Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!bridge2!ngg
From: ngg@bridge2.ESD.3Com.COM (Norman Goodger)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Something else you can't do on the Mac
Message-ID: <1187@bridge2.ESD.3Com.COM>
Date: 4 Jan 90 19:47:39 GMT
References: <1284@marlin.NOSC.MIL> <970@v7fs1.UUCP> <129727@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> <2702@aecom.yu.edu>
Organization: 3Com Corp., Mt. View, CA
Lines: 64

In article <2702@aecom.yu.edu> werner@aecom.yu.edu (Craig Werner) writes:
>	I do this a lot.
>	Download a text file.  Now try to display it. On a PC, use type.
>On a Mac, you can't. 
>	A downloaded text file has no associated application.  If you
>double click it, it gives you an error message.
>	Now you can see the file.  In Multi-finder this is especially
>trivial.  You keep a copy of your favorite word processor around, in
>background, and:
>	1. Switch to the word-processor.
>	2. Go to the file menu, choose open
>	3. Select the file. (Now at this point, you have to remember what
>it was actually called, not just where it was on the desktop.)
>	4. You're there, that is in most cases.  I find that a lot of
>text files are tabbed, and our word processor's default is Times-Roman,
>so:
>	4a. Select the entire text
>	5. Go to the font menu, and select Courier.  This usually causes
>wrapping of some sort, so
>	5a. Lower the point size.
>	6. Now, you're there.
>	(This can be partially made into a macro, but the font/ps 
>conversion step in much slower within the macro, than outside. 
>I don't know why.)
>	Yet another reason to hate the Mac.
>
Per usual the Mac Hater instead of looking for the simple solution
to the problem merely flames the Mac without even thinking that there
is probably an easier way. Which of course there is.

Most good terminal programs allow you to select the file creator
for downloaded text files, which would allows you to merely double-click
the file into your favorite word processor. (which in this case there
probably isn't a favorite) Course if you use some cheapy terminal, you
will always get a default file type and creator of TEXT/MACA, which means
that you need MacWrite to open the text file directly. 

And yes once you get into the Word Processor, the text will not be formatted
all that great depending on font and size. Select all and selecting an
apropriate font and size can't be all that painful. 

The PC's type command just spews forth text at a good rate of speed, and
usually without stopping short of ^S & ^Q, and in whatever formatting, good
or bad that the file was received in. Is this a reason to hate the PC??

While no amount of feedback is going to change Craig's mind, his attitude
prevents any amount of that from making his use of the mac anything but
a painful experience. Which is to bad....I don't care for DOS, or PC's
but at least I can see where there are some situations where one might
prefer the other. Its just that I've never found one...







fodder for news...

-- 
Norm Goodger				SysOp - MacInfo BBS @415-795-8862
3Com Corp.				Co-SysOp FreeSoft RT - GEnie.
Enterprise Systems Division             (I disclaim anything and everything)
UUCP: {3comvax,auspex,sun}!bridge2!ngg  Internet: ngg@bridge2.ESD.3Com.COM