From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!utah-cs!lepreau
Newsgroups: net.works
Title: Re: Lisa Specs
Article-I.D.: utah-cs.1537
Posted: Fri Apr 22 13:08:52 1983
Received: Mon Apr 25 01:43:29 1983
References: sri-arpa.1014

I went to a Lisa sales demo the other day and my overriding impression
was that Lisa is a DOG!  Slow slow slow.   For example, took over 35
seconds to switch to a memo editor/icon and read in its file.

Unless the rep didn't know what he was doing, the software seems to have
some equally gaping holes.  You can't have two (or more) windows up and
"open" simultaneously!  Their visicalc clone can, but that's built into
it and not in the general display manager/editor/whatever.   Apparently
moving a chunk of text from one file to another is a major project, as
you first have to move it to an intermediate "clipboard," close the
first window, and get the other.  Each step taking interminably long, of
course.  They can't even handle rectangular regions, i.e., couldn't move
a column of numbers around.  The graphics editor seems pretty nice, tho.

I'm sure they can fix up the software with time, but they've got to do
some really major speedup too, presumably hardware.  I can't see the
oft-mentioned busy "executive" spending $10,000 just to WAIT for this
expensive toy.

-Jay Lepreau, lepreau@utah-cs, harpo!utah-cs!lepreau