[Edu-sig] re: Alice update

[Terry Hancock]

On Saturday 15 February 2003 03:24 pm, Arthur wrote:
> But it is also to me a broad and symbolic issue. To me, Alice represents
> much that it is anti-thesis to the Open Source worldview - as I interpet it
> and as I experience it. 

I was disappointed to find the absence of a source
distribution, because I had thought that they were using
a python applet interpreter or at least the makings of one.
I did inquire about this, and I was told that there was some
intent of releasing the source "eventually", but who knows
when that will actually happen.

In any case, it apparently doesn't work the way I thought I
understood it to, so it wasn't what I was looking for anyway.

I have not tried it (for one thing, I lack a Windows system
to test it on). But I did poke around the site a bit, there is some
interesting information regarding interface design.  I found
that part interesting:

http://www.alice.org/stage3/aliceproj.html

Also, there is a link to an open source implementation of most of
Alice's features, "Squeak Alice" (maybe I'll get a chance to try
that version out):

http://www.alice.org/stage3/sqalice.html

As for whether it is stylistically antithetical to open-source
principles ... well, I'm not sure I understand what you mean
(Which might be because I haven't tried it, of course).
People have a lot of different ideas about how people
and machines should interact -- I think a diversity of
approaches is probably a good thing.

Cheers,
Terry

--
Terry Hancock ( hancock at anansispaceworks.com )
Anansi Spaceworks  http://www.anansispaceworks.com

"Some things are too important to be taken seriously"