Decision: C total OR C moderate OR retro software moderate OR retro software total

[sorcerer_see]

The table down here is a schematic overview of the decision I saw myself confronted with.

To me
- sovereignty
and
- using retro software
are the computing standards I must adhere and work towards throughout my professional life, because it is ethically the right thing to do, and it makes me feel good inside when I do the right thing, while C will be one of the tools / weapons I want to develop in order to get there. Naturally I can not dismiss those computing standards in order to have a slightly better programming environment.

I prefer to compromise on aspects that are less essential in order to remain strict at what is really important.

I choose to keep working with Windows XP, because it allows me to work with those programs that everyone has abandoned although they are very good and often better even than their modern counterparts. I think it is a waste and a crime to throw all that effort away and let those beautiful creations rot away in the dark, because consumers always want,  want, newer, bigger, faster, etc.

Since I am required to program C in a Unix environment in order to use the book "Computer Systems A Programmer's Perspective" - this book looks just too tasty to pass on - I installed Alpine Linux in VirtualBox. Alpine is a very light efficient Linux command line OS, without a GUI.