Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!samsung!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!dali.cs.montana.edu!milton!uw-beaver!Teknowledge.COM!unix!hplabs!well!jef From: jef@well.sf.ca.us (Jef Poskanzer) Newsgroups: comp.windows.x Subject: Re: X marks the suit Message-ID: <19434@well.sf.ca.us> Date: 6 Aug 90 22:38:00 GMT References: <1990Aug6.151316.2666@Solbourne.COM> Reply-To: Jef Poskanzer Organization: Paratheo-Anametamystikhood Of Eris Esoteric, Ada Lovelace Cabal Lines: 31 In the referenced message, toml@solbourne.com wrote: }For a description of swm and the Virtual Desktop, see the Summer 1990 }USENIX proceedings: "swm: An X Window Manager Shell" Indeed. A very nice description, thanks. Now, to muddy the waters a bit more... In 1984 I designed and implemented an "Overview" window for Versatec's "Expert" 2-D drafting program. The functionality was similar to swm's Virtual Desktop. Two significant differences: swm lets you move windows into and out of the "map" window; Overview let you do resizes as well as moves. The name was suggested by my boss, John Dawson, a PARC alum, so he was probably thinking of the Overview feature of Xerox Rooms as mentioned by Bill Janssen. Or maybe not - when did Xerox Rooms come out anyway? Maybe they got it from us. Or maybe everyone thought up all the different variations on their own, since they are fairly obvious. In the patent law sense of the word obvious. By the way, Versatec took at least the first steps towards patenting this feature, so someone there thought it was patentable. I didn't, but I was just the programmer so no one listened to me. --- Jef Jef Poskanzer jef@well.sf.ca.us {ucbvax, apple, hplabs}!well!jef Do not remove this line under penalty of law.