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From: rap@rap.ardent.com (Rob Peck)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: WSJ, Amiga, System 7.0 (Was 7.0)
Message-ID: <6409@ardent.UUCP>
Date: 11 May 89 17:38:50 GMT
References: <17148@usc.edu> <17425@mimsy.UUCP>
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Reply-To: rap@rap.ardent.com (Rob Peck)
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Organization: Ardent Computer Corp., Sunnyvale, CA
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In article <17425@mimsy.UUCP> folta@tove.umd.edu.UUCP (Wayne Folta) writes:
>""update one another with fresh information automatically [a very "interesting"
>""way of defining multitasking]. System 7.0 will also allow that".
>""
>I believe they are talking not about multitaksing, but about "hot" or "smart"
>links.  They literally mean what they said, you update a spreadsheet, and
>it is updated in the page-layout document you placed it into last week;
>you modify, say in MS Word, a status report document, and its changes are
>automatically reflected on your boss's machine, in his/her department status
>document.  Amiga has no such thing, nor will it likely have it soon (an angry,
>former-Amiga-now-Mac owner's FLAME).


As a side note regarding the MS windows/ HP New Wave / A**le Hot Links
situation...

I was a consultant to HP almost 3 years ago when they were developing the
New Wave system (writing the Programmer's Guide To New Wave).  Considering
all of the publicity that HP has received about New Wave, it would appear
that the information about their own implementation of hot links must have
made it into A**le's hands...  I only hope that HP had protected its own
intelectual creation via appropriate patent applications because it would
then appear that if A**le wins out in the look/feel business against
Windows and New Wave's LOOK that HP would, in turn, have recourse against
A**le for utilizing the hot links idea that HP originated over 4 years ago.
(As I have not seen the document I wrote since I left the company, I am
assuming that it has progressed a great deal -- I thought it was just
the neatest idea that New Wave had applications that could communicate
current data between themselves as well as it they did...)

My original suspicion was that A**le saw the specs for New Wave and
may have thought "well, if we tie 'em up in court for a couple of years,
maybe we can have time enough to beat 'em to market with hot links
between applications."  Perhaps thats what has happened.  

Till now the biggest drawback to including a drawing or spreadsheet in 
a WP document has been "where the heck did I get those figures from" and
"but thats NOT the latest available info".  Now, with hot links,
clicking in the document's display frame brings up the originating
application, WITH the original data item for modification.  Any other
application that USES that data automatically becomes up to date the
next time it is printed or viewed.  A good idea, certainly, but I'm
pretty sure A**le did NOT think of it first.  Just as in Amy's case,
they did not think of multitasking first.  I guess good marketeers 
can make the public believe just about anything.

Rob Peck

P.S. ... Wayne is right about the mal/mis/un-use of the Clipboard
	 feature for our machine, tho., also in his original posting (sigh)