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From: chucks@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Erik Funkenbusch)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: The Amiga's Future
Message-ID: <5116@orbit.cts.com>
Date: 11 Jun 91 17:45:01 GMT
Sender: news@orbit.cts.com
Organization: People-Net [pnet51], Minneapolis, MN.
Lines: 66

andy@cbmvax.commodore.com (Andy Finkel) writes:
>In article <1991Jun7.233654.24493@news.iastate.edu> taab5@isuvax.iastate.edu writes:
>>   It is very different.  The Amiga's clipboard was originally intended only
>>for transferring straight ASCII text between applications.  It was never 
>>intended to even be used to transfer graphics.  The clipboard on the Mac,
>
>
>Were you even aware from day 1 that only IFF code was allowed to
>be sent to the clipboard.device ?
>
>This would seem to imply the ability to transfer graphics.

Well, The Amiga could NEVER function appropriately if it DID have a Mac-Like
clipboard.  As i'm sure apple will soon find out, in a multi-tasking
environment, a single resource like the clipboard could far too easily get
trashed.  imagine this scenario.  I'm working in MS word.. and i cut some
text out to place it somewhere else.  oops, my boss just plopped a top
priority MacDraw project on my desk, so i switch to MacDraw (leaving MS word
exactly as it was) and work ... when i'm done i go back to Word and go to
paste what i had cut... oops.. i get jibberish in my document.. what happened
is that the clipboard was overwritten by my work in MacDraw.. this sort of
shared resource then becomes almost useless in a multi-tasking environment...
UNLESS you are very careful (something average computer users aren't).  The
amiga get's around this to some extent, but the problem still lies there. THIS
is ONE of the many reasons the clipboard isn't used much in the Amiga.  it's
just as easy to create a temporary unique file to do transfer between
applications.

>
>>however, is very sophisticated.  It transfers text and graphics flawlessly
>>between applications, and nearly all applications support the clipboard.

ONLY if the application supports that format.. try dumping a MacDraw Circle,
or some other Structured drawing item into a cheap word processor.  it won't
work.

>>
>>   So, even if all Amiga applications supported the clipboard (a very big
>>IF!), the Amiga's clipboard would still not compare at all to the clipboard 
>>on the Macintosh.  The MAC's clipboard is as far above the Amiga's 
>>clipboard as the Amiga's multitasking is above the MAC's multitasking.

As i said above... i think you will start seeing less and less use of the Mac
clipboard.  since system 7 is somewhat multi-tasking...

>>
>>   The Amiga's clipboard cannot be fixed, as it is too unsupported and
>>weak to be fixed.  The clipboard needs to be totally replaced by something
>
>In your position of not actually knowing anything about the Amiga
>clipboard.device, what allows you to make this statement ?
>
>Marc, you don't program the Amiga, you haven't read the manuals,
>and you don't take the time to understand.  Do you even still own
>your A500 ?

heh.. good one.. Marc needs a good dose of Attitude "Adjustment" heh..

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