Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!samsung!uunet!ingr!gentrys
From: gentrys@ingr.com (Scott Gentry)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: America Online
Summary: You're rithght
Message-ID: <8091@ingr.com>
Date: 22 Dec 89 18:11:01 GMT
References: <1989Dec9.170635.22759@cs.rochester.edu> <24891@cup.portal.com> <1330@key.COM>
Organization: Intergraph Corp. Huntsville, Al
Lines: 56

In article <1330@key.COM>, jsp@key.COM (James Preston) writes:
> In article <7991@ingr.com> gentrys@ingr.com (Scott Gentry) writes:
> }In article <1989Dec11.165834.7605@cs.rochester.edu>, fulk@cs.rochester.edu (Mark Fulk) writes:
> }> Once again, the AO people on this net have completely missed the point.
> }
> }Not all of us.
> }I'm happy to say that I know exactly what you're talking about and that I 
> }agree fully.  Caching the menu structure is a logical extension--up to a point.
> }You see, you stumbled upon that point in earlier posts... You will eventually
> }have to sign-on to update your lists.  What I and most of the Forum Leaders
> }would really like to see are the old (read those you've seen) items stored
> }locally.  This would allow you get only NEW items at login (you would still be
> }able to access old items through the old method).  However, downloading the 
> }entire structure of all menus/forums/areas is not practical.  
> }
> }Practicality... Things change daily, sometimes greatly.  Would you want to 
> }pay for the two or three hours it might take to update your lists?  If I read
> }you correctly, you want the entire system to be downloaded so you can 
> }navigate locally.  Think about those three hours.
> 
> I'm sorry to say, you don't quite know _exactly_ what he's talking about;
> close, but no cigar.  Who says that just because all of the lists are stored
> locally that you have to update _all_ of the lists all at once?  Is there some

Nobody. 

> inherent reason that the local and AOL-main software couldn't cooperate with
> each other so that a particular menu or list is only updated when it is used?

Nope.  But then I didn't design the software.  I just use it and generally
agree that things could be better, but the current software (Apple II side
excluded) has more potential than _any_ of the offerings from the competition.

NOTE: I exclude the Apple II side only because its America Online software
has not seen major changes since Apple departed.  I suspect that this will
change in the near future. I do not speak for Quantum in this matter, though.


Cacheing menus as you describe is very logical.  Hypothetical situation here...
What happens when a member goes into  forums new files area?  I have personally
released well over 200 files in one day.  Do you think it's practical to have
descriptions of files cached, or would limiting the cache to just to library
categories suffice?

Please note that a major change to the Macintosh entrance to Computing &
Software has just taken place.  This illustrates the flexibility that was 
incorporated into the  original design. 
 
> --James Preston


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