more ?s about the XL3600 ...

[Kanef@CHARON.arc.nasa.gov (Bob Kanefsky)]

    Wouldn't it be a good showcase for the
    state-of-the-art Adaptive Programming Environment (APE)?  
    
    Upon detection of the aforementioned word, the system would 
      1) disable all input-editors, document examiners, ...
      2) replace ":" by "-" as the keyword trigger in commands and
    functions, and replace all keywords by thier first character
    (randomizing case, of course).
    
    And, last but not least:
    
      3) disable all vowel mechanisms in the speech generator, fonts and,
    assuming it has one, keyboard. 

If UN*X is sensitive to the case of written commands, then surely future
state-of-the-art UN*X environments that understand spoken commands will be
tone-sensitive, like Asian languages in which a different tone makes it a
different word (especially if future computers all come from Japan).  Of
course, that means that UN*X users (in the West at least) will adopt a
convention that all commands must be given in a monotone to avoid confusion,
just as today the convention is to use lowercase only.  And just as UN*X users
go on typing in lower case when they mention the name of a user, host, or file
in a mail message that only has to be read by a human being, they'll get in
the habit of speaking in a monotone for all communication.

					--Kanef