Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!agate!shelby!portia.stanford.edu!azure From: azure@portia.Stanford.EDU (Lai Heng Chua) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: NOT (click to type) in NeXTStep? Message-ID: <1990Nov9.031715.29059@portia.Stanford.EDU> Date: 9 Nov 90 03:17:15 GMT References: <2955@lectroid.sw.stratus.com> <314@heaven.woodside.ca.us> Organization: AIR, Stanford University Lines: 50 8 - Nov - 1990 I wonder whether all this hair splitting is going to any good. Why don't we just have the following, (I'm numbering them so people can make their case) CLH 1. Text views - clicking on them once do not bring the windows they are in to the front. But key input goes to the clicked text view. Double clicking on them will bring the window to the front. This interface feature is patented by yours truly, so those guys at NeXT might want to talk to me. CLH 2. Windows - burying a window should be easy. Alt-click on the menu bar should bury the window. We want to bury windows when we are temporarily done with them. Iconifying windows is also good but placing them at the bottom of the screen is not so hot. They should be placed behind the Dock with some pixels showing. The title may be made bottom up on the left so we can see the title of the iconified windows (this technique is also patented by yours truly). These should be layered nicely so we can have another couple of layers of them. CLH 3. Scroll bars - problem is clicking on them causes the window to come to the front AND the window to scroll to the position of the click. The first behavior is fine but the second behavior is not desirable. If we want the second behavior then we should not have the first behavior (as in the case of iconify and close buttons). I think there are other interface design improvements that can be made. How should things work on a multiscreen NeXT? Write me. Well, to the more important issues. The last thing that NeXT should do is to rest on its laurels or become arrogant. The market place is just too deadly nowadays. SPARC stations with 30 MIPS and 4 MFLOPS 3-D and 24 bit color will be contending with them. NeXT needs a strategy to put equivalent power at the same time and stay ahead in software innovation (which they have a lead on now) for the coming years. There is much more software innovation opportunities. But things will be for naught if NeXT doesn't seize its market opportunities quickly.... I don't see them doing that. -- Lai Heng Chua