info-mac@utcsrgv.UUCP (info-mac) (07/08/84)
Date: Sat 7 Jul 84 11:40:33-PDT From: Tony Siegman <uw-beaver!SIEGMAN@SU-SIERRA.ARPA> Subject: : Fundamental Complaints Re Mac (Discurvive Flame) To: info-mac@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA I got lucky in Stanford's discount lottery, got an early Mac, and have been using it moderately heavily since then (and had access to a Lisa before that). The Mac is losing its initial glow, for several reasons: 1) Rigidity of its interface: I agree totally with Jerry Pournelle: Any computer to be used seriously must have a SUBMIT or ".CMD" or batch facility, so you can put it doing things and go away (or at least turn your attention away). (On a DEC-20, for example, if you know the system you can rattle off 6 unrelated commands from the keyboard, invoking 6 separate programs, and the system will store up all the keystrokes and process them in order). When the Mac repeatedly makes you wait 20 sec or longer, then give some trivial input, then wait again, those pauses are just long enough to slow you down and make you feel irritated, and not long enough to turn your attention to some other task, even if it's right in front of you. You mostly can't enter commands from the Mac keyboard, and when you can, the buffer isn't very big. 2) Limitations of the mouse: I've come to realize that the mouse is "insanely great" for certain things, like selecting cells in Multiplan for instance, or graphics of course; but for anyone who has typing skills it's lousy for sustained composition and word processing. Continually moving your hand from keyboard to mouse is very disruptive. Give me an all keyboard word processor -- and an all keyboard system for entering commands and responding to inquiries any time. 3) Lack of software: Not even an elementary assembler. (Hell, my TRS-80 Model 1 cassette machine had an assmbler). "Real soon now" has passed. You can get lots of promises, but when you've bought the hardware and the software isn't there yet, YOU'RE the hostage. 4) Inadequate documentation: I am getting very frustrated at being unable to find any clear description or picture of the conceptual structure of the Mac operating system and its software ... what's the Finder, what's the System, what's going on in all these disk swaps, what's stored where? I don't want to do any detailed programming, but I do want to have a basic understanding of the structure of the machine. For example, I've just gotten the updated System diskette, new Finder, etc. How much of this do I have to copy onto my older diskettes and backups, especially those for other non-Apple programs, and how do I do it? What's essential to change and what isn't? The documentation doesn't say, and I can't find a clear enough understanding of the logical structure of the system to figure it out for myself (which I have been able to do on a dozen previous computer systems, large and small). My affection for the TRS-80 Model 100 laptop that I sold to buy the Mac grew with increasing use; my affection for the Mac is shrinking. Almost wish I had the Model 100 back... -------
info-mac@utcsrgv.UUCP (info-mac) (07/11/84)
Date: 9 Jul 84 20:23:19 PDT From: uw-beaver!wert.pa@XEROX.ARPA Subject: Re: : Fundamental Complaints Re Mac (Discurvive Flame) In-Reply-To: "SIEGMAN@SU-SIERRA.ARPA's message of Sat, 7 Jul 84 11:40:33 PDT" To: Tony Siegman <SIEGMAN@SU-SIERRA.ARPA> Cc: info-mac@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA Quit flaming about the mac and go get your stupid model 100 back. You knew there wasn't any software when you bought it, and if you really thought that real soon meant next week, I have a bridge to sell you. You are your own hostage. Apple is not going to release any software before it is ready. For this you should be thankful. It takes time to build good software. Microsoft had stuff available, and released it too quickly, for as most people will tell you, their Macintosh basic is a dog. That is what comes when you rush. There was a marketting window for releasing the machine which apple had to make. They cannot stimulate software development with sales promises, only with sales. One will necessarily follow the other. I am willing, as are many other people, to buy a mac to let the developers know that I want software. I did just that. I am still waiting, and there is already software appearing that will please me. Using the mouse is a matter of ability and experience. There are many people out there who use a mouse as their sole means of moving the cursor. I have been working as a summer intern at xerox for about a month and a half, using a machine with a 3 button mouse. I edit mail, programs, and documentation, all using the mouse, and much prefer it to the obscure keyboard commands found in the likes of unix emacs, which is what I had to use before I got here. Why do you need documentation on the internals of the finder or the system? The machine is perfectly usable without it, unless you just have to know. You can carry this to the logical extreme and refuse to use the hardware without having the schematic and chip layouts in front of you. And don't forget that you don't know how the power supply or the display tube work, either. If you want documentation, spend $150 and get Inside Mac. It will tell you all, and more besides. But you don't really need it, unless you are writing in assembly... Which brings us to the whole point: The machine is a radical departure from the normal personal computer supplied today. The concepts required to use the machine to do useful work are radically different than before. Thus, It Will Take Time for software to appear, and it will only do that as the marketplace demands. Production almost never precedes demand. Be helpful, or be silent. I am tired of the empty complaining. I expect most people are, as well... scott