Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!purdue!decwrl!claris!krazy
From: krazy@claris.com (Jeff Erickson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Life After Death of MacPaint
Message-ID: <9958@claris.com>
Date: 24 Apr 89 06:52:36 GMT
References: <23492@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Organization: Claris Corporation, Santa Clara CA
Lines: 42

From 128a-3db@e260-3b.berkeley.edu (Jonathan Dubman):
>mithomas@bsu-cs.bsu.edu (Michael Thomas Niehaus) writes:
>>According to the May issue of MacUser, MacPaint is in its last version.
>>MacPaint's features are to be included in the next version of MacDraw, which
>>should be announced later this year.  Yogen Dalal, Claris' vice president of
>>product development, is the person credited with making this statement.
>>I can see Bill Atkinson cringing at the death of his child...
>
> GOOD NEWS:  MacPaint isn't dead, it's just taking on a new form.
> BAD NEWS:   Swiss-Army-Knife software that tries to be all things to all
>             people is often hard to use and confusing for the beginner.
>             MacPaint 2.0 is harder for little kids to use than the original
>             version.  The original, elegant MacPaint is, in a sense,
>             already dead.
> FIX:        All complicated applications should have a "beginner mode" with
>             fewer accessible features.  We've already seen this in some
>             applications.
> PREDICTION: Claris is smart.  They'll do something like this.
>             (Have they already?)

Your suggestion has some merit, but in all honesty, I don't expect it to 
happen.  We try our best to make our applications easy to use as every level.
I'm going to be sorely pissed if this version of MacDraw appears and the
little kids can't understand it.  I'm also going to be sorely pissed if I
have to CONFIGURE it to be that easy.

For a look at what Yogen's talking about, take a look at the graphics module
of AppleWorks GS.  It's both a paint program and a draw program.  At the
same time, not in separate layers, not with bitmap "objects".  The integration
isn't seamless, but it closer than any program on the Mac.  It's also a 
first attempt at a program of its kind.

[Of course, I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of any future Claris
products.  And since I didn't hear Yogen say anything, I can't tell you what
exactly he said.  (Of course, I could go ask him.  His office is about 50
feet from here....)  I know nawtink!!]

-- 
Jeff Erickson       Claris Corporation  | Birdie, birdie, in the sky,
408/987-7309      Applelink: Erickson4  |   Why'd you do that in my eye?
krazy@claris.com     ames!claris!krazy  | I won't fret, and I won't cry.
       "I'm a heppy, heppy ket!"        |   I'm just glad that cows don't fly.