Colour Maximite Thoughts

Recently at the Backshed forums, which is the primary community for the Maximite system, a user suggested a database library which could then be used to develop database applications. There was a minor discussion about it, but ultimately there was simply not enough interest in the project and the original poster ended the discussion with some snark, saying

"It doesn't look like very many people see a need for it and are interested in using it. I certainly am not going to bother writing it if nobody wants or needs it. No matter, the CMM2 will do a great job of teaching youngsters how to fire bazookas at boogymen and androids."

While I cannot fault him for the statement,  I think the real problem is the OP's fundamental misunderstanding of what the Colour Maximite series of machines are really being used for. The Maximite is not a desktop computer, it is not the type of machine you use to surf the web, check your email and create documents. Even the newest version is based on a 400Mhz ARM processor and has only a few megabytes of RAM. On top of that, MMBasic is not a true operating system, it is a programing language that serves some of the functions of an operating system.

What the Maximite is, is a development platform that falls somewhere between an Arduino and a Rasperry Pi. The end goal for these things is to provide an environment similar to that of a Commodore 64 and other computers of its era.Additionally, a set of GPIO pins have been provided so the hardware can be extended with relative ease. It is far more flexible than an Arduino, as well as easier to use. It is also far less daunting than a Raspberry Pi for small projects and does not have the overhead of a full blown Linux operating system.

If you go back and look at what people were using those Commodore 64's for, it was not writing letters, doing homework or tracking receipts, although I suspect many parents were convinced to buy them for these purposes. No, the primary use for those machines was to play games. Almost every kid who had one of these machines, also learned to do at least a little bit of coding in Basic, because you pretty much had to to use the bloody thing.

The Maximite is no different, no one is going to develop productivity applications for the Maximite, not even a simple text editor. It is not because it cannot be done, it can be. The problem is, there is no point, in this day and age, virtually everyone has a desktop computer at home. Don't give me any bullshit about some people cannot afford computers, which is true, but if you cannot afford a computer, then you sure as shit cannot afford a Maximite and you should be using that money for food and rent. But seriously, what is the point of developing a database library for the Maximite, when I have several good options available to me on my desktop computer. I don't need the Maximite for productivity applications, I already have a computer for that stuff. Those wheels have already been invented and they are running on hardware that is superior to the Maximite by several magnitudes.

The last thing I have to say about this is, if the OP wants to develop a database library for the Maximite, he should go a head and do it. However, he should do it because he has a use for it and because he wants to do it and because he will enjoy doing it. Ultimately basing his decision to do it or not on whether or not other people needed it, tells me even he did not think it was a great idea, otherwise he would have just done it.