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From: barmar@think.com (Barry Margolin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: Re: Apple Read This: Another Suggestion
Message-ID: <1991Feb28.223425.24837@Think.COM>
Date: 28 Feb 91 22:34:25 GMT
References: <510@lysator.liu.se> <1991Feb26.141353.13049@ncsu.edu> <1991Feb28.152349.29472@Informatik.TU-Muenchen.DE>
Sender: news@Think.COM
Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA
Lines: 21


The Symbolics MacIvory software had an interesting solution to the problem
of application windows covering desktop icons.  MacIvory is a Lisp Machine
coprocessor, and it uses a user interface applicaton that puts up a window
that represents the normal Lisp Machine console.  By default they make this
window as large as possible.  However, the application detects switch-out
events, and automatically clears away a vertical strip along the right
side, where the disk and trashcan icons normally sit.  It doesn't help if
you have so many disks that they overflow to the next column, or if you
like to move these icons, but it works in the common case.

Another suggestion that I've heard many times is that the desktop icons
should actually be in a window.  I think the user interface guidelines say
that everything should be in a window (except windows), so the Finder is
violating these guidelines by allowing objects on the desktop.

--
Barry Margolin, Thinking Machines Corp.

barmar@think.com
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