Alan Kay wrote:
> I love your analogies!
>
> But, my counter analogy would be to notice that most of the world
> still has little feeling for equal rights and democracy. They still
> use "tried and true" methods of governance like monarchies and
> fascism. However difficult, I still would prefer to go across the
> ocean to try to create a much better way of living. This can be done.
> It is more work, requires more learning on the part of the
> inhabitants, but it's a better,  more esthetic, and more satisfying
> life.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Alan
>

Whether the analogy is biological or polictical it would seem you need some
land (my islands or your New World (i.e. North America)) that is relatively
underdeveloped. Crossing the ocean doesn't help if you discover there
already are powerful nation states over there.

One can make a case that the reason that Java was able to spread was that it
"colonized" the New World of the Web. Maybe like the Spanish, Java isn't
that firmly established and Squeak can displace it.

Ideally Squeak will find a really uninhabited world to colonize (maybe all
these embedded devices out there).

Sticking to your metaphor, the US didn't have much world influence until it
had enough time to grow domestically. Maybe Squeak needs such a place before
it can spread.

Best,

-ken kahn ( www.toontalk.com )

P.S. I realize that words like "colonize" have lots of negative moral
baggage but I don't think they apply to the world of programming languages.
Ditto for issues like the New World was already occuppied before Europeans
came.