Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ketch.cis.ohio-state.edu!martens From: martens@ketch.cis.ohio-state.edu (Jeff Martens) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Amiga mentality cont'd Message-ID: <79139@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Date: 12 Apr 90 00:40:32 GMT References: <1342@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca> <90098.170806JKT100@psuvm.psu.edu> <4087@nmtsun.nmt.edu> <5561@sugar.hackercorp.com> <1990Apr11.182605.288@wam.umd.edu> Sender: usenet_news@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu Reply-To: Jeff Martens Organization: Ohio State University Computer and Information Science Lines: 48 In article <1990Apr11.182605.288@wam.umd.edu> ddev@wam.umd.edu (Don DeVoe) writes: >In article <5561@sugar.hackercorp.com> karl@sugar.hackercorp.com (Karl Lehenbauer) writes: >>In article <4087@nmtsun.nmt.edu> dksnsr@nmtsun.nmt.edu (Dr. Mosh) writes: >>>I guess EVERYONE has tried to copy Mac in software then, after all, what >>>are all the GUI's on the market based on? Most of them are just variations >>>and improvements on the Mac interface... >>Oh, please. Apple didn't invent GUIs, Xerox did. And Apple's implementation >>substantially degraded their power. Xerox's multitasked and included an >>integrated object-oriented programming environment as well, and that was 15+ >>years ago, to boot. >Excuse me, but what do multitasking and object-oriented programming have to >do with a GUI? Are you trying to say that Apple's interface is less >powerful than the Xerox's? Have you ever used a Xerox? Do you know what you're >saying?? Please tell me how your comments are relevant to the power of a >GUI, and how you decided that Apple's GUI 'degraded' the power of the >Xerox GUI...without talking about OS concerns. Two comments: 1) Whether you prefer the Mac or the old Xerox GUI is irrelevant. The point stands that Apple didn't invent it, and claiming that everybody with a GUI is simply copying Apple is like saying that every airplane with a propeller is simply a copy of a Sopwith Camel. 2) I don't see how you can compare the power or GUIs without bringing "OS concerns" into the discussion. The biggest edge the Amiga has over other PCs in its price range is multitasking -- this was the single most important factor in convincing me to buy the Amiga, since it's a pain to move between a multitasking system at work or school and something more primitive (like my old Kaypro 4) at home. I taught a programming course that used Macs, and hated them. It seemed as though I was always waiting around (point, click, doze) for something to happen, whereas on a system with true pre-emptive multitasking I can always switch to another task while waiting for something time-consuming to complete. 2.5) This is also relevant when people start comparing clock speeds, etc. A machine with a slower cycle time can still be much more pleasant to use if it multitasks, because overall the user still spends more time working and less waiting around. -=- -- Jeff (martens@cis.ohio-state.edu) Boston art museum director when asked what it means that Cincinnati art director may face a jail term: "Don't take a job in Cincinnati."