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From: lsr@Apple.COM (Larry Rosenstein)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Text file madness on the Mac.
Message-ID: <6035@internal.Apple.COM>
Date: 5 Jan 90 18:52:03 GMT
References: <2706@aecom.yu.edu>
Sender: usenet@Apple.COM
Organization: Objects-R-Us,  Apple Computer, Inc.
Lines: 44

In article <2706@aecom.yu.edu> werner@aecom.yu.edu (Craig Werner) writes:

>         This started when I mentioned the simple fact given a text file
> (say from a download) you can't display its contents at the level of the
> Desktop.
>         You can't.

You certainly can.

What's true is that on the Mac you have to run a separate program or DA to 
display a file, while on UNIX or MS-DOS you "only" have to type a command 
to the shell.

I could come up with specific things that are easier to do on the Mac, and 
it would be equally meaningless.  One doesn't base a whole user interface 
around specific actions like displaying a file.

> fact that fifteen people have found fifteen different ways to do
> something does not reflect favorably on machine that prides itself on a
> consistent user interface.

I think you misunderstand what a consistent user interface means.  

It doesn't mean that every user has to do things the same way.  Such an 
interface would be disasterous, because people don't do things in same 
way.  

Consistency means that different interactions still share common 
principles, which a user can easily learn and apply to new situations.

Even UNIX has its UI principles.  (A command line consists of the name of 
a command and parameters.  You can redirect I/O.  You can look things up 
in the on-line manual.)  

The Mac UI principles talk about metaphors, direct manipulation, user 
control, etc.  For most users, these principles are more helpful than the 
UNIX ones.  That's not surprising because UNIX was designed for 
programmers, so its principles are ones that best suit programmers.

Larry Rosenstein, Apple Computer, Inc.
Object Specialist

Internet: lsr@Apple.com   UUCP: {nsc, sun}!apple!lsr
AppleLink: Rosenstein1