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From: knauer@tiberius.cs.uiuc.edu (Rob Knauerhase)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: Wings  (was:Re: GS/OS Reording)
Message-ID: <1991Jan23.224738.17137@julius.cs.uiuc.edu>
Date: 23 Jan 91 22:47:38 GMT
References: <1991Jan23.070038.2177@ims.alaska.edu> <11434@darkstar.ucsc.edu>
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Reply-To: knauer@cs.uiuc.edu (Rob Knauerhase)
Organization: Univ. of Ill., Dept. of Computer Science, Systems Research Group
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In article <11434@darkstar.ucsc.edu> unknown@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (The Unknown User) writes:
>
>In article <1991Jan23.070038.2177@ims.alaska.edu> asslk@acad2.anc.alaska.edu writes:
>>Oh man, nothing personal, but get prosel 16!  For one thing, it beats the
>>tar out of that finder thing.  It has every utility that one could think of
>>and yes, it can reorder directories.  It will be the best $54 you spent
>>on utility software.  And, yes, I did say buy.  It is a product that deserves
>>to be supported.

Yup, very true.  Except you should buy it from Bredon himself both to
maximize the profit he gets and to be sure you're on the list for updates.

>	I think that for general file utilities, Wings "beats the tar out of"
>ProSEL 16!  There's no reorder directory command that I can remember (Oh
>wait, there's alphebetizing of directories, and maybe there's also moving
>files around directories)....

Bzzzzzt.  Wrong answer, but thanks for playing. :)  I'd look into the late-
-night 800-number ads for memory improvement courses. :)

    There is sorting by name, type, date, etc. as well as moving of
individual files.

> [Wings is] the best launcher/general file utility program I've seen though.

I can't comment on this since I haven't seen Wings yet.  But, does it allow
you to:
  launch files at fast or slow speed?
  launch files with a memory purge beforehand?
  launch files with/without it staying in memory (for speed/space tradeoffs)?
  pass startup strings to the apps you launch?
  use the mouse, arrow keys, or first letter of the name to move around?
...ad infinitum.

Other than the launcher, does it have:
  file utilities including the usual copy, delete, etc. plus undelete,
    format, wipe, move, dump, disassemble, etc.?
  a volume optimizer?
  an automatic "salvage what you can even though the disk is trashed"?
  a super-smart, fast volume backup?
  an appointment book/etc.?
  a fully programmable RPN claculator, programs save-able to disk?
  a find-file?
  a system-info?
  or the several other things I'm forgetting since I'm not at home? :)

And if Wings has any or all of these, are they kept on disk and brought
in as needed?  Can you configure any comination of them out of the executable
to save space on 3.5" disks?  Do they work in text mode OR a nifty (and FAST)
super-hi-res mode?

I could go on and on.  ProSel 16 is the closest thing to Norton Utilities
for the GS, except in many cases it's either faster or offers a superset of
NU's features.

>	The actual file copying/moving utility is almost as good as the 
>Finder except it for some reason does ONE FILE at a time, not as many
>as memory allows like the Finder does. (That's my biggest compliment to
>the Finder, that it does file copying faster than anything else)

Maybe you're thinking of cat.doctor, a utility that comes with ProSel 8 for
the //e (which you get with purchase of ProSel 16).  Once, the Finder was the
only program to use sessions, but very shortly thereafter ProSel began using
them, and now they're common fare.  In fact, I'd bet ProSel is faster since
it's coded in assembly and Bredon is an excellent programmer.

In short, I'll look at Wings this weekend, but I would bet money even before
seeing it that ProSel blows it away.  Of all the Apple II software I've
bought, it's far and away the best value.  (Well, I did get a lot of use
out of AppleWriter 1.0, so let's call it tied for best value. :)

Oh, and did I mention that Bredon constantly adds features, and upgrades are
available through mail or on-line with CI$ and GEnie, etc.?

Rob Knauerhase
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Robert C. Knauerhase        "Since the day the Apple III (RIP) was introduced
U of Ill @ Urbana-Champaign  in 1980, the 'experts' have been saying the Apple
Dept. of Computer Science    II is a dead machine.  If the Apple III couldn't
knauer@cs.uiuc.edu           kill it, the Lisa (RIP) or the PC Jr. (RIP) or the
rck@ces.cwru.edu             128K Mac (RIP) would.  Some people never learn."
knauer@scivax.lerc.nasa.gov                      -- Tom Weishaar