Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!ssbell!mcmi!unocss!dent
From: dent@unocss..unl.edu (Local Submission)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: What I'd like to see in the AppleShare of the 90's
Keywords: accounting, communications
Message-ID: <1581@unocss..unl.edu>
Date: 18 Jan 90 01:29:28 GMT
Organization: U. of Nebraska at Omaha
Lines: 46

mithomas@bsu-cs.bsu.edu (Michael Thomas Niehaus) writes:

>I don't see that it is necessary to add Broadcast-type features to
>AppleShare, since the ability to do such work is not dependent on the
>existence of AppleShare.  Using normal AppleTalk calls, you can develop
>a decent system.  What advantages would AppleShare add to this
>setup?  (Or to use a cliche, what does AppleShare bring to the party?)

>Someone should write an APPLICATION somewhat like Backgrounder that just
>sits and waits for incoming messages.  When a message does come, the
>Notification Manager should be used to notify the user that a message
>is waiting.  They should then have to switch to that application to
>read the message (or to send a message).  This prevents "rude interruptions"
>of the current foreground application.

Well, I agree that user-to-user electronic communication has nothing to do
with AppleShare.  But!  Administrator-to-user communication really is something
that's needed, for the same reason that it is /already/ in AppleShare in the
form of "Shutdown Notices".  Let me give you an example.

We have public user rooms here, with Macs all connected to an SE/30 AppleShare
/ PrintShare server.  The server (and the LaserWriter for the lab) lives in
the "Consultant Office", which is on the other side of the room from the
Macs.  Not an ideal situation, I realize.. but anyway.. If the LaserWriter
suddenly bursts into flames, or there is a tornado about to decimate the
building, it would be nice to be able to send a message to the users logged
onto the server (all of which use the Guest account, BTW) to inform them of
these types of things.  They don't need to be able to send back a message
(in fact I'd rather that they couldn't), but the ability to send a broadcast
to all (or even some?) users would be VERY helpful.

"But what about Broadcast?"

I'm not sure what Broadcast does, but it consistently crashes Macs here, and
we finally gave up and removed it from all of the public Macs.  This is
unfortunate, because it's really a pretty neat little program.  So here's
the big question: *WHAT* is Broadcast doing that the Mac doesn't like?  Or
are some appications not following rules for memory allocation, and then
freaking out when Broadcast comes in?  I realize that Microsoft has a long
standing reputation for not exactly following the guidelines :-), but I've
never seen one of those applications crash because of a "Shutdown Notice"
that AppleShare has sent them...

-/ Dave Caplinger /---------------------------------------------------------
 Microcomputer Specialist,   Campus Computing,   Univ. of Nebraska at Omaha
 mspecial@zeus.unl.edu       ...!uunet!unocss!dent          MSPECIAL@UNOMA1