-
     zines  and the more merrily the cash registers ring. And, of course, the
     more strident the hype that if you are content with anything less than a
     200 megabyte drive, a bookcase full of store-bought software  and enough
     material  on  your  CD ROM's to last three and a half lifetimes, you are
     not  keeping up with the times.
          But so what if you are not? It is important to remember that a com-
     puter is a tool, an elegant tool, yes, but  no more elegant than a musi-
     cal instrument or an artist's brush.  Further, a tool is no better than
     the quality of the effort dedicated to its use.  And just as a poor work-
     man blames his tools, so, I suspect, do all too many cyberniks, amateurs
     and professionals alike, chase after the latest developments in hardware
     and software to compensate for their own lack of imagination and skill.  
     
     FROM PAGE 4.....Another reason to learn the fundamentals of computing is 
     to discover what computers can and cannot do.  You  can  acquire a super- 
     ficial  knowledge  by  reading  books and shoving disks into slots but a 
     final understanding  will come only by immersing yourself in the dichoto- 
     mous  system  of  logic upon which all computation depends. Perhaps then 
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