Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!dimacs.rutgers.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!udel!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!o.gp.cs.cmu.edu!andrew.cmu.edu!ea08+ From: ea08+@andrew.cmu.edu (Eric A. Anderson) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: NOT (click to type) in NeXTStep? Message-ID: Date: 6 Nov 90 15:02:12 GMT References: <1990Oct28.165341.6949@cs.cmu.edu> <8516@darkstar.ucsc.edu> , Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA Lines: 38 In-Reply-To: Excerpts from netnews.comp.sys.next: 5-Nov-90 Re: NOT (click to type) in .. Mike Dixon@parc.xerox.co (896) > activating applications on the next isn't done for the OS's benefit > (of *course* it doesn't care). it's done for the user's benefit; the > activated application brings up its menus and auxilliary windows. > to get rid of the notion of activating an application you'd have to > have every application leave all its menus and auxilliary windows up > all the time. the next interface designers decided this made it > *harder* to manage multiple applications, not easier. if you're going > to argue with them, at least argue about the real issues. > -- > .mike. Not true, applications would just have to be written differently. Instead of having the menus in the upper left hand corner or wherever you have them, they could be attached to the top of each window. This is the solution taken by many X applications. Alternately you can have the menus pop up with a key held down ala xterm. I personally prefer this strategy, I like my menus to be close to the window I'm working in and having them right below the title bar or something like that is very convinient. I do agree though that it could look somewhat chaotic if as you moved across windows they had to activate and deactivate their menus. Perhaps they should build that in as an option -- menus across the top of windows and focus follows pointer. I don't think it can every be said that having more options ever hurt an Operating System. -Eric ********************************************************* "My life is full of additional complications spinning around until it makes my head snap off." -Unc. Known. "You are very smart, now shut up." -In "The Princess Bride" *********************************************************