Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!linac!mp.cs.niu.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!m.cs.uiuc.edu!gillies
From: gillies@m.cs.uiuc.edu (Don Gillies)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: give me solid facts: why is the mac better than MeSsy DOS/WINDOWS
Message-ID: <1991Feb27.062238.5007@m.cs.uiuc.edu>
Date: 27 Feb 91 06:22:38 GMT
References: <91.056.16:01:18@ira.uka.de> <91057.162111CXT105@psuvm.psu.edu>
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL
Lines: 63

Note that the mac has a long list of standard functions and standardized
function keys that pretty much work the same in every application:

save - %s			(% represent apple's "clover" key)
open file - %o
close-window - %w
quit - %q
enlarge font - %>
shrink font - %<
underline - %u
bold text - %b
italic - %i
cut - %x
copy - %c
paste - %v
undo - %z
find - %f
replace - %h
delete - (delete key)
...


1.  These bindings are IDENTICAL in 99% of all applications where the
functions exist.  This speeds up the learning curve TREMENDOUSLY for
new software.  BUT - there's more.  Even if you have an application
that does not conform to these guidelines, you can generally edit the
application's key bindings, through ResEdit, TO MAKE IT CONFORM.
Thus, re-learning is almost NEVER necessary.  The menu names on the
mac are standard ("file" "edit" "patterns" "font"), and function keys
on the Mac are self-documenting (%x shows up alongside the "cut"
option in the "file" menu in EVERY application).

When you think about it, it makes no sense for different applications
to bind similar functions to different keys.  The binding is (more or
less) absolutely irrelevant, once you've learned the association (why
does the letter "a" look the way it does in the english alphabet?  Why
isn't "a" associated with the "s" sound, and vice-versa?  There's no
particular reason).

2.  There is a set of standard icons for entering drawing and painting
modes that work in identical ways across most applications.  There is
a rich set of standard painting patterns and shadings available in all
applications.  Because of Quickdraw, all non-postscript pictures are
interchangeable and rendered in the same consistent style.

3.  There is a "standard file dialogue" for users to specify a file to
open/save/update from within an application.  It allows you to browse
all the directories available on the machine if you can't remember or
find a name, and does fast filename-completion in most situations.
100% of macintosh applications make use of this standard file
dialogue.

These three innovations account for 50% of the reason why people say
the mac is easy to use.


Don Gillies	     |  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
gillies@cs.uiuc.edu  |  Digital Computer Lab, 1304 W. Springfield, Urbana IL
---------------------+------------------------------------------------------
"UGH!  WAR! ... What is it GOOD FOR?  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!"  
	- the song "WAR" by Edwin Starr, circa 1971

--