rico@oscvax.UUCP (Rico Mariani) (01/11/86)
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Distribution: net
Organization: Ontario Science Centre, Toronto
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<OK line eater, chew on this>
I would like to mention before I start that what follows doesn't
apply to any of the programs I've got of the net so far. Good work guys!
I am starting to see a very unpleasant pattern developing in commerical
software for the Amiga. There are at least two separate problems here:
1. Software which doesn't know about 'fast' memory
There are quite a few programs which won't run correctly when there is
additional memory available, they seem to be too stupid to ask for chip
memory when they need it. This doesn't make for very usable programs.
I have personally tried or had someone else try all the programs in
question with both V1.0 and V1.1
2. Software which grabs my machine and doesn't let go
The Amiga is a multitasking machine (we all knew this when we bought
one didn't we?) so when writing programs for it, software should
avoid making it impossible for the user to (switch to)/(open another)
window. There are programs which put up a full sized window and NO
resizing/reordering/closing gadgets. I can understand maybe not wanting
a resizing gadget but no reordering? No closing? COME ON PEOPLE!
What if I'm in the middle of your application, I still have 8 meg of
memory lying around and I want to open a CLI? I'm powerless to do so
because I can't do anything to make another window active...
Similarly, if you need a custom screen for your program, fine, open
another screen but make sure it can still be 'moved out of the way'.
I don't *EVER* want to have to exit *ANY* application to start a new or
use some other one if it can possibly be avoided. You can avoid having
to code your own escapes to the operating system if you'll just let
people use the machine the way it was meant to be used.
summary: Get your act together folks! Don't write crummy software,
and more importantly don't *BUY* the garbage.
DISCLAIMER
----------
The opinions expressed above are strictly my own although I hope that
they will soon be shared by many.
The Ontario Science Centre is in no way connected to any of this mess.
-Rico
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