Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!hc!pprg.unm.edu!unmvax!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!njin!princeton!phoenix!dykimber
From: dykimber@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Daniel Yaron Kimberg)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: replacing the desktop metaphor (Why any metaphor?)
Keywords: desktop metaphor, graphical interfaces, computing environments
Message-ID: <5133@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Date: 4 Jan 89 20:20:16 GMT
References: <850@mtfmi.att.com> <673@cogsci.ucsd.EDU> <1489@umbc3.UMD.EDU> <5057@garfield.MUN.EDU> <3193@sugar.uu.net> <5059@garfield.MUN.EDU> <910@quintus.UUCP>
Reply-To: dykimber@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Daniel Yaron Kimberg)
Organization: Princeton University, NJ
Lines: 23

In article <910@quintus.UUCP> pds@quintus.UUCP (Peter Schachte) writes:
>[ Aside:  I wish more Amiga types, especially DOGS, had some experience
>  with the Xerox lisp machines environment.  They really did a lot very
>  well....
>  The Amiga kernel is
>  far superior to the Xerox system is many ways, but their windowing
>  environment is hard to beat.  And if you want to see a REALLY good way
>  to handle multiple screens, take a look at their ROOMS system.  Drool,
>  drool.  And they still have the nicest Lisp code editor I've seen.]

Strong agreement here.  The Xerox Lisp environment, as a whole, is one of
the nicest environments I've worked in.  [don't ask me about the (&#$#$&*#($*&
other aspects of the machine]  I'm not crazy about the prompt window idea,
actually, but I don't mind it too much.  Bear in mind, though, that the amiga
screen is currently much smaller, and windows can't go off the edge, without
using something like vscreen.  A lot of the things that work real nicely
when you can see two big DEdit windows and your application window at the
same time would be impossible on the amiga's relatively cramped screen.  In
any case, if someone looked at the pop-up menus on the xerox and tried to make
sure the amiga had the same functionality, it would be a much easier machine
to use.

                                             -Dan