How so? I've always found C# docs to be quite a bit better than the equivalent Sun/Oracle's Java docs. Language features like auto-property/fields, Lamda expressions, LINQ, etc have been sorely missed in Java (at least by me) until recently. Admittedly, the C# frameworks are a bit lacking compared to the Java ecosystem though. I will admit that I've had to get back into Java recently for my job and after starting to use IntelliJ, it's actually made Java mor enjoyable.

My programming started with BASIC on an IBM XT back in the 80s and various programming books, mainly just copying the programs as written then trying to modify them. This book in particular was pivotal for me as I loved the old Infocom text adventures of the time:

Write Your Own Adventure Programs For Your Microcomputer:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxv0SsvibDMTYkFJbUswOHFQclE/view

(It looks like these books were released for free by Usborne: https://usborne.com/browse-books/features/computer-and-coding-books/ ... what a nostalgia trip!)

In high-school I learned C and LISP for Autocad programming. I continued to learn about C (plus a little C++) and ASM thanks to John Carmack and DOOM/Quake. Wrote my own computer games (mainly RTS as the Command and Conquer series was big back then) ... nothing great but I thought they were cool.

Dabbled in Java a bit in college but ultimately shifted to C++ and C# after getting a consultancy job and that is what I continued with until recently. Now I'm back into Java and currently trying to catch up on all the front-end Javascript libraries now as well as tinkering with Perl, GO, and Objective-C.

Do TRS-80 games next and watch these kids boggle in amazement that anyone found those games fun.

"Temple of Apshai" was effing AMAZING for its time, not to mention the fantastic depths of writing characterized by the Infocom games.

"I started "coding" at 8 by typing out programs from an adventure game programming book, in BASIC (think old Infocom games, like Wishbringer/Zork, etc). "

Me too! I remember typing out pages and pages of BASIC on my C64 from a magazine... ugh. Then I made my own adventure game (ripping off Aliens) with a whole bunch of gotos for each "room".... the horror!

"The challenge in today's programming environment is the rapid pace of change. It's so f'n hard to keep up with every new toolkit, platform, library, programming language enhancements, etc."

Pfsh... how hard can it possibly be?

This is so true...

Programming without the internet was tough. I remember my early years of programming in ASM and C/C++. The only internet access was via BBSes and Trumpet Winsock. Your only source of real help was from Usenet groups and questionable help files. There was no such thing as Intelli-sense (as we know it now) or auto-complete; you pretty much had to memorize the parameters for all Win32 API calls and the STL for C++ was brutal to use. Programming nowadays is relatively easy in comparison - pretty much anyone can code thanks to the internet and fantastic online resources. Heck, my 7 yr old daughter is learning to write code using a Scratch-derived visual programming language and Cosmo (look it up, it's awesome). I started "coding" at 8 by typing out programs from an adventure game programming book, in BASIC (think old Infocom games, like Wishbringer/Zork, etc).

The challenge in today's programming environment is the rapid pace of change. It's so f'n hard to keep up with every new toolkit, platform, library, programming language enhancements, etc.

My Amiga 2000 is stashed away in a closet somewhere. Also had a 500 at one time but eventually sold that.

Shadow of the Beast was a classic and many other impressive games from Psygnosis...graphics and the music.

Lemmings, Out of this World, Monkey Island, Dune II, Stunt Car Racer...even liked the text based Infocom games like Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and The Lurking Horror.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

I've been talking to some of my Chinese colleagues and they tell me that there are VAST amounts of traffic to MegaUpload type sites throughout Asia that are dark to the Western world because of the language barrier.

This problem isn't going to go away. The copying cat is out of the bag, but there is a big upside that a lot of people don't acknowledge:

Millions more eyeballs are watching movies than would have is they weren't shared. The trick is harnessing this in a "free" setting. In the short term, we're probably talking about embedding things into the movies that are hard to strip - like product placements - as annoying as they are.

In the long term there may be other creative solutions. I was listening to this very nerdy podcast about the old Infocom text adventure games like Zork - and they mentioned their use of "feelies" as a form of copy protection. Perhaps, as movies become more interactive - this will be an option.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

You should listen to this podcast on Infocom games. Really good.
http://5by5.tv/incomparable/75

>> ^jwray:
I can't believe he's only 49 in this video. He looks like Emperor Palpatine. What the heck kind of medical condition did he have?


He's in a costume. He has been deliberately made to look older with make-up. This is a scene from the game "Starship Titanic". This is how he really looked like in his last living years

Probably my favorite: Bloxorz. Played it for an hour straight when I first found it.

Pointer. Don't hit the walls!

BBC Science Reflex Test

A neat tangram game.

Cubicle Basketball

Neat geography game. I love geography.

Virus. No it's not a virus that steals your credit cards!

The classic Infocom Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy through a flash Z-interpreter.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'mc frontalot, zork, eaten by a grue' to 'mc frontalot, zork, eaten by a grue, infocom, text adventure' - edited by uhohzombies

Oh em gee! Our team of 4 won an Infocom competition to be the first (overnight) crew out of maybe 10 teams, to beat their text adventure THGttG at a local space museum. Our library got an Apple IIc as first prize! <3