Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!wuarchive!uunet!mdisea!jackb
From: jackb@MDI.COM (Jack Brindle)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: Re: Tell me:  what was System 1.0 like?
Message-ID: <1991May10.171628.19512@MDI.COM>
Date: 10 May 91 17:16:28 GMT
References: <13942@ur-cc.UUCP> <1515@h.cs.wvu.wvnet.edu>
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In article <1515@h.cs.wvu.wvnet.edu> hooverb@h.cs.wvu.wvnet.edu (Bruce Hoover) writes:
>Of course HFS was a real treat after the original system where folders
>were purely cosmetic. Whenever an open box etc. came up, every file on
>the entire device was listed. It also meant that you could not have two
>files by the same name in different folders. (That is why you still see
>some folders with the option f character after the name of the folder.
>This way you could name the folder "AppX f" and the application inside
>could be named AppX.

Remember the little dot between the lines at the top left of the Finder
windows that told us this was an HFS disk/folder? Anyone else notice the
dot is missing from System 7 Finder windows?

>At first we only had MacPaint and MacWrite and the windows (especially
>MacPaint) wouldn't resize. It also seems that the disk icons, etc would

Don't forget Microsoft Basic and Multiplan. There were lots of small utilities
written with Basic, like Dennis Brothers MacTep terminal program. As a side
note, Microsoft forgot to put identifiers on their registration cards for
the two programs. So, when you sent it in, they knew you bought SOMETHING
for the Mac, but not what. It was quite simple to switch to the other
product, and receive the next upgrade (which actually was FREE!).

>Another feature  was the fact that if you launched an application from a
>desk with a system folder, then that disk became your new start-up disk.
>I also remember when the 512k first arrived (we called them "Fat Macs').
>We all wondered why it still took about 20 million disk swaps to copy a
>400k disk, with all that 'extra' ram. A serious case of Mac Elbow...

Remember the four-swap copy that used screen memory to hold disk data? This
was a tremendous relief for the swap-weary. It went away when the 512K Macs
came out. Oh the reason for all the swaps? The Mac came out in late January,
and the external drive in May/June. Most of us got our drives about August
or so. That, of course, meant copying disk using only ONE drive.

One other note - I note in the notes for the latest MPW from the ETO disk that
the libraries no longer support the old 64K ROMs. I guess both people left
running original 128K Macs will finally need to upgrade! :-).

Jack Brindle
ham radio: wa4fib/7