Join the discussion

Write your take first — we'll ask for email only when you're ready to publish.

  • Hacker News
  • "Interpreters were conceived of only one year later, in 1958, but the mainstream was catching up in 1995."

    Minor nitpick: BASIC in early homecomputers (~1980) was usually interpreted. I'd certainly call those machines mainstream at the time (and as article notes, interpreters go back way further).

  • That’s a valid nitpick. I definitely started on some Basic variant in the 1980s.

    My thought on the use of the word “mainstream” there was a population larger than computer enthusiasts.

    (I can definitely see the ambiguity in how it’s written)