Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!think!ames!killer!tness7!tness1!nuchat!sugar!ficc!peter
From: peter@ficc.UUCP (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.misc
Subject: Re: Hebrew Word Processor
Message-ID: <1143@ficc.UUCP>
Date: 25 Jul 88 13:40:53 GMT
References: <8807200951.AA25406@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> <12316@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> <25172@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Organization: SCADA
Lines: 41

If you want a Hebrew word processor, you probably need a Mac. If you're
a computer novice and can afford one, you probably need a Mac. It's not
politically correct to support Apple, but the machine is great for
computer illiterates for all that it's hell on programmers. However:

In article ... oster@dewey.soe.berkeley.edu (David Phillip Oster) writes:
> One printer driver allows all your application programs to
> use that printer.  (Other machines require that _each_ application know
> how to use the new printer.)

This is not entirely true. The Amiga has always supported a wide variety
of printers by means of system calls that use loadable drivers, so there's
at least one system out there that lets all your programs use one printer
without configuring each. I also believe that Microsoft Windows (and hence
HP's New Wave and IBM's Presentation Manager) also supports this.

> The operating system also provides switching from application program to
> application program in well under 1/4 second.

However, the operating system also requires an extremely large amount of
memory to support this... I have been told that 2 megabytes is pretty much
the minimum if you want to run multiple major applications. Apple is not
alone in this: I understand that OS/2 won't even run in less than 2 Meg.

The Amiga is inherently multitasking, so you can do the same thing with
a lot less memory.

All three environments (Multifinder, Windows, and the Amiga's... Intuition)
allow you to cut and paste text and pictures between applications, though I
do think the Mac's setup is the most versatile.

> It is also easier to learn, use, and maintain than other systems.

The learning curve for the Mac is extremely shallow... for users. Programmers
have a much harder road to hoe, since they have to do operating system type
things like handling timeslicing themselves. Here's hoping that AUX will
solve the problem by combining the Mac's toolkit and managers with a real
operating system.
-- 
Peter da Silva  `-_-'  Ferranti International Controls Corporation.
"Have you hugged  U  your wolf today?" (uunet,tness1)!sugar!ficc!peter.