Xref: utzoo comp.sys.atari.st:6452 comp.sys.amiga:11759
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!mcvax!ukc!dcl-cs!bath63!pes
From: pes@ux63.bath.ac.uk (Smee)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st,comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Multi-tasking? A nightmare...
Message-ID: <2027@bath63.ux63.bath.ac.uk>
Date: 16 Dec 87 11:35:11 GMT
Reply-To: pes@ux63.bath.ac.uk (Smee)
Organization: AUCC c/o University of Bath
Lines: 43


Time for a bit of heresy, I thought.  I'm well aware of what multi-tasking
does and doesn't do for you.  I use it all the time on the mini's and
mainframes at work.  Nice.

But, I question its usefulness (and even desireability) on typical 'home
computers' in a 'home' environment -- and let's face it, that's where most
of the Amigas and Ataris sold end up.  What I am questioning is TRUE
multi-tasking.  I've got no argument with 'carousels' of suspended programs,
and no problem with resident background interrupt handlers, such as print
spoolers.

So, what's my problem?  Well, I think that the usenet bunch is unrepresentative
of your 'standard canonical' machine owner.  Most of the machines out there
are going to be basic one or two floppy systems (including mine -- I'll just
mention in passing, that with present pricing, the cheapest way for me to
get a hard disk, by far, would be to buy a clone of an IBM PC -- and, they'd
throw in the 'computer' free :-).

I have an image of telling my machine 'make fred', and then letting it get on
with it while I do a bit of word-processing, or whatever.  Only to be hit
milliseconds later with an alert box:

       BACKGROUND COMPILATION NEEDS LIBRARY DISK
       PLEASE INSERT LIBRARY DISK INTO DRIVE B

and, a second or two after I do that:

       FOREGROUND PROCESS NEEDS AUTO-SAVE DISK
       PLEASE INSERT DISK INTO DRIVE B

and so on, ad infinitum.  Doesn't feel profitable somehow, and definitely
full of space for making nasty mistakes in the disk swapping.

I can't think of *any* two tasks which I do on my home machine which
take enough time to make m/p profitable, and which could co-exist sensibly
with only two floppy drives.  I suspect (OPINION, MINE, MY VERY OWN) that
the same is true of the usage patterns of MOST home machines -- and, again,
I emphasize that I think this present group is unrepresentative, and very
much a minority.

(And, maybe I'll feel differently if I ever manage to save enough pennies
to buy a hard disk -- or, maybe even a couple of Meg of RAMDISK would do.)