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(written on Apr 24, '83)
MID MAY - MID AUG '82 (3 months)

[noted to left in green ink] 1st half (WHERE TO LIVE) [/note] THIS BOOK COVERS "DECISION" TO STAY IN SEATTLE + GETTING OUT OF
[noted to left in green ink] 2nd half (WHAT TO DO) [/note] COBOL AND INTO SOMETHING ELSE, DECIDING ON SORT IN C (as of last pg).
8086 MSDOS version must go on, so I'm glad I wrote LTP organized new team, esp Bob - 8080/86, Larry - C + v 5.0, and oversaw consolidation, BUT (TO ME:)

[noted to left of 1-3 in green ink) NEAT BOOKS FIRST HALF [/note]
1. Implementing high level features in 8086/MSDOS Version is uninteresting since product has been released to distribution unline Apple BASIL [TRANS?] SORT and its design are nearing end of their lives. New features provide only marginal usefulness.
2. Writing a whole new 68000 compiler is uninteresting since
- it just makes use of better architecture (big addr space allows big tables + fast machine code) BUT THIS IS ALL. NO NEW USEFULNESS. JUST SPEED + CAPACITY.
- COBOL is archaic, not state of the art "productivity" language
- Grandiose development tool with compiler, editor + runtime is jsut for programmers. Small MKT!
3. Microsfot not committing hot people to it, and I didn't like working iwth Larry, Yasnki, Bob or Steve.

So it's not where I want to go. Even if they are willing to pay for it, since
1. 8086 Cobol has no future.
2. Microsoft will acquire 68000 Cobol [marked out] - Larry is only one who knows code well enough to make 68000 right
3. I'm not emotionally into it.

Not about Microsoft thrust.
Cobol data types aren't like Basic, Fortran, Pascal, Basic or MFS
CAN'T BE PART OF MERGE EFFORT
Replaced by Business Basic?
RM Cobol on 370s + 4300s now