Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!hrc!force!covertr
From: covertr@force.UUCP (Richard E. Covert)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Who owns the ROM code?
Summary: ROM Space is at a premium
Message-ID: <474943e8.14a1f@force.UUCP>
Date: 7 Dec 89 16:54:15 GMT
References: <8912061211.aa03001@benjamin.Cs.Bham.AC.UK>
Organization: gte
Lines: 31

In article <8912061211.aa03001@benjamin.Cs.Bham.AC.UK>, RiddCJ@computer-science.birmingham.ac.UK (Chris Ridd) writes:
> A slightly off-beat question, but I've been wondering for a while.
> 
> 
> For a fairly simple enhancement to GEM, how about allowing more windows, like
> 16, instead of the current meagre 8?  This would allow all the DAs a window,
> and lots for the App (encouraging the use of modeless dialogues).  If I ever
> designed something like the AES, I would have written #define NWINDOWS 8 or
> some such-like, so would be able to change it later.

Chris, I can't speak for Atari or the programmers there BUT the original TOS
was written on a shoestring budget in a BIG hurray. So, some things wer left out.
The new TOSes are just extensions of the original TOS. Added such features would
increase the size of the ROM code. I can see why, with all the work being done
on the TT's TOS, the ST TOS hasn't been changed dramatically. 

In fact, I would rather that Atari incorporate your suggestions into the TT.
Make the TT a super multi-window multi-tasking machine. Make the TT much
more wonderful than the ST.

> 
> Shades of the MS Write discussion earlier this year!
Hey, I like MS WRITE!!! I bought it a year ago and for the few letters that
I write MS WRITE is fine.


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 Richard E. Covert (covertr@gtephx) 
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