Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!gistdev!joe
From: joe@gistdev.gist.com (Joe Brownlee)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Some Human Interface (was: System Error = 03)
Message-ID: <886@gistdev.gist.com>
Date: 7 Feb 90 16:33:42 GMT
References: <1990Feb4.224159.26586@athena.mit.edu> <2820@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu>
Organization: Analysts International Corporation, Columbus, OH
Lines: 26

In article <2820@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu> cmm1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu
(Christopher M Mauritz) writes:
>What does this mean?  I keep getting System Error #03 and a crash [...]

For a machine that is based on friendliness and ease of use, the the error
handling capabilities of the Mac OS are dismal.  How many messages do we see
here asking for info on bomb IDs, file I/O errors, or Sad Mac codes?  Doesn't
that say something about this whole issue?  Wouldn't this be something that
could be improved relatively easily?

Note that I am _not_ flaming the people who post these questions -- they
shouldn't have to hunt all over for error code meanings.  All I ask is for a
simple text message that concisely explains the error.  Granted, text takes
space, be it on disk, in ROM, or in memory, but I experience enough crahses
that I would at least like to see a message in the bomb box.  And file I/O
errors like "Error #-39" should not make me reach for Inside Mac (which at
least _I_ own; many users do not, nor should they have to).

The Mac interface has many features which make it superior to others, but
when it comes to its error handling, I just don't think ID=03 is acceptable.

-- 
  .      _    Joe Brownlee, Analysts International Corp. @ AT&T Network Systems
 /_\  @ / `     471 E. Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215      (614) 224-6790
/   \ | \_,     joe@gistdev.gist.com      Who pays attention to what _I_ say?
             "Scotty, we need warp drive in 3 minutes or we're all dead!" - Kirk