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From: mouse@lightning.mcrcim.mcgill.EDU
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Macintosh vs. X windows
Message-ID: <9101290635.AA15587@lightning.McRCIM.McGill.EDU>
Date: 29 Jan 91 06:35:38 GMT
Sender: daemon@athena.mit.edu (Mr Background)
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 41

> Well, I'm neither in the X nor Mac mainstream, but I've done a bit of
> programming in both.

If you'll let me play devil's-advocate with your comments on both
systems for a moment....

> In my perspective, the key advantage of X is that it allows you to
> decouple the display engine from the compute engine.

This can also be a disadvantage; for example, SunView can blit a client
image onto the screen a lot faster than X (modulo MIT-SHM).  I feel
sure a Mac can do it fast too, though I haven't tried it.

> just like putting up an NFS server let's you ge a lot more leverage
> out of your disk investment.

And in both cases, you pay a (sometimes, but by no means always,
significant) speed penalty.

> Also in my perspective, the key advantage of the Mac windowing system
> is that the look-and-feel is superb.

De gustibus.  I find it intolerable.  Yet others can take it or leave
it; I know at least two persons who can use either Macs or X machines
with approximately equal apparent ease.

> Now, finally in my opinion, the best of all worlds would be to get
> someone to [write] a Mac emulator or something for X.  However, given
> the legal posturing of the industry these days, I'm sure that this
> would result in many billable hours being racked up.

Perhaps one of our colleagues in Europe (where they aren't so
lawsuit-happy) will do it.  There are a lot of good hackers over there
where they don't believe in stupid legal inanities the way they do over
here.  (Yes, I include Canada.  Not yet as bad as the USA, it's true,
but getting there.)

					der Mouse

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