Hi(gh)!

...then C would be a Hammond B-3: the undisputable classic which most 
others at least secretly try to duplicate (but mostly fail). This huge 
beast has literally written history, without it, the world of computing 
hardly would be the same. Users need to be aware that although you can 
do almost anything with it, there is NEITHER a built-in drum machine NOR 
automatic accompaniment so don't expect your results to be too fancy - 
unless you're a seasoned player.

C++ would be a Yamaha Electone GX-1 - a super-sophisticated all-in-one 
machine modeled after the Hammond B-3... but so much more! Original 
spare parts are readily available up to this very day.

Assembler would be a Dr. Böhm CnT/L kit: you have to build literally 
everything from scratch, you are not even spared from the plight of 
soldering! On the other hand, you get a profound insight into what 
electronic organs at all are about, and thus would be able to do most 
repairs on more readily shipped models. But beware of the rickety drawbars!

6502 Assembler: a Dr. Böhm Benjamin kit, you can do hardly anything 
serious with it, but it's a lot of fun and perhaps inspires you to try 
something more sophisticated afterwards, such as a CnT/L...

COBOL: a Mighty Wurlitzer Theater Organ! Not really electronic, but at 
that time, even computers were hardly...

C#: a Wersi OAS model, essentially a PC running Windows XP with some 
organ built around it. Pretends to be a Hammond B-3 but never will be - 
and preferably crashes in the midst of a recital!

Pascal: a Farfisa Maharani. Very B-3ish, albeit somewhat out of fashion 
today.

Turbo Pascal: a Farfisa Pergamon. Even more B-3ish, with a sophisticated 
built-in synthesizer, but did not save the company from being sold out.

BASIC: anything Bontempi. Beginner's choice, they come in many flavours 
which do not differ very much from another. Mostly only 37 keys per 
manual, so better stick to good old MS-DOS!

Commodore BASIC V2.0: a Bontempi 370.19 - too bad that there is no bass 
pedal! Is this an organ at all?

Visual BASIC: a Bontempi CZ-1 - cool professional all-black combo organ 
look, but, after all, still only 37 keys per manual. Shunned by most 
earnest programmers!

Logo: a 2-year-old's 8-note toy glockenspiel.

HTML: your own singing voice! Hardly anyone is too unmusical to command 
at least a little... but "programming" is something different!

POV-Ray: not exactly an organ, but a huge Moog modular synth which also 
controls the light show. Opinions on whether playing this thing is fun 
or not are strongly divided among the community...

See you in Khyberspace!

Yadgar

Post a reply to this message