NIL/Macsyma

[Kim.fateman at Berkeley]

Since it has been possible to run Macsyma on VMS sites (under Eunice or
its precursor) since April, 1980, (when we dropped off a copy at LCS),
it is not clear to me what GJC's ballyhoo is about.  If the physics
sites are only now getting a partly working Macsyma for VMS, it only
brings to mind the question of whether LCS ever sent out copies of the VMS-
Macsyma we gave them, to other MIT sites.

But getting Maclisp programs up under NIL should not be the benchmark,
nor is it clear what the relationship to common lisp is.
Having macsyma run under common lisp (whatever that will be)
would be very nice, of course,
whether having macsyma run under NIL is a step in that direction or
not.  It might also be nice to see, for example, one of the big interlisp
systems.