Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ames!vsi1!daver!genco!rad
From: rad@genco.bungi.com (Bob Daniel)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: Re: All about sys 7.0 <long>
Message-ID: <593@genco.bungi.com>
Date: 25 Mar 91 22:59:51 GMT
References: <1991Mar21.095051.29206@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>
Reply-To: rad@genco.bungi.com (Bob Daniel)
Organization: Gentry & Assoc. Excelsior Springs, MO
Lines: 43

In article <1991Mar21.095051.29206@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> horcel@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes:
>
>Q:  Where is the multitasking Macintosh Operating System?
>A:  The Macintosh operating system has been multitasking since the
>    introduction of MultiFinder.  Many applications take full advantage
>    of MultiFinder by allowing concurrent printing, recalculating
>    spreadsheets, sorting databases, and downloading files.

This makes me squirm a bit that Apple says MF is multitasking.  At best, MF
is multiapplication.  Try bringing up a dialog and watch all background
processes come to a hault.  Try pulling down a menu bar (even under Sys7)
and watch everything stop.  During a download, pull up a dialog from another
application and watch the download come to a hault and eventually cancel out.
While an application has a progress dialog up, try putting it in the 
background and pull up something else.

Alot of this has been improved in Sys7 with "semi-modal" dialogs but does Apple
really think the current MF is really Multitasking?  OK, so it's "cooperative-
multitasking", but is MF really all that cooperative?  Only if the developer
makes it friendly?  I don't think so, even if the developer uses modal dialogs,
he/she has no control of allowing background tasking to occur (without doing
some acrobatic tricks).  Even under Sys7, he/she would have to convert ALL
modal dialogs to "semi-modal" dialogs to allow background *tasks* to continue.
Then there is menus.  Even under Sys7, pulling down a menu will hault all
background tasks.  

I like MF alot and I like Sys7 a whole lot but it bothers me that Apple
would consider MF to be multitasking (even if you consider it to be, it 
isn't very cooperative).  Making a statement like that makes it appear 
that they don't need to improve the multitaskiness of the Mac.

Maybe it's just that I'm spoiled with UNIX, but that statement does make
me squirm.  I hope Sys8 will address the issues I've mentioned.  I feel
it should not be up to the developer to be responsible for the
"multitaskiness" and that it should be controlled from the operating
system.  Sys8 could compete with OS/2 and UNIX if it was capable of
preemptive multitasking.

I'd like to hear unflammable comments...

moof moof,
Bob Daniel
rad@genco.uucp