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From: kentsu@microsoft.UUCP (Kent SULLIVAN)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Re: GEOS 3.0
Message-ID: <59658@microsoft.UUCP>
Date: 10 Dec 90 07:07:26 GMT
References: <1990Nov28.001414.10176@nntp-server.caltech.edu>
Reply-To: kentsu@microsoft.UUCP (Kent SULLIVAN)
Organization: Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA
Lines: 37

In article <1990Nov28.001414.10176@nntp-server.caltech.edu> rknop@iago.caltech.edu writes:
>BTW, I have seen some talk/questions/speculations regarding a "GEOS 3.0."  I
>would like to be put on record as having said that if Berkeley Softworks puts
>out another upgrade to GEOS worthy of the title "GEOS 3.0," I will personally
>eat my shirt, assuming I can get my jaw working again after it goes slack with
>surprise.
>
>-Rob Knop
>rknop@juliet.caltech.edu

Yeah, me too.  I am not particularly "in the know" about what Berkeley is doing
as regard the C-64/128 GEOS, but since they have spent all the time and money
developing GeoWorks for the PC, I would bet they don't do anything more for
the Commodore 8-bit machines.  Does anyone have hard facts to the contrary?

Also, has anyone gotten their hands on/seen a demo of GeoWorks yet?  I have
seen screen shots and capsule reviews of it in trade rags such as PC Week but
haven't actually played with it myself.

Note: biased opinion ahead :-)  It looks like Berkeley is going after the chunk
of the PC market which Microsoft has chosen to not go after with Windows 3.0:
the low-power 8086/8 XT-class machines.  Berkeley apparently wrote GeoWorks
entirely in 8086 assembly (Yikes!) to make it as small and fast as possible.

They have announced that they will release a developer's kit in C++ to 
"supplement" the one now available in assembly.  My personal opinion is that
no sane software engineer in the PC world is going to risk writing a major
application in assembly for a fledgling new windowing environment since
assembly is the least portable and most time-consuming language for any CPU
(and also especially given the popularity of Win 3...).  Which means that the
C++ kit will be critical to GeoWorks getting developer support.  Any comments?

Kent Sullivan
Microsoft Corporation

The opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not necessarily
reflect those of my employer.