Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!lll-winken!arisia!sgi!shinobu!odin!odin.corp.sgi.com!portuesi From: portuesi@tweezers.esd.sgi.com (Michael Portuesi) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Voice Mail on Amiga Message-ID: Date: 3 Oct 89 12:11:52 GMT References: <688@orange6.qtp.ufl.edu> <1989Oct2.132314.12313@rpi.edu> <1989Oct3.152529.17423@rpi.edu> <17939@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> Sender: news@odin.SGI.COM Reply-To: portuesi@sgi.com (Michael Portuesi) Distribution: na Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mtn. View, CA Lines: 45 In-reply-to: navas@cory.Berkeley.EDU's message of 3 Oct 89 17:15:23 GMT In article <17939@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> navas@cory.Berkeley.EDU (David C. Navas) writes: >Nguyen> Nguyen> When did you last see a graphics/mouse-based >Nguyen> interface for a Unix Nguyen> workstation? >Nguyen> About 12 hours ago. (Sorry, I couldn't resist... and you >Nguyen> did ask....) :) >Nguyen> OK, I'll bite: what machine was it? > >A SUN 3/50 running Xwindows. Other machines in the lab were running >NeWS and the Sun proprietary environment. Friends of mine use Apollo >workstations regularly. You were saying? Woah, hang on there. I think we're referring to two different and distinct types of 'user-interface.' When the question is asked -- 'When did you last see a [GUI] for Unix', the question should have been posed as 'When did you last see a [GUI]Bench for Unix'. That is, X-Windows IS a GUI, but it has nothng to do (or at least very little to do) with disk access. All of that garbage is still type-and- backspace...:-) 'Tis Unfortunate. It sounds to me like you're inventing your own brand of terminology. All of the interfaces I've seen for handling filesystem activity [Amiga Workbench, Macintosh Finder, NeXT Browser, MS-Windows Executive, IRIS WorkSpace (yes, we have one too)] are all applications programs that run using their native window manager/GUI. In general, the term "GUI" is reserved for window managers and software toolkits to facilitate the development and use of applications using graphical user interfaces, and not for the applications themselves. In any event, NeXT does not corner the market on graphical user interfaces or their applications software for Unix workstations, nor were they the first to develop a graphical filesystem interface for Unix. They do have a really slick-looking interface, though. --M -- __ \/ Michael Portuesi Silicon Graphics Computer Systems, Inc. portuesi@SGI.COM "The best length for television programs is either 30 seconds or 8 hours." David Byrne