Number 211a - Year End 2000

Confessions of a Cheapskate
by Bob Thomson, Tacoma Open Group for Microcomputers
It's my Scottish heritage, I'm sure. You know -- "I'm not cheap, I'm th-r-r-rifty!" I don't always jump on the bandwagon to own the latest, (greatest?) thing, or to be ahead of the curve, or break down the barriers to ... whatever. Although I have been known to go out on a limb, buying one of the first 2000 tan case Osborne 1 CP/M computers made in early 1980 (serial number 1600 something). More often than not, I follow the philosophy: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" Or perhaps, more accurately, "If something works for you, do it, use it, make it, whatever applies!" I don't always follow my own advice, of course, just like everybody else I make execeptions to my own rules.     Some of our members, who joined the computing world recently, may never venture into DOS. We old timers do it all the time. If you've been paying attention to some of my recent comments or articles, you will know that I still use some DOS-based programs because I find them more conveninent to use and, often, more useful to me than their Windows equivalents. Why? Because of the investment I have made in the past in creating batch files or Macros to work with them. As a result, they do things MY WAY, and not some preconceived WAY that some hot-shot programmers think I should follow to manage my stuff. Young whippersnappers!	Could I use the Windows equivalents of my DOS-based programs? Sure I could. Could I write the same or similar Macros to do things MY WAY? I guess so, sure. But... it would require purchasing the word processor, spreadsheet and database management software programs equivalent to those I already own, as well as Visual Basic to write the Macros needed. I know what you're going to say. Most new computer purchases usually come with a package of these programs included in the purchase price, (do you think you didn't really pay for them?) but there is still the requirement to become as familiar with the "ins and outs" of them as I already am with the "old" programs. And learning how to program in Visual Basic? It's not quite as simple as falling off a log--I've got your BASIC bruises to prove it--and it's not your father's BASIC either.     If you've found software/hardware combinations that work for you and yield the result you want, the way you want it, stick with it. You don't have to buy every "latest" thing. How often have you heard: "Never buy version 1.0 of anything!" I usually hold off until I perceive a real need for an upgrade, then buy it. That's not being cheap. That's being th-r-r-rifty!
Number 211a - Year End 2000