Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!munnari.oz.au!metro!macuni!sunc!ifarqhar From: ifarqhar@sunc.mqcc.mq.oz.au (Ian Farquhar) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Windows for Amiga?? Maybe!! Message-ID: <864@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz> Date: 10 Dec 90 23:33:31 GMT References: <1990Dec3.175951.3703@sbcs.sunysb.edu> Sender: news@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz Organization: Macquarie University, Sydney Lines: 29 In article <1990Dec3.175951.3703@sbcs.sunysb.edu> dtiberio@libws3.ic.sunysb.edu (David Tiberio) writes: >No one seems to have mentioned that BerkSoft has been working on GEOS for the >IB*. It is supposed to multitask, besides the fact that it looks beautiful. >Second, it is already on a variety of platforms (3 - Apple II, C64, C128). >Third, it is about 100K! Have you actually looked at the way GEOS runs, especially under the C64 (I doubt that the other versions vary). One: GEOS may appear to have windows, but it really doesn't. All GEOS does is provide graphical primatives (line draw, bit-blit) and a bitmap. It is the application's task to manage drawing something that looks like a window, but it is nothing more than a graphical box on the screen, with no overlaying or capability to resize or move without the application doing the work. GEOS *does* manage buttons, dialog boxes and menus, but the way in which it manages them is rather limited. The GEOS for the PC will have to be GEOS in name only. The current GEOS on 6502 machines is entirely unsuited for multitasking (in fact, thr 6502 is entirely unsuited for multitasking), so we can assume that major changes will have to be made. I wish Berkeley luck breaking the MicroSoft fetish so beloved by those people who feel the need to purchase an MS-DOS box, sad souls that they are :-) -- Ian Farquhar Phone : 61 2 805-9404 Office of Computing Services Fax : 61 2 805-7433 Macquarie University NSW 2109 Also : 61 2 805-7205 Australia EMail : ifarqhar@suna.mqcc.mq.oz.au