Looking forward to reading your article! Uncle Bob is definitely correct on people always look at the new 'shiny' language or framework. I remember my early days of looking for the '1' perfect language. Pascal, Forth, C, etc, etc, etc. Of course I never found it (you'll shudder but I do have a fondness for Forth!). From my perspective now as an embedded programmer/engineer (since the 70's), C/C++ is the only real choice I have as a programming language. It's the only language that has been available on every processor I've programmed for in the last 20+ years. Every RTOS I've used has a C or C++ interface. All my personal libraries that I've built up over the years are in C and C++. I'll be programming in C/C++ for the rest of my career (only 2.5 years till retirement!!!).

My first computer was an s100 bus z80 base system (back in the late 70's). I wire wrapped all the boards except for the graphics card (16 lines by 64 ASCII characters) which connected to a small TV. I had a 2KB monitor program called Zapple and a total of 4K of RAM. I use to know most of the z80 instruction set by the numbers since I didn't have a z80 assembler. This system eventually morphed into a CP/M system with 48KB of RAM and 2 high density 8 inch floppy drives! Talk about a fun time learning about computer hardware and software.

Heh, sounds like VS would be running mighty slow. The few times I've used it (I'm a firmware engineer) on my work desktop the IDE was not very quick. Running something like VS or Eclipse on a constrained device like a phone sounds painful to me.

As a long time (since the 70's) embedded developer, assembly language.

Gack. Unfortunately, I'm and embedded developer that works with TI DSPs. A few years ago, TI switch from a VC6 style IDE to Eclipse. I've never seen such a pig before. I've gotten to the point where after the base project is setup through Eclipse, I switch to using 'make' to do my builds and jEdit for my editing purposes. The only thing I then use Eclipse for is for the debugger. My employer has finally given me access to some of the Parasoft tools so I'll probably spend a little more time in Eclipse, if only for the static analysis tools. Eclipse problems and complaints: 1) Slow, slow, slow and slow. I can walk down to the kitchen, buy a soda and get back to my desk before Eclipse is done loading. 2) If I have a failure with an update, ~80% of the time Eclipse will no longer start. I'll end up having to reinstall the whole environment. (Don't know if this is an Eclipse problem or a TI problem) 3) Why the hell would I want to see every file in the source directory in my project tree. Let me specify the files that are in the project. I have more than just 3 complaints but over all, I like the old style IDE much better than the Eclipse version. The only obvious advantage to using Eclipse is that I could also be using it in linux.

Now that's funny!!! :laugh:

Start8, StartIsBack and Classic Shell come to mind. Start8 and StartIsBack are pay for, but they're pretty inexpensive. Classic Shell is a freebie with lots of options. I dislike the flat look (and lack of configuration) of the Win 8/8.1 desktop UI but the improvements to the underlying OS are welcome.

I wish Eclipse was only used for Java. Texas Instrument's C/C++ development environment for their DSP's (Code Composer Studio) is Eclipse based. I like embedded and DSP programming but really dislike the Eclipse environment.

You should have checked the local high schools. A few years back I donated 1500 books to the local high school and was able to declare the donation on my taxes. A win for the high school and a win for me! Now, this was before ebooks really kicked in so things may be different now.

Having 4K of RAM on my first computer (home built S100 bus Z80 system). All I had was a 2K monitor program (Zapple) that would allow me to dump memory, peak/poke memory, read/write at I/O ports, etc. I learned to program the Z80 by the numbers since Zapple had no programming languages. I eventually wirewrapped a FSK board to be able to save programs to cassette tape. Since I had a reel-to-reel recorder I was able to up the speed from 1200 baud an amazing 9600 baud!! Fun times in the 70s.

English and z80 machine code (I didn't have an assembler back then so I programmed by the numbers). Today I mostly program in C++ (for embedded devices).

I have some hair on the sides and back of my head. I think the hair that use to be on the top of my head has moved to my nose, ears and probably my rear. :)

This seems pretty obvious. The old adage that "If you don't use it, you lose it" seems to be true. Most abilities or skills need practice or use to be maintained. Both the brain and the body seem to work this way. If I stop my weight training, my muscle mass decreases and my strength decreases. I use to know the whole Z80 instruction set by the numbers (god I'm getting old!), but that's a pretty useless skill these days so since I don't use it, I don't remember the numbers. Now if I could only figure out how to exercise hair!!

Heh, memories. I built my first computer back in 1978. It was a Z80 based S100 bus system. Except for the video card I wirewrapped all the other boards. I had a whole 8k of RAM woohoo! No programming language, only a primitive monitor program (named Zapple). I use to know most of the z80 instruction set by the numbers, no Z80 assembler program for me :).

jEdit, open source and very configurable. Also has 190+ plugins. I use it as my main editor but I also use AutoHotKey to make my cursor movement shortcuts the same for all the editors I use (jEdit, Word, VS and CodeComposer Studio).

I worry about memory management too. Basically, I don't do any dynamic memory allocation/deallocation durning the running of the embedded system. If I do allocate some memory via alloc or new, it's only done during system initialization. I work on a large range of embedded processors, 8051s (yuck), ARMs, TI DSPs and x86 based systems. The only system where I could see using managed code is on the x86 system. It's not really real time and has a fair amount of memory (128mb). The other systems are pushing the edge on performance and memory (8051 -> 4k). I wouldn't think you could do managed code in the 8051. The latest DSP system I'm working on probably has the memory for it but is close to the limit on how much more it can do and still meet its deadlines. All these systems run on some type of RTOS as opposed to Windows so the point is probably moot anyway. Other than that, I do think C++ is on the upswing in the embedded world.

Heh, it's definitely not dead in the embedded world! All the firmware I've developed in the last 10 years is written in C++ and it doesn't look like it's going to change soon.

I haven't noticed any speed issues. I didn't do any real speed tests with the printers and scanner but it feels about the same as if I'd plug the device directly into the PC. If you're sharing the printer among multiple PCs, there will be a small startup delay when you start a print job because the software on the PC will do an auto connect (if you've enabled this feature) to the specific printer.

I recommend a Silex USB device server. It'll do printers, scanners, flash drives, etc. I've been using one for about 2 years now. With printers you can set it up to do a connect/disconnect when you start/finish a print job so you're able to share printers automatically. I got the one that only has 1 usb port since I had a usb hub that I could plug into it.