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From: gus@Shasta.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.micro,net.micro.amiga,net.micro.atari,net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: User Interface Consistency
Message-ID: <861@Shasta.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 7-Oct-85 02:38:39 EDT
Article-I.D.: Shasta.861
Posted: Mon Oct  7 02:38:39 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 9-Oct-85 03:27:09 EDT
References: <2077@amdahl.UUCP>
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Organization: Stanford University
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Xref: linus net.micro:11035 net.micro.amiga:4199 net.micro.atari:1213 net.micro.mac:2844

> There has been a fair amount of discussion about the relative merits
> of the Amiga, ST520, and the Mac.  However, little of it has covered
> what I consider to be a fundmental issue - user interface consistency.
> ...

I couldn't agree with you more. In fact the current 520ST master disk 
already breaks with its user interface on at least two counts. The first
involves a VT52 emulator DA. Launching this DA blanks the screen and devotes
the entire machine's attention to the terminal, which looks little better
than any simple terminal program for an Apple II. Ironically, the RS232
setup program (another DA) does give a fairly resonable dialog.

Getting back to the VT52 DA, the first thing this thing does is bring up
a menu which looks something like...

1) HELP - RE232 setup
2) UNDO - Quit.

well, I tried typing 1, 2, pf1, and pf2. with no obvious effect. That is when
I noticed that the machine did have HELP and UNDO keys. So much for mnemonic
key names. Also the numbered menu items really threw me for a spin.

On one of the menus on the GEM desktop were two items - view file, and print
file. Since there was no printer on the machine, I tried the view file on
one of the random files on the master disk. The screen blanked again and I
got a weird hex dump. Well, I admitt I use FEDIT fairly regularly, but I
certainly wouldn't put it in everyone's finder! I don't this thing let you
EDIT the hex file, but this is just not stuff for non-programmers (ST buyers)
should want to see. The Mac has an elaborate print file from finder system
which basically launches the application that created the document with a
special print directive. This is really the only logical solution to what DRI 
decided to provide a 'cheap' alternative that just doesn't work.

					So much for first impressions!
					Gus Fernandez