Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!munnari.oz.au!brolga!bunyip.cc.uq.oz.au!marlin.jcu.edu.au!glmwc From: glmwc@marlin.jcu.edu.au (Matt Crowd) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Subject: How to improve Workbench 2.0! Message-ID: <1991Jan27.105252.7019@marlin.jcu.edu.au> Date: 27 Jan 91 10:52:52 GMT Organization: James Cook University Lines: 123 Ok, after using workbench 2.0 for a while, a friend and I came up with some ways to make it easier to use. Some would probably have to wait for 3.0, but others are pretty simple. BTW, Be warned, this is long, and mainly aimed at making the system more user friendly. 1) Leaving out icons is too longwinded. You should just be able to move the icon out and snapshot it. 2) Quiting workbench. Why should you be able to quit workbench without running any programs? You are left in a totally useless position! 3) It should be easier to stop the drives clicking. Maybe a preferences setting. Remember people should not have to use the CLI for ANYTHING! 4) Clock gripes : - Xoper says it uses 10% CPU time. Much higher than other clocks around - Two pixels too large, so it can't be hidden in the window title bar, which makes scrolling very slow (try running your stuff on a base 2000 with a 4 colour prod screen!) - Clock should be able to appear in the workbench screen title bar. If PD hacks and Macs can do it, there is a demand for it. 5) Backdrop feature. Press Amiga-B. Click the gadgets to move your icons off screen. Press Amiga-B. Hey man, where did all the icons go? How do I get them back? This will confuse novice users, even if most people can work out the obvious solution. 6) DisplayBeep() Totally gross. Change it fast. There is already a PD hack to do what it should do on a fish disk... 7) View by Size -> DOESN'T tell you the SIZE of a file. You can't find out a file size except using CLI. 8) No keyboard macro for delete. It is used more than some of the others yet there is no macro for it. 9) Ram Disk icon should always appear. IMHO. 10) Can't create icons from Workbench for files which don't have them. How many new computer users are going to realize they can load IconEdit and stuff around. If they are trying to get the system to automatically "more" a text file and it doesn't have an icon.... 11) Display a different Disk Icon for a Non-Dos Disk. Make it appear unuseable or something. 12) "The Icon(s) have no default tool" - change this message to english. 13) Detecting files It is simple to detect IFF sound/pic files. This should be done, and if the file doesn't have an icon/default tool, then Double clicking should display/play the file. There should be different default icons for different tools/IFF files. 14) CLI history gripe - personal gripe shared by some other people who use CLI i know. Under 2.0 con: selecting a command using the arrows puts the command into the history buffer again. This makes it more painful to re-execute a series of commands. An option maybe? or do we just download the replacement on fish? 15) CLI - info should display bytes not blocks. I don't know or care how large a block is! I try and use the % to work out how much is used. 16) Setting up IconX is too hard. There should be an easier way to do it. 17) No kill command for processes. A multitasking system without kill is incredible. We know this is tied into the incredible lack of resource tracking.... but..... 18) Lamer assign program. Nobody wants to know about assign. At least it should be easier to add an assign to the system. Nice requesters/help options etc. 19) Moving files should change tooltypes. The Mac can handle this. Otherwise a user can move a file, then wonder why it doesn't work when they click on it. I have seen people do this. They then proceed to click 10 times on it.... 20) DiskDoctor -> doesn't format for you 21) Format a disk from workbench - no options (FFS etc.) - bootable option. How are people supposed to know about install? Read the rather technical parts of the manual? 22) Can't empty trash unless trash can lid open! Stupid. BTW, a bug i found with it. Stick a file in it which has protection bits set so you cannot delete it. The file should have no icon. Open the trash window and show all files. Empty trash. The default icon disappears, there is no error message.... but the file stays there! 23) File Search. There is a very big need for a file search program. It should be useable from WB as well. 24) No mention of gurus in manual for Amiga 2000 25) No mention of color errors in bootup. 26) The most major gripe is how easy it is to crash the system. Other systems are getting memory protection. AmigaDOS needs it. At least provide a way for new programs written today to use memory protection and leave the old ones unprotected. Eventually, in about two years, most programs people run will be protected and the old system can be phased out. That's about all we could think of. Well, what do you think? Colin Adams/Matt Crowd