Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!ucsd!ucbvax!ulysses!allegra!fox From: fox@allegra.att.com (David Fox) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: NOT (click to type) in NeXTStep? Message-ID: Date: 5 Nov 90 19:56:34 GMT References: <1990Oct28.165341.6949@cs.cmu.edu> <2955@lectroid.sw.stratus.com> Sender: netnews@ulysses.att.com Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 23 In-reply-to: jmann@angmar.sw.stratus.com's message of 5 Nov 90 14:52:48 GMT In article <2955@lectroid.sw.stratus.com> jmann@angmar.sw.stratus.com (Jim Mann) writes: In article , fox@allegra.att.com (David Fox) writes: |>... The requirement of click |>to-type is a vestige of non-multi-tasking operating systems like |>MS-DOS and MacOS... It is NOT just a vestige of non-multi-tasking systems. In saying this, you seem to be making the assumption that everyone would prefer the non-click-to-type method of activation. I disagree. I think most people, especially those NOT coming from a Sun environment, prefer the click-to-type scheme. Perhaps this is in part because it is what they are used to from Macs and PCs. One of the reasons I like my NeXT so much is that they DID build on reflexes many of us had developed from the micros we'd worked on: click to type, single click to select, double click to activate, drag over to select a region and so forth. I find Sun to be the odd machine out. The proper response to varying preferences is options. To provide the option of click-to-type is backward compatibility. To provide *only* click-to-type is a throwback. I'm glad the NeXT is compatible with your reflexes. For the sake of NeXT Inc. you should wish the same for the rest of us.