Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!steinmetz!nuke!oconnor
From: oconnor@nuke.steinmetz (Dennis M. O'Connor)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Amiga is NOT a multi-tasking computer system !!
Keywords: computer chronicles
Message-ID: <11974@steinmetz.ge.com>
Date: 25 Aug 88 03:19:48 GMT
References: <120@tityus.UUCP>
Sender: news@steinmetz.ge.com
Reply-To: oconnor%sungod@steinmetz.UUCP
Organization: GE Corporate R&D Center
Lines: 42

An article by wayneck@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM (Wayne Knapp) says:
] ... most people don't use multitasking that much.

Most people don't use computers that much. Most of China, for example.
( They don't have the opportunity.) So are computers without value ?

] For the most part 99.99% of the things that people use multitasking
] for can be handled by desk accessories, which in fact is
] a type (albeit, limited) of multitasking. 

This is not true. Probably the most popular use of "multitasking"
is multi-user machines. VERY COMMON, yes ? I myself am ( at the time
of this posting ) logged onto my VAX 3 times. I edit in one
session, debug in another, monitor the system in a third.

( Of course, all three logins are from windows on my Sun3, which
  I'm currently also reading news on ( excuse, the VAX wants input ...
  I'm back ). I've got 7 windows up now, each a separate process.
  And I'm running a CPU monitor, a WYSIWYG editor and a mail
  monitor as background tasks. Do that with desk accessories! )

On my Amiga, the BENCHMARK Modula-2 system I use runs programs
under development in a seperate task. This is VERY convenient
for when a bug in the program clobbers the task : I just mouse
back to the editor and fix it, no problem. Do that with desk
accessories !

]                              Wayne Knapp

Wayne, if you think the MAC is some kinda great leap, you
are a naive coputer-person. Ever worked on a Symbolics LispMachine ?
Now THERE'S an advanced machine ! MAC-II's are DREK compared to them.
And they only cost, I think, $40K for a low-end model ?
Cheap at the price, if you're programmer enough to use it ! :-)

It's amazing to me when these PC-people claim some feature
is "great" or "not used" or whatever. These people seem to
never heard of the work done at Xerox, Symbolics or any of
a host of places. Get an education, people.
--
 Dennis O'Connor   oconnor%sungod@steinmetz.UUCP  ARPA: OCONNORDM@ge-crd.arpa
    "Never confuse USENET with something that matters, like PIZZA."