[mkd1964]

No, I don't work for them but, has no one here heard of PowerBasic?

it started out as BASIC/Z, the first interactive compiler for CP/M and MDOS. It was then extended MS-DOS/PC-DOS and was then published in 1987 as Turbo BASIC by Borland. When Borland discontinued it - the Author, Bob Zale, re-released it as PowerBasic.

A very modern compiler with extremely similar syntax to QB (at least in the text-mode version). Comes in a Windows version as well.

Both compilers are written in assembly. No runtime. Extremely small, fast executables. Supports inline assembly (mix BASIC and assembler in the same procedure). Windows version creates stand-alone executables or DLLs. Supports user-defined marcros. Regular Expressions. Supports both OOP and procedural style programming. Too many features to list here. Complete manuals available for free on their site (powerbasic.com)

This would be a good BASIC to start a kid off with.

Check out the forums. Especially the source code forum. There are some very talented people there.

Not free but very reasonably priced compared to MS products.