This is why I’ve long argued that BASIC is the most consequential language in the history of computing. It’s a language for noobs, sure, but back then most everyone was a noob.

Because BASIC is the first language that many computer scientists learn, it has been, for generations, a mother tongue of technologists.

Learn computer basics such as using a mouse, identifying computer parts and how the Windows Vista operating system works. Practice time is included in the session.

This three-hour classes teaches basic operations of a computer, how to use the Internet and email. Classes are held in the Wirt Public Library computer lab. Cost is $5 due at registration.

BBC Basic is still a fairly remarkable language, all these years later. It had 32-bit integers, arbitrary-length variable names, and was remarkably fast.

Thomas E. Kurtz, a Dartmouth College professor who co-created the novice-friendly computer code known as Basic during the 1960s and helped make it the industry standard for programmers during the ...

Long before the days of laptops and smartphones, Thomas E. Kurtz worked to give more students access to computers. That work helped propel generations into a new world. Kurtz has died at 96.

Because BASIC is the first language that many computer scientists learn, it has been, for generations, a mother tongue of technologists.