Remember the computers of the 80s? You could write and run your own programs in BASIC. It was great fun. For some reason, they no longer make computers with this ability. Why the change?

Well there's 2 views, the complex on and the simplistic one.  In the complex ones the languages available became more sophisticated so the people who were really into computers started moving away from Basic.  Course the simplistic view works the opposite way.  People that wanted to use computers but didn't understand the complexity of the language demanded something easier to understand, hence we have all the graphically layouts nowadays.  

Course, I still have my C-128... someday I'll actually pull it out and start coding on it again. :)

Kryllith

I still run and use GWBASIC on my machine.  Sure, it's no C-64 (Which I also have emulators for), but it still works, and works great.  I still write the occasional odd program in basic (it's the only language I ever learned).  I still have never figured out graphics, but I don't mind not having them...

On my computer, I regularly use BASIC and Assembly language - both of which are absolute pigs until you get used to them - to come up with new, zany ideas for writing computer games. On a serious note though, I haven't been able to write one for a while, what with the Internet, and this computer taking up most, if not all, of the space on this table...

I remember learning BASIC in school in 6th grade.  What a nightmare computers were to use back then.  But, I do remember one BASIC program:

10 PRINT "YOUR NAME"
20 GOTO 10

That would create an endless loop of your name scrolling down the screen.  haha