Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!news.cs.indiana.edu!nstn.ns.ca!cs.dal.ca!ug.cs.dal.ca!dewolfe From: dewolfe@ug.cs.dal.ca (Anarchy for Peace) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Subject: Re: Apple's claim on GUI techniques Message-ID: <1991Mar20.064138.4645@cs.dal.ca> Date: 20 Mar 91 06:41:38 GMT References: <1991Mar19.204622.4797@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> <9HZ-_4+@irie.ais.org> Sender: news@cs.dal.ca (USENET News) Organization: Math, Stats & CS, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada Lines: 110 Nntp-Posting-Host: ug.cs.dal.ca In article <9HZ-_4+@irie.ais.org> jph@ais.org (Joseph Hillenburg) writes: >In article <1991Mar19.204622.4797@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> rjc@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Ray Cromwell) writes: >>I saw this in comp.sys.mac.system: >> >>------included text---- >>In article <4323@gmdzi.gmd.de>, strobl@gmdzi (Wolfgang Strobl) writes: >>>doner@henri.ucsb.edu (John Doner) writes: >>> >>>>As for Windows, the original version, the one current when the Apple >>>>lawsuit was filed, was no more than a slavish copy. >>> >>>As far as I know, the Apple lawsuit wasn't filed against the original >>>version. Anyway, I would like to hear some arguments why you think that >>>Windows (either version) is a "slavish copy", in your opinion. >> >>Well, I don't know about "slavish copy," but here's the list of >>interface items still under contention (from MacWeek). I leave it to >>each of you to judge the merits of them: >> > >>1. Overlapping windows. > >*smirk* A Sun idea... > >>2. Windows appearing partly on and off screen. > >This isn't really something that is important, but still shouldn't be worth >fighting over. > >>3. Windows brought to top when selected. > >Another Sun idea > >>4. Active top window. > >Yet another Sun idea... > >>5. Gray outline of windows dragged along with cursor. > >How does Apple expect us to see what we're dragging? A trivial get-around for >Commodore would be to make it so the entire window moved with the mouse. (which >wouldn't be difficult on an Amiga; NeXT did it, so I don't see any reason why >the Amiga can't...) > >>6. Window redrawn in new position. > >Yet another idea which would make the GUI useless... > >>7. Newly exposed areas on screen displayed after window is moved. > >Sheesh...what a bunch of morons...and the area is supposed to be *left blank*? > >>8. Movable icons. > >Sun idea... > >>9. Icons displayed behind open windows. > >Sun idea... > >>10. Icon titles. > >And we're supposed to use the images to determine what it's for? Sure, some >images are obvious, but this is a GUI must. > >IMO, Apple is hypocrites. The real innovators are C=, NeXT, Sun, and XEROX. > >I don't think Apple will ever sue NeXT and Sun since they're workstation >manufacturers, and they'll never seriously endanger the Mac's market. However, >Commodore may be sued, I'm afraid. > I can't really see this happening for a number of reasons... A) Commodore (whether we like it or not) is not that much competition for Apple. B) Quote from an old issue old BYTE (some time last year, about GUI's) "Intuition is quite arguably the father of Multifinder" I'm sure Ape Pull would get the looky feelies about the other stuff, but I could see Commodore counter-sueing and Apple losing Multifinder. I can see it now, Commodore claiming "Multiple Programs on same display" and raising a major shit storm with Xerox, SGI and SUN. :-) C) (the grey outline thing) Commodore can get around this because theirs is complemented colours. D) As for 5,6,7 I don't see how Apple can claim this as it's the application's headache (under ToolBox) to do all this. The GUI manager does none of this for you, whereas every other window server (Intuition for example, and SGI NeWS) does this for you and tells you about it. Anyway, that's what I think. >>-- >>/~\_______________________________________________________________________/~\ >>|n| rjc@albert.ai.mit.edu Amiga, the computer for the creative mind. |n| >>|~| .-. .-. |~| >>|_|________________________________| |_| |________________________________|_| > > >-- > // Joseph Hillenburg/Blackwinter, Secretary, Bloomington Amiga Users Group > \X/ jph@valnet.UUCP jph@irie.ais.org jph@wookumz.ai.mit.edu > "Project: Desert Storm is also known as ``The Mother of All Ass-Kickings.''" -- Colin DeWolfe dewolfe@ug.cs.dal.ca