connery@bnrmtv.UUCP (Glenn Connery) (01/21/86)
This is largely a rebuttal to a previous posting about Microsoft Windows which was so negative I just had to reply. If you read any of the trade press you already know that this guy is in the minority--in general TopView has been totally trashed by any and all reviewers (though of course nobody gives up hope...), and GEM is nice but limited. My personal opinion is that GEM is AWFUL, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. However, GEM Draw is a nice program--the only good reason to buy GEM. Windows has any number of advantages over GEM--multi-tasking support, EMS support, cut and paste support for existing programs, TopView-aware program support, a limited form of virtual memory (program swapping, segment swapping). Anyone using GEM for more than a few minutes will realize how paper-thin it is, while Windows sets a standard which will allow whole new kinds of applications to be written. The key question is why will anyone write Windows-Apps. They haven't written TopView Apps or GEM Apps. The reason is that Windows supports the new executable format which will be used in later versions of DOS. Again if you listen to the trade press you can see that Windows IS getting a certain amount of support from the ISVs (including possibly Lotus and Ashton-Tate). And if all you really want is a graphics program, In*A*Vision is very good, though rather expensive (rumor has it that MicroGraphx is working on a reduced-price consumer version). For now, there are a few reasons to use Windows. One, it has a nice COMMAND.COM replacement, making the beast a little easier to use for novices. Two, it supports real multi-tasking. If you have reason to want this, it does a good job. And finally it supports interworking of text and graphics, and comes with a bunch of nice programs that support this capability. If you want to integrate text and graphics in a simple fashion, this will do it for you. And honestly, anyone who thinks that $69.00 is a lot of money shouldn't have a PC in the first place. I feel I can recommend Windows to those of you who are not worried about spending this kind of money. This is the kind of program that you just have to work with for a while to see if it fits the way you do things. It sounds like DesqView is also a good program, and one that will work for those of you without graphics capability. Glenn