Xref: utzoo comp.sys.atari.st:6605 comp.sys.amiga:12084
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!m2c!ulowell!page
From: page@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu (Bob Page)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st,comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Multi-tasking?
Message-ID: <2286@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu>
Date: 24 Dec 87 16:13:48 GMT
Reply-To: page@swan.ulowell.edu (Bob Page)
Organization: University of Lowell, Computer Science Dept.
Lines: 22
Summary: And color isn't useful either.  Neither is a mouse.

Most PEOPLE don't multitask on a computer, they task-switch.

HOWEVER!  Having multitasking available allows one to write (and use)
programs that multitask internally - sending messages back and forth
to each other, processing things concurrently rather than serially.
Many nice programs on multi-tasking machines just aren't possible on
any single-tasking machine because they INTERNALLY take advantage of
the machine's ability to multi-task and message-pass.  Examples on
request, by E-mail.

As a user, MultiFinder is all I want, in most cases.  But now that I
know what's possible for a -program- (not -human-) to do with a
multi-tasking machine, I wouldn't want to use a task-switching machine.

A few years from now we'll be arguing about something else, since
everything will multi-task or parallel-process anyway.

..Bob
-- 
Bob Page, U of Lowell CS Dept.  page@ulowell.edu  ulowell!page
"I've never liked reality all that much, but I haven't found a
better solution."		--Dave Haynie, Commodore-Amiga