Time for 8 bit news, isn't it?????.

[diamond@tkovoa]

In article <1990Jul21.174535.8281 at lokkur.dexter.mi.us> scs at lokkur.dexter.mi.us (Steve Simmons) writes:

>The sarcasm lamp is now lit.  :-)

Not mine though.  (I have a large sarcasm lamp but it's not lit this time.)

>Of course, there aren't many of us reading the current news
>who want to read those kanji, katakana, and ghu-only-knows what other
>variants.

There sure are.  I can't read them very well, but there are many who do.

>Still, we should all be forced to make software that is
>capable of handling it so that the English readers can look at the
>Hindi, Korean and Russian postings that flow by.

You're right; you aren't forced.  If you don't, then the rest of the
world will leave you behind.  But you aren't forced.

>The sarcasm lamp is now off.  :-)

>Hey, news is ASCII-based, written in english-speaking countries for
>english-speaking readers.

This was true 10 years ago.

>That fact that it works *at all* for
>international and non-English stuff is a wonderful plus.  If regional
>newgroups have regional needs, they should go ahead and fill them.
>But neither side should expect interoperatbility.

They'll go ahead and fill it, believe me.  And they will market systems
in the U.S. that have interoperability too.  Businesses that agree with
your opinion will go bankrupt.  (And there are a lot of them.  The U.S.
is moving towards losing the software market, just as it did for cars and
home electronics.)

-- 
Norman Diamond, Nihon DEC     diamond at tkou02.enet.dec.com
This is me speaking.  If you want to hear the company speak, you need DECtalk.