Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!vax5!z8my
From: z8my@vax5.CIT.CORNELL.EDU
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: System 7.0 speculations - Feature wishlist
Message-ID: <19201@vax5.CIT.CORNELL.EDU>
Date: 31 Jul 89 05:05:30 GMT
References: <587GDAU100@BGUVM>
Sender: news@vax5.CIT.CORNELL.EDU
Reply-To: z8my@vax5.cit.cornell.edu (Samuel Paik)
Organization: XYNE knowledge structures
Lines: 55

In article <587GDAU100@BGUVM> GDAU100@BGUVM.BITNET (Jonathan B. Owen) writes:
>I read the System 7.0 notes found in the MacArch archives (LISTSERV@RICE)
>and saw little mention of the improvments scheduled for the Finder.
>
>As any other Mac user, I too have my views on how to improve the finder.
>I have not really orginized my thought in the matter, but the following
>comes to mind:

Most of these seem to be user interface changes, not Finder changes in
particular.

>    o I would like to see a standard Control Device for setting the port
>      used for communication (read Modem) with all it's relative parameters,
>      such as speed, parity, etc.  Maybe even a modem setup string sent to
>      the modem at boot.  This would eliminate the need for each comm.
>      program to have it's own implementation.

This is probably possible today.  The only thing is, most likely applications
will override any settings...  (maybe an init/cdev to patch the serial
driver?)

>    o I think each application should have it's own menubar within it's
>      window (possibly scrolling the menubar, for small windows) instead
>      of todays menubar.

I'm not sure this is a good idea for small screens.  Scrolling menu bars
aren't so hot either (to experience one, try getting a copy of McSink,
a text editing DA which has scrolling menu bars inside it's windowss.)
After using a NeXT, I get the feeling that a menu bar at the to of the
screen is a good idea for small screens, and not so hot for bigger screens.

>    o Desk Accesseries should "float" like Hypercard's tools menu.  How
>      many times did YOU have to bring back the Notepad each time
>      you switch to anoter application?  I can't count that much :)

Another idea which isn't so hot for small screens.  Often, I'd like to put
some window (DA or otherwise) temporarily out of sight.  How about having
planes of windows?  Say, foreground and background.  (this is a hack--
a generalization may be better).

>    o Having a pull down menu from a window's title bar of the enclousing
>      folders would be great (like in MacTools) for navigation (this is
>      one step futher of double clicking in the title bar in system 6.03 -
>      once enables with Layout 1.7).

Not a bad idea.  (I wonder how difficult to implement today?)

>    o The ability of temporarly making a window into an icon ("iconization")
>      is a good solution for working with many applications/windows/DAs
>      at once.

The SADE Multifinder has something similar to this.

Sam Paik
d65y@vax5.cit.cornell.edu