From: buhr@umanitoba.ca (Kevin Andrew Buhr)
Subject: Re: Is WPS really better??
Organization: University of Manitoba, Canada
	<1992Sep29.105147.5524@gw.wmich.edu>
	<1992Sep29.193827.10087@scott.skidmore.edu>
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 20:22:35 GMT

In article <1992Sep29.193827.10087@scott.skidmore.edu>
pvonk@scott.skidmore.edu (Pierre VonKaenel) writes:

>  I use both OS/2 and Windows (and of course DOS).  Maybe it's the way I
>  use a shell.... but I don't find WPS superior.  Prettier looking, yes.

This is an interesting point.  You are probably correct.  It's
probably because of the way you use a shell.  What you might want to
ask yourself is why do you use a shell the way you do?  I never used a
shell the way I use WPS because I'd never found a shell as powerful as
WPS.  In some ways, I forced myself early on to "overuse" the WPS.  It
has paid off.  I find the interface incredibly intuitive and
efficient now.

>  As I interpret the above paragraph, [using OS/2] to move a program to
>  hard disk, you need to open the drives icon and pick A:.  Then you
>  drag the file to the desktop (or open the C drive, find the right
>  directory, and THEN drag the file icon).

You've made this seem more complex than it is, but yes, this is one
way to do it.  Keep in mind, though, you aren't "picking A:" as if it
is one selection from a menu of choices.  The "A:" drive is an object.
By convention, it is kept in the "Drives" folder.  If you want it on
the desktop, bloody well move it there.  If you want to put it in a
folder called "File Management", by all means do so.  Make judicious
use of shadows, and you can have "A:" drives coming out your ears.

Also realize that you can drag the file (also an object) to any folder
window or folder icon object on the desktop.  Dragging it onto the
desktop itself is just a special case, since the desktop is not unlike
a big open folder.  If you want to drag it to your "OS/2 Data" folder,
drag it there.  If you haven't opened the folder, drag it to the icon,
which could be on the desktop or in another open folder.

OS/2 even provides a way to copy or move a file to an object that
isn't immediately accessible.  If you want to put it in
"C:\OS2\LOCAL\APPS", right click the file, choose copy from the menu,
and use either the "Related" or "Path" tabs to specify the destination
(via the Directory Tree or keyboard, respectively).

>                                           [Using Windows] In Windows,
>  my file manager is configured to open two windows.  For one, I click
>  on A: and the other on C: (it's C by default, so I don't have to do
>  anything.)  I point to the desired file on A and drag it to C.

That's real keen, and it assumes that you always want to copy a file
from the root directory of "A:" to "C:\WINDOWS", something you seemed
to forget when you described the "OS/2 way" of doing things.

In OS/2, I have a shadow of my drives folder on the desktop.  When I
want to copy "A:\FOOBAR" to "C:\", I double click on the drives icon,
double click on the resulting "A:" drive, and drag "FOOBAR" from the
"A:" drive to the drive "C:" icon.  Not much different from your File
Manager example, I'd say.

It doesn't stop there.  I can drag "FOOBAR" to a local or network
printer.  I can drag it to the System Editor.  If I so desperately
wanted to drag a lot of files to "C:\WINDOWS" (like if I was using it
to store my dirty GIFS), I could create a shadow of the WINDOWS folder
on the desktop.  I could drag any object I wanted into it (within
reason).

Suppose, because you're my hero or something, I want to be able to do
things just like you can.  I'll make a folder called "Pierre's File
Manager".  I'll put shadows of my "C:\WINDOWS" and "A:" objects in
there.  Voila!  All the Windows power you enjoy at my fingertips.

>  As for a program launcher: I use Windows to point to the program I
>  want to run, double click.  In OS/2 I have icons in open folders - I
>  double click on the appropriate icon to start a program.  What's the
>  difference?

For one thing, have you ever tried to run an "INSTALL" program on
drive "A:" from the Program Manager?  You can't double click on any
icon, that's for sure.  You must either use the "File Run..." commands
(if you know the name of the program) or use the File Manager to find
it.  From there, you can double click it, if you still have the
strength.

If you want to edit "WIN.INI" ([Extensions] section), you can "fudge"
having data files in the Program Manager windows.  Of course, the
presence or absence of these icons does not reflect the presence or
absence of real data files on your hard disk.  Don't try dragging
plain text "data file icons" to the "Word for Windows" icon for
import, either.  It won't work.

Now using the WPS, suppose my (computer illiterate) sister wants a
place she can keep her programs and data.  I'll make her a folder (on
the desktop or elsewhere, depending on how I'd like to organize my
hard disk) and put its shadow on the desktop.  I'll make the folder's
window nice and big, so it covers most of the rest of desktop.  Now,
I'll make shadows of the programs she wants.  I'll add a shadow of
drive "A:", because she likes to trade programs (freeware only, folks)
with her friends.  I'll give her a data file template, so she can drag
out new WordPerfect documents and stuff.  I'll shadow our printer over
to her workspace, too.  I'll even change the color of her folder's
background, so it will contrast with the windows she opens up on top.

Now, she has her own workspace, with programs, data, etc.  When her
friends give her games, she can drag them into her workspace.  When
she wants to edit her resume, she can double click her resume icon.
What's that??  You don't like that idea?  Well, that's okay, too.  Set
it up like a big Windows program manager.

In summary, justifying use of Windows over WPS as a _mere_ "personal
preference" issue is a severe disservice to WPS.  The WPS is superior
to the Windows interface; there is no doubt in my mind.  People who
prefer Windows to WPS are not unlike people who prefer the Lotus
"/"-command interface to click-and-drag selection and pull down menus.
The have become efficient users of an inefficient product.  That
doesn't justify singing the product's praises.

Kevin Buhr <buhr@ccu.UManitoba.CA>

P.S.  Let's not start a "/"-command vs. pull down menu war.  I figured
I could get away with that analogy unquestioned on c.o.o.a.  Please
don't disappoint me.