Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!uw-beaver!mit-eddie!snorkelwacker!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!nsc!pyramid!jschultz From: jschultz@pyrtech.pyramid.com (J.W. Schultz) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: NOT (click to type) in NeXTStep? Message-ID: <133996@pyramid.pyramid.com> Date: 12 Nov 90 23:41:18 GMT Sender: daemon@pyramid.pyramid.com Reply-To: jschultz@pyrtech.pyramid.com (J.W. Schultz) Organization: Pyramid Technology Corp., Mountain View, CA Lines: 38 In article <2955@lectroid.sw.stratus.com> jmann@angmar.sw.stratus.com (Jim Mann) writes: >In article , >fox@allegra.att.com (David Fox) writes: >|>In a multi-tasking operating system there is no need to activate >|>and de-activate applications, only a need to be able to see which >|>application is currently receiving input. The requirement of click- >|>to-type is a vestige of non-multi-tasking operating systems like >|>MS-DOS and MacOS. Even the Amiga window system can be configured >|>so there is no need to click on applications to direct the input >|>stream to them. This is a very disturbing revelation for someone >|>like me who has been thinking of buying a NeXT machine. >|> >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. > > >Jim Mann >Stratus Computer >jim_mann@es.stratus.com Just to add my voice to the chaos; as one who is considering the NeXT box i find the lack of a configuration switch for keyboard focus somewhat disturbing. But to give my own preference: I perfer to click-on-focus rather than to merely place the pointer in the desired window. The reason for this is that I find having the mouse pointer in the active window distracting and that it sometime obscures the text that i need to see. This is one of the reasons I am using motif which allows me that _option_. J.W. jschultz@pyramid.pyramid.com