On Wed, 16 Dec 92 18:07:04 EST, you said:
bit Unicode through out including file names. Before you know it
there are going to be *millions* of computers running NT. How is this
going to be handled in FTP, Telnet, etc.? I believe that the Internet
should start migrating from predominantly 8 bit byte US ASCII to fixed
size 16 Unicode in most of its protocols where character strings
occur.
Hmm.. Let's back up 20 years.
Before you know it, there will be *dozens* of machines with 9-bit
bytes. I believe that we should start migrating from predominantly
6-bit code to fixed size 9-bit in most of the tape files we currently
exchange.
From the Jargon File, version 2.9.6:
bucky bits: /buh'kee bits/ n. 1. obs. The bits produced by the
CONTROL and META shift keys on a SAIL keyboard, resulting in a
9-bit keyboard character set. The MIT AI TV (Knight) keyboards
extended this with TOP and separate left and right CONTROL and META
keys, resulting in a 12-bit character set; later, LISP Machines
added such keys as SUPER, HYPER, and GREEK (see {space-cadet
keyboard}). 2. By extension, bits associated with `extra' shift
keys on any keyboard, e.g., the ALT on an IBM PC or command and
option keys on a Macintosh.
I'm glad to hear that NT is more guaranteed of *long term* success than
the SAIL stuff was..
--
Valdis Kletnieks
Computer Systems Engineer
Virginia Tech
P.S. Not all contents have been hazard-labeled for the humor-impaired.