From: barrett@astro.cs.umass.edu (Daniel Barrett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: No BS at all
Date: 4 Jan 93 20:37:27 GMT
Reply-To: barrett@astro.cs.umass.edu (Daniel Barrett)
Organization: BLAZEMONGER INCORPORATED

>In article <58226@dime.cs.umass.edu> barrett@astro.cs.umass.edu (Daniel Barrett) writes:
>>	First, let's talk about the joke Apple calls "multitasking."
>
In article <C0CGtC.z9@news.iastate.edu> barrett@iastate.edu (Marc N. Barrett) writes:
>Yes, the Macintosh's multitasking is almost completely broken.  But that is
>a problem with what's "under the hood".

	But it manifests itself as a user interface problem.  If the user
tries to do something natural under the "multitasking" system, and it
doesn't work as expected, then there is an inconsistency in the user
interface.  I thought you would be able to see that.

>>Next, there's this "PrintMonitor" thing.
>That is true, but I get around it by using a third-party package called
>PowerPrint that comes with a VERY nice print spooler.  

	I thought we were talking about the supplied OS only.  Several of
the Amiga problems you mentioned in your original post are also easily
solved using 3rd party programs.  For example, there are a half dozen
excellent cut/paste programs that work across all applications.

>Now DA's ARE normal applications, and anything (an alias, a folder, an
>application, anything) can be placed in the Apple Menu.  

	As I said in my post, I was basing my claim on using an older
MacOS version.  (The rest of the post dealt with System 7, though.)
I stand corrected.

>>On the Amiga, you simply run whatever programs you want, as many copies as
>>you want, unless the programs were specifically written to prevent this.

>This has problems as well as benefits.  Yes, its very nice for a power user
>to be able to launch more than one copy of PageStream, for instance.  But
>this has many problems for the novice user.

	Yes, that could be argued.  But I'd rather have a computer that
doesn't place such restrictions on the user, and assumes that the user has
read the manual.  It's a matter of opinion... as are most of your issues.

>>Now let's talk about performance.  These were 68030 machine with a
>>minimum of 8MB RAM.  And yet, when I did any printing, the stupid mouse
>>pointer became extremely sluggish and jerky.

>Those are more problems with the engine, and not with a surface detail.  
>Don't change the subject.

	I didn't change the subject.  I think it is very much a "surface"
issue.  When a user pushes the mouse, the mouse pointer should move
proportionally.  It doesn't.  That's about as simple a "surface" issue as
one could imagine.

	If you want to make up your own definition of "surface" and stick
with it, fine.  But don't expect other people to read your mind and know
what it is.

                                                        Dan
							(no relation)

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| Dan Barrett -- Dept of Computer Science, Lederle Graduate Research Center |
| University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA  01003  --  barrett@cs.umass.edu |
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Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy