Re: Lisp Machine considered paragon

[benjamin@ai.mit.edu]

>In article <3k30n9$nb@Yost.com>, Dave Yost <yost@Yost.com> wrote:
>>
>>I meant exhorting people to go and sit down at a Lisp Machine,
>>an act which is far too hard to accomplish.
>
>that's for sure.  i've read in many places how lisp machines are/were
>extraordinary, and i'd love to see one.  better yet, i'd like to see
>someone using one---a fancy interface is worthless if all it does is
>look good.

The Lisp Machine does not have a fancy interface.  It actually looks quite
dated, and it is slow relative to more modern environment.

It has extraordinary functionality- functionality to this day unmatched, by
a long shot.  Unfortunately, Lispms are not widely
available anymore.  In anycase it's always a good idea to see
what technology was available 10 years ago- it does give one
better perspective.

And don't believe that I think the Lispm's are perfect- they
are not.  Indeed, there are modern programming concepts which are
real improvements.  It's just good to know what is progress and what is
catch-up.

Like for example a full-featured editor for your mail :-)