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From: gsm@gsm001.uucp (Geoffrey S. Mendelson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: IBM been goowy for along tyme
Message-ID: <1991Feb9.035631.15285@gsm001.uucp>
Date: 9 Feb 91 03:56:31 GMT
Organization: Geoffrey S. Mendelson -- Software Consulting
Lines: 54

There is a package for the IBM pc called Ventura Publisher.  It is marketed
by Xerox. Ventura has a "good" GUI interface.  As a desktop publisher,
it IMHO beats the pants of of both Quark Xpress, and Pagemaker.
It is now available for the Mac.  We should see some sparks fly soon.

Ventura release 1.1 runs on a PC/XT with 640K, a hercules card (resolution
very close to a Mac) in B&W, and about 5 meg of disk space. I have been
using r1.1 for almost 3 years.  I have never bothered to upgrade, as I can
do just about anything I need with it. And to top it off, it runs under
GEM, which has got to be the worlds worst GUI manager.


My point?  Good GUI's, good software, etc, are NOT HARDWARE DEPENDENT.
The Mac's system makes it easier to code one, as most of it comes in rom.
The AMIGA's GUI has some good points over the MAC, Next Step has some
good points over the MAC, WINDOWS has some (but not many) good points over
the MAC MVS (IBM Mainframe) has some good points over the MAC. If you look for
good points over the MAC you will find them everywhere.  

WHAT REALY MATTERS IS AVAILABLE APPLICATION SOFTWARE.

The MAC application software has a good point that no other system has:


     They all have a similar look and feel. Not only can't you get sued for 
     copying it, You are encoraged, if not forced, to use it.


This is worth far more than anyone gives it credit. Or maybe they do, that's
why they buy MACs. 

Anyone who has a substancial software investment in the Mac will not go out
and buy an IBM, or vice versa, or a NexT or an Amiaga.  Why? No-one wants to
through it all out and start over.  I have a PC, an AMIGA, a UNIX system and
a MAC.  I can show you stuff on the MAC the blows away the pc, stuff on the
pc that blows away the MAC, stuff on the amiga that will knock your socks off,
etc.  Who cares?  Each is a tool. I use each for what it can do best.  Is any
one better than the other? No.  

What it comes down to is which machine/software combination is the easiest
to use for the job at hand.  If I could only buy one machine what would I buy?


I don't know.  Probably an Amiga, with a MAC emulator, an ATARI ST emulator,
a PC emulator etc.......... Or to quote an earlier posting:

"Buy an IBM, buy an Amiga, buy a dishwasher......"   

I would rather have dishwasher than a computer.  
-- 
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