Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!vm.epas.utoronto.ca!MEGGIN From: MEGGIN@vm.epas.utoronto.ca (David Megginson) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Does a graphic interface slow a machine? Message-ID: <89Oct24.111444edt.57651@ugw.utcs.utoronto.ca> Date: 24 Oct 89 15:07:35 GMT References: Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 14 Whoa! I won't embarass anyone by naming names, but someone in this newsgroup recently suggested that a Mac takes a long time to recalculate a spread-sheet because the 8mhz 68000 chip is already busy with the interface. Wrong. When a Mac is recalculating a spreadsheet, or doing any other computational chore, the processor is dedicated only to the programmer's code and any interrupts (such as mouse movement). It is not worrying about drawing windows or handling menus until the user calls a system function. If the spreadsheet is slow, it's bad coding. The interface has little to do with it. David Megginson, Centre for Medieval Studies, Toronto