HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: terjer@ifi.unit.no (Terje Rydland)
Subject: Re: EGGPLANT, IMPLANT, EMPATH, BLAZEPLANT...
Followup-To: comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Organization: IfI, UNIT-AVH
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 13:30:56 GMT

In article <vrq16lj@rpi.edu>, danaf@bray1a.its.rpi.edu (Frank R. Dana Jr.)
wrote:
> 
> In article <1992Nov11.165748.23160@gn.ecn.purdue.edu>, jess@gn.ecn.purdue.edu (Jess M Holle) writes:
> |> First, even if a monitor and keyboard are not included, a good monitor
> |> and keyboard can be added with a total of less than $4000.  From my price
> |> list, an Apple 14" Display is $495 and an Apple Extended Keyboard II is
> |> $160.  This totals $3882.  Notice that this is a big, high quality monitor
> |> and a nice keyboard.  Also, notice that these are Apple peripherals, and,
> |> therefore, more expensive than 3rd party equivalents, so a system can be 
> |> found for less.
> 
> **GIGGLE**
> 
> I love MAC users... they consider a 14" monitor BIG!?!?

Big enough for most uses. You very rarely see anything bigger on the
cheap PC-clones or Amigas (at least here). And the Apple screen 
uses a SONY Trinitron tube (which has nothing to do with size, but with
quality).

> 
> (Guess it is, compared to that built-in 9" piece-de-crap on the 1-piece MACs.)

Actually it is a quite usable screen if all you need is to do word
processing
or spreadsheets (and you sit fairly close to the screen).
It is a 72 dpi screen, so that what you see is not smaller
than on other screens, you just se a little bit less (you just get an
A4-sized
paper in width.)
Quite handy if you add an extra screen-you can keep Finder on the 9"
and run your applications on the other screen. (I used to do that on my
SE/30).


>... wanna compare to the A3000? That's going for $1400 now...

It is probably not worth more either!


Terje Rydland
Dept. of Informatics, UNIT, Trondheim, Norway
Internet : terjer@ifi.unit.no
AppleLink: NOR0103
Tlf : +47-7-591845
Fax : +47-7-591733
From: bmccnnll@unix1.tcd.ie (Barry McConnell)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject: Re: Macintosh advocacy (really!)
Date: 23 Nov 92 10:34:43 GMT
Organization: Trinity College, Dublin

In <84074@ut-emx.uucp> ifbb657@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Douglas Floyd) writes:

[A3000]

>They look "workstation quality", but are they?  Enquiring minds want
>to know :-)

Don't tell me you are flaming a machine you have never even used! Sigh...
Yes, the A3000 is a damn fine machine. I have a similarly-equipped A2000; let
me quote a friend of mine who was (originally :-) ) a PC-lover: "It flogs the
pants off any PC I have used." 

>The Mac II is a Mac, the A3000 is an Amiga.

The A3000 is also an Archimedes. ;-)

>Workstation == Any computer that is generally used for high-end stuff

Where's your smiley? That is just too loose a definition. Can anyone give me
a *proper* definition of workstation. "A machine which can run UNIX?"

>An A500 is an Amiga.  An Amiga is not a workstation.  Boom-boom-SPLAT!

A Mac Plus is a Macintosh. A Macintosh is not a workstation. :-)

(Taken to the other extreme, I do lots of work on my Sharp EL-506P (a pocket
calculator :-) ), so is *it* a workstation?)

>[For the humor impared :-) * 10^6]

Yeah... you replied by e-mail anyway, so I'm not flaming you too hard. :-))

Barry.
Xref: sparky comp.sys.mac.advocacy:2647 comp.sys.amiga.advocacy:29237
From: ifbb657@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Douglas Floyd)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: EGGPLANT, IMPLANT, EMPATH, BLAZEPLANT...
Date: 16 Nov 92 19:40:49 GMT
Followup-To: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX

[Stuff about cheap Amiga "workstation" deleted]

Processor card extra $4000.
I think Amigas are nicr machines, [and I cannot type ], but until I
see a decent network card and connectivity, I will remain skeptical.
C= has done a lot of vaporware for me to belive in the Emplant.  When
I see it, I will take a [mostly] unbiased look at it.  Until then,
my Mac will do.

PS:  Amiga people do have something to brag about, a decently multitasking
     OS years before anyone else.  But, I will still remain w/ the Mac.


-- 
********** ifbb657@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Douglas Floyd) **********
Windows NT:                  * Disclaimer:  I speak for myself *
                             ***********************************
You WANT your hard drive trashed now.
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
From: dtiberio@csws19.ic.sunysb.edu (David Tiberio)
Subject: Re: EGGPLANT, IMPLANT, EMPATH, BLAZEPLANT...
Organization: State University of New York at Stony Brook
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 01:08:00 GMT

In article <83763@ut-emx.uucp> ifbb657@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Douglas Floyd) writes:
>[Stuff about cheap Amiga "workstation" deleted]
>
>Processor card extra $4000.
		       ^^^^

	Accelerator for the Amigas cost as little as $175 and as much as 
$6,000 with 20 megs of 40ns ram or whatever. I plan on buying a 68040
processor card to replace my 68030: $850.


>I think Amigas are nicr machines, [and I cannot type ], but until I
		    ^^^^
	That should be 'nicer'. :)
		
>see a decent network card and connectivity, I will remain skeptical.

	There do exist networking cards for the Amiga, such as AppleTalk, 
ethernet, and fast serial cards from third parties.

>C= has done a lot of vaporware for me to belive in the Emplant.  When

	Every company does vapor ware, and CBM is the last one on the list.
You see, CBM never announces anything; therefor when it doesn't come out, it
can't be considered vaporware. BTW, CBM doesn't make Emplant anyway.

>I see it, I will take a [mostly] unbiased look at it.  Until then,
>my Mac will do.

	My Emplant arrived at UPS today, but I wasn't home.

>PS:  Amiga people do have something to brag about, a decently multitasking
>     OS years before anyone else.  But, I will still remain w/ the Mac.

	Stay with the Mac. That is your choice, but when you decide to
buy a new machine, you might be interested in an Emplant system.


-- 
      Amiga Graphics Association BBS (516) 473-6351  24 HRS, 14.4k baud
PEROT PEROT PEROT PEROT PEROT PEROT PEROT PEROT PEROT PEROT PEROT PEROT PEROT
    "I don't have any experience in running up a 4 trillion dollar debt."
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject: Re: PostScript Costs (Was: EGGPLANT, IMPLANT...)
From: feijai@endor.byu.edu (Sean Luke)
Date: 21 Nov 92 13:27:55 -0700
Reply-To: sean@digaudio.byu.edu

In article <1992Nov21.200043.14570@leland.Stanford.EDU>  writes:
>> BTW, Novell's publishing dept. ....
>> is exclusively NeXT-based.  I've seen it with my own eyes.
>> Pretty cool:  a network of just under 100 or so machines.
>> They used to use FrameMaker and Illustrator, but now
>> Create, Virtuoso and PasteUp are threatening to take over.
>>
>
>Just wondering... are they networked with Novell's own software, or
>do they use NetInfo?


They had the NeXTs well before Novell's stuff was available on the NeXT,  
so I'm sure it's NetInfo.  Plus, NeXTs only act as clients in a Novell  
environment, and Novell has *four* big cubes doing nothing but acting as  
servers.


--

Sean Luke
Brigham Young University                   MILK:  It Comes From Cows
sean@digaudio.byu.edu  
NeXTmail and nifty Mac stuff welcome
From: jess@gn.ecn.purdue.edu (Jess M Holle)
Subject: Re: Macintosh advocacy (really!)
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 92 00:08:16 GMT

For all of those who moan ceaselessly about the Mac's single mouse button
being inadequate, there are two VERY simple answers.

1)  As others have mentioned, there are multiple button mice available.

and MOST IMPORTANTLY

2)  There are much more intuitive ways to provide extra features quickly
    than by using extra mouse buttons.

One many Mac programs, holding down one or more of the 4 modifier keys:
Shift, Control, Option, and Command, will change the behavior of mouse 
clicks.  This gives 16 different possible mouse clicks (2^4, from 4
buttons possible states, on and off).  Nobody actually uses all 16
possibilities to my knowledge, however, some programs use as many as 5
or 6.

What is better about requiring the use of the other hand for these task???
I'm glad you asked.  This allows the program to change the mouse cursor 
to something that gives the user feedback on what this modified mouse 
click will do BEFORE they do it.  With extra mouse buttons, there is no 
way to tell what a given mouse button will do before you actually click 
it.  This is my main complaint about multiple button mice.

One simple example of this sort of behavior is found in a program written 
in our lab which rotates (in 3D) wireframe representations of solid models 
using mouse drags.  The following operations are defined:

Modifier     Action                              Cursor
------------ ---------------------------------   ----------------------------
unmodified:  selection of objects, etc.          Arrow
shift:       rotate in an unconstrained manner   circular arc ending in arrow
control:     constrain rotation to x-axis        same, but with an x by it
option:      constrain rotation to y-axis        same, but with an y by it
command:     constrain rotation to z-axis        same, but with a z by it
command+opt: pan view

Or something like that.  The point is that, though I can't remember exactly
how to get each result, I can very quickly find out by hitting the various
modifier keys.  When I used the program for the first time, it was 
immediately obvious what each one of the modifier did when I tried them,
before I accidentally rotated everything in a manner that I did not desire,
which is what would have happened using a 3 button mouse for this 
functionality.

Yes, an SGI is much nicer for the above task, as I'm sure many will point
out.  Not a lot of people have SGI's at home, however.  Most the people in
the lab do have Macs at home, so they use this tool there (and on the Macs
in the lab when all SGI's are in use).

Jess Holle
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
From: shebs@apple.com (Stan Shebs)
Subject: Re: Macintosh bigots (actually Help)
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 19:24:05 GMT
Organization: Apple Computer Inc.
Followup-To: comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy

In article <Af0yrAm00iUxM3GQJj@andrew.cmu.edu>, Carl B Jabido
<cj00+@andrew.cmu.edu> wrote:

>  One thing I hate is that if Macs are supposed to be the "easy" computer
> to use, how come there is no standard Help menu on menu bars?  Yes there
> is balloon help, that's if you want an annoying thing popping up
> wherever you move your mouse, only to tell you "That's a title bar,
> click and hold to move the window"!  Big deal!!  There should be a
> standard Help menu on the menu bar. [...]

Balloon help *is* the standard Help facility.  If applications don't use
it, that's not Apple's or the Mac's fault.

Also keep in mind that the Mac is designed for *normal* people.  You are,
I am guessing, a CMU person, which automatically makes you NOT normal.
This is important.  Many people have observed the paradox of computer
geeks designing software to be used by people who think in fundamentally
different ways.  The result is that normal people end up suffering because
of the geeks' lack of understanding.

>     Plus, OS/2's help facility is very nice.  There's the Master Help
> Index, the Command Reference (for the Command Line Interface), Glossary,
> Tutorial, Info on Rexx, and a Start Here thing which is like the
> tutorial on Macs.  Basically, OS/2's stock help facility comes with
> almost all the online documentation you need.  I taught myself Rexx
> programming from the online docs.  And you can get online docs about the
> system internals too, called the Redbooks, because the originals are
> really red books.
> I have yet to see this much online documentation on the Mac.  It's alot
> nicer to read an online doc than opening a book because it's right there.

Massive online documentation is often a sign of a bad design.  Why?  Well,
imagine your office has been redesigned over the weekend - you come in
and your office door is a completely featureless blank.  No doorknob,
pushing on the door doesn't work, there's nothing to pull on.  This might
be frustrating, but! you have been given a handheld "Help computer" with
all the building's documentation online.  After a bit of menu cruising,
you eventually find out that touching the door with both pinky fingers
at once will open it (don't use just one pinky! that causes your entire
office to be instantly moved downstairs).  Wouldn't it have been easier
just to use the familiar doorknob?  Then you wouldn't have needed to have
the help info at all!

The amazing thing about many of the Mac programs is that normal people
have been able to jump in and use them without ever seeing a manual,
or online help, or anything.  Normal people love that, and that's why
they'll pay considerable money (out of their own pockets!) to get Macs
and Mac software.

Stan Shebs
shebs@apple.com
From: jstc_ss@troi.cc.rochester.edu (j. collins)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject: Re: Mac.vs.486
Keywords: benchmarks, Mac, 486
Date: 24 Nov 92 04:33:37 GMT
Organization: University of Rochester - Rochester, New York

In <1992Nov23.155337.18809@nwnexus.WA.COM> tloomis@halcyon.com (thomas loomis) writes:

>Anyone out there know where I can get some articles comparing the
>performances of Macs to Intel based machines? I am particularly
>interested in Mac vs. 486 based ones, but ANY will do, since it
>is easy to extrapolate the performance of faster Intel machines 
>from slower ones (since there are numerous up-and-down-the-line
>Intel benchmarks published, and likewise numerous uadtl Mac ones).
>Thanks!
>					tloomis@halcyon.com

>Post here; I read this group often.

About a year ago, Ingram Labs released an independent study comparing
macintosh's to IBM compatiable's.  Computer Shopper had a piece on this
report as did two or three other magazines.  If you want I can post a copy
of the report.

-justin m. collins <jstc_ss@troi.cc.rochester.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
From: faheyr@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Bob Fahey)
Subject: Re: Macintosh advocacy (really!)
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 18:04:17 GMT

In <ibhan.722535650@husc8> ibhan@husc8.harvard.edu (Ishir Bhan) writes:

>The Emplant doesn't really exist.  Okay, so it exists, but I haven't heard
>of ONE user who has gotten it to work.

That's because those users don't read comp.sys.mac.advocacy... :-)

Just for the record, Emplant DOES exist, and there ARE people who have it
working. As for the actual quality of the emulation, we'll see what happens.
I think it is a bit early in Emplant's life to discount it's usefulness.

-bob
faheyr@silver.ucs.indiana.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
From: UC525655@mizzou1.missouri.edu (Mark Eaton)
Subject: Re: e: EGGPLANT, IMPLANT, EMPATH, BLAZEPLANT...
Organization: University of Missouri
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 16:21:15 CST

In article <1992Nov17.161553.10716@dartvax.dartmouth.edu>
abs0@coos.dartmouth.edu (Kelvin Leung) writes:
 
>
>UC525655@mizzou1.missouri.edu (Mark Eaton) writes:
>>In <1992Nov11.225745.16818@cs.wisc.edu>, rcmolden@parmesan.cs.wisc.edu (Robertc. Moldenhauer) writes:
>>> Where d I get the prgram to copy the roms directly from a Mac instead of having
>>> to stick them into Emplant first?
>>>
>>You can call our BBS and download a program called ROMINFO.  It is a real
>>MAC program, so downloading using a MAC is the easiest way to get it to
>>the MAC.
>>
>>Real smart ain't he? :)
>>Well I've had a good laugh over this one. Ill leave you Amiga folk
>>to your emulators.
>>
>
>My smart friend, think about it.  If you have the ROM already (ie, you
>are already emulating a Mac), why would you need to download ROMINFO??
>
>a Chicken and Egg question, isnt it??
>
>BTW, your posting is really funny. ;)
 
True, you only need ROMinfo if you _don't_ _already_ _have_ _mac_ _roms_.
Now, if you are making a copy of Apples roms, and you don't own them,
aren't you breaking that funny little thing called copyright law? And
didn't Jim Drew _advocate_ this? My smart friend, think about it...
 
>
>>PS: If you guys want to impress us with how good you computers are,
>>try to avoid telling us how many other machines it can emulate. After
>>all, if Amigas are so great, they shouldn't *have* to emulate other
>>machines!  ;)
>>
>
>Ouch! that hurts...
>
>I couldn't figure that out before... now I do.   That's why we have
>softPC/AT (window) version for the Mac... just so we can run the almight
>MS-windows on the Macs.  So, according to your theory, the Macs are inferior
>to 286 clones running MS-windows.  Cool... took me a little while to figure
>out.  thanks for explaining. :)
 
Yes, but Mac users don't go over to the Amiga (or PC) groups and trumpet
SoftPC as the greatest thibg ever, and tell Amigans how it means the daeth
of the amiga... (PS, *I* don't use SoftPC/AT <shudder>)  ;)
 
>
>>sorry about the poor typing. ;)
>
>same here. ;)
>
>BTW, True, no one has managed to get EMPLANT to emulate a color Mac.
>Yet, if emulating a fully functional B/W is your concern, just go buy
>Amax II+.
>
Yeah, if I had an Amiga, and I *had* to do something that couldn't be done
using native Amiga sw, I'd stick with Amax. It (sounds) much more reliable.
 
>Thanks for the laughs,
Glad to be of service...
 
>Kelvin
>e-mail: abs0@coos.dartmouth.edu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark Eaton                    | Opinions? We're not allowed to have
UC525655@MIZZOU1.MISSOURI.EDU | opinions at Mizzou... get back to me
                              | in 2 years when I graduate... ;)
From: bcoleman@hayes.com (Bill Coleman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject: Re: EGGPLANT, IMPLANT, EMPATH, BLAZEPLANT...
Date: 23 Nov 92 15:38:42 EDT
Organization: Hayes Microcomputer Products, Norcross, GA

In article <1992Nov18.145026.19063@sbcs.sunysb.edu>, dtiberio@csws19.ic.sunysb.edu (David Tiberio) writes:
> 
> 	Some people already own Mac II's. Some people will buy the ROMs
> separately (believe it or not, dealers will sell them to you if they
> really want to make a sale)

While it may certainly be possible to do this, that does not make such a
purchased copy legal. The dealers have specific contracts with Apple not
to sell the ROMs separately. The dealers have broken their contract to sell
you those ROMs. 

Therefore, you would be using stolen ROMs, even if you paid for them in
good faith.

The only legal way to obtain Mac ROMs is from a Mac (or Outbound). Those
are the only platforms where the ROMs are licensed. Any other source violates
the license.

Once you own the Mac, you can then use the ROMs or make copies of it for
your own use. But you still have to own the Mac in order to keep and use
those copies.

That's the law.

-- 
Bill Coleman, AA4LR                ! CIS: 76067,2327    AppleLink: D1958
Principal Software Engineer        ! Packet Radio: AA4LR @ W4QO
Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. ! UUCP: uunet!hayes!bcoleman
POB 105203 Atlanta, GA 30348 USA   ! Internet: bcoleman%hayes@uunet.uu.net
Disclaimer: "My employer doesn't pay me to have opinions."
Quote: "The same light shines on vineyards that makes deserts." -Steve Hackett.
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Distribution: world
From: Steve_Costa@bmug.org
Organization: BMUG, Inc.
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 17:55:23 PST
Subject: Re: NeXT OS, TOO SLOW TO $#@#$, etc.

(Rewrite history how you will.
>
>WriteNow was contracted for by Apple, which wanted a second source 
>for a word processor in case it ran into trouble developing MacWrite.  
>Steve Jobs picked up the rights to it after he left Apple; he set up
>a small software company and developed it as WriteNow.  Sales from
>the Mac version of this product helped provide cash before NeXT sold 
>its first machine.  It is not "made and marketed by AppSoft."  In fact, 
>AppSoft only markets it on the NeXT (on whatever terms were Jobs negotiated).


 
This is wrong.......Write Now was to be the first word processor for the Mac.
It was going to be called MacAuthor. But it became clear that MacAuthor would never
be finished by the time that Mac came out they started MacWrite.....Two years
after the Mac came out Write Now came out. And it wasn't a very good word
processor when it first came out. You needed a converter program just to read
text files.....

Steve Costa
BMUG
***************************************************************************
             From Planet BMUG, the FirstClass BBS of BMUG, Inc.
              The above message was gatewayed via PostalUnion
***************************************************************************
The message contained in this posting is entirely the poster's personal
opinion.  Any possible, real or perceived, (dis)similarities with the
views held by BMUG, are purely coincidental.
***************************************************************************
Xref: sparky comp.sys.mac.advocacy:2622 comp.sys.amiga.advocacy:29150
From: 2rs9acevedom@vms.csd.mu.edu (Mario Acevedo)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: EGGPLANT, IMPLANT, EMPATH, BLAZEPLANT...
Date: 15 Nov 1992 17:35:53 GMT
Organization: Marquette University - Computer Services
Reply-To: 2rs9acevedom@vms.csd.mu.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: vmsa.csd.mu.edu

In article <1992Nov15.072616.4261@sol.cs.wmich.edu>, 22black@sol.cs.wmich.edu (Martin Black) writes:
>gerald@seas.gwu.edu (Gerald G. Washington) writes:
>
>>jess@gn.ecn.purdue.edu (Jess M Holle) writes:
>>>Does an A3000 have a 25 MHz 040, like the Quadra 700???
>>>

Well, not exactly.  The Quadra 700 was not able to run System 7.0 when it first
came out.  The A3000 with a 25Mhz 040 with Amax II was able too, before the
Quadra 700.

Mario Acevedo

Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
From: spagiola@frinext.stanford.edu (Stefano Pagiola)
Subject: Need for Color  (Was: Gotta sell/swap soon!)
Reply-To: spagiola@frinext.stanford.edu
Organization: DSO, Stanford University
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 92 01:50:23 GMT

Morrissey writes
> [ description of LC system]
> 
> I'm getting rid of it 'cause I really don't need the power
> and colour. ...


Nononono.
You have it all wrong.  Didn't you see the discussion right here in  
this forum that one HAS to have color or one doesn't really have a  
computer?  
--
-
Stefano Pagiola
Food Research Institute, Stanford University
spagiola@frinext.stanford.edu (NeXTMail encouraged)
spagiola@FRI-nxt-Pagiola.stanford.edu (NeXTMail encouraged)
Xref: sparky comp.sys.mac.advocacy:2637 comp.sys.amiga.advocacy:29194
From: jess@gn.ecn.purdue.edu (Jess M Holle)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: EGGPLANT, IMPLANT, EMPATH, BLAZEPLANT...
Date: 16 Nov 92 07:28:26 GMT
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network

>Well, not exactly.  The Quadra 700 was not able to run System 7.0 when it first
>came out.  The A3000 with a 25Mhz 040 with Amax II was able too, before the
>Quadra 700.

I don't know where this bit of misinformation keeps popping up from, BUT
System 7.0 has never run on the Quadras.  System 7.0.1 has ALWAYS run on
the Quadras.  Is this any big deal?  No, System 7.0.1 has several 
enhancements to 7.0 (minor bug fixes, non-Quadra related).  It was the
system software that originally came with the Quadras (even those released
for beta testing before the official release date).  This is the way
Apple released all new Macs until recently (i.e. a minor OS upgrade for
each that allowed access to new features on new models, etc).

In other words, your post makes absolutely no sense since it is based on
misinformation.

Jess Holle
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
From: edcrwfrd@unlv.edu (Edward Crawford)
Subject: Re: How MS could annoy Apple
Organization: UNLV
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 92 00:01:41 GMT

---
> ...  I never have to open more
> than 4 [finder windows]. Generally this doesn't happen tho
> as I can just hold down the option key and then whenever I
> open a folder, the window I double-clicked in to do it closes.
 
So how do you trace your steps back?  I find the NeXT viewer's
graphical path a very useful tool.
---

Very easy to trace your step back. Just hold down command and click
on the menu bar.