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From: wcs@skep2.ATT.COM (Bill.Stewart.[ho95c])
Newsgroups: comp.windows.misc,comp.sys.next,comp.sys.mac,comp.cog-eng,comp.sys.amiga,comp.editors
Subject: Re: replacing the desktop metaphor (Why any metaphor?)
Keywords: desktop metaphor, graphical interfaces, computing environments
Message-ID: <390@skep2.ATT.COM>
Date: 4 Jan 89 21:01:36 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs Center 4632, Holmdel NJ
Lines: 44


Peter da Silva writes:
> Just being a troublemaker...
> What object on the desktop are pull-down menus a metaphor for?

Getting the manual down off the shelf ....

I use vi instead of emacs because I learned it first and my
fingers know how to do things most emacs-users can't do
without keeping the manual around*.  But I'd rather use a Macintosh,
since I seldom have to remember anything; I can just do the
obvious and it works.  (It's especially critical since the places I use
Macs don't tend to have the manuals handy.)  I'd rather have
pop-up menus and multi-button mouse, but the Mac is close enough.

Most of the Mac-haters I know are touch-typists who don't
like moving their hands off the keyboard - the head-mouse
may be able to let them get the best of both worlds.
When I'm using the Mac for a while, I tend to do most of my
work by keystrokes, but pull-downs are still there when I need a crutch.
Wish the implementation was better and there were more keys .....

The Mac desktop isn't really enough for me - I've  gotten
spoiled by large multi-window screens with multi-tasking.
On the other hand, multiple fonts and more-or-less WYSIWYG
are such a win over 24x80 monospace that I'll happily
tolerate it as long as I'm using it as a writing/design tool
rather than a programming environment.  

---
* I'm not trying to restart Editor Wars here - this is just
  a response to the people who say menus and pull-downs are
  for people with small brains who won't read the manual.
  I'm happy to use systems that usually do what I want, so I
  can use the mental effort on the problems I'm trying to
  solve, or on the more obscure parts of the work, rather
  than wasting my time getting the typesetting to look decent.

			Bill
-- 
#				Thanks;
# Bill Stewart, AT&T Bell Labs 2G218 Holmdel NJ 201-949-0705 ho95c.att.com!wcs
#
#	News.  Don't talk to me about News.