Dear Mr Gates,

Congratulations on your brilliant computer products. I have recently purchased Microsoft Windows, and I am very happy with the results I can achieve.

I will soon aquire (sic) a copy of Microsoft QuickBASIC, which I hope will further my skills in programming.

Would it be possible for you to send me some more information on Microsoft products, and the set of Microsoft Languages Newsletters, if any are currently in stock.

A couple of nights ago I spent the best part of fifteen minutes watching the printer chatter out the contents of SETUP.INF, something well worth waiting for.

This has further encouraged me to develop my programming skills; I have been interested in C lately, but something tells me that I can't lose all the BASIC programming skills I have developed over the past few years (I first learned BASIC on an 8K VIC 20), so I have decided to stick with BASIC. The only problem I have encountered is that GW-BASIC does not seem to have all the features of a true BASIC compiler (such as BASIC 6, TrueBASIC and TurboBASIC), and this explains my move to QuickBASIC.

I am very enthusiastic about the future of computing (as you wrote in the MLN Vol 2, No. 1 - 'Imagine an integrated programmer's workstation running...'), and I wonder if I am ever able to visit the United States, whether it would be possible to meet you (with my parents)?

I hope so!
 

Best wishes,
 

Luke Howard
Age 10