werner@aecom.yu.edu (Craig Werner) (01/05/90)
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.
True, you can display it. And I do it all the time. It involves
a 7 step sequence using software I have readily available, and it is more
complex than Unix 'more' or even a PC's 'type.'
Over twenty people wrote mail, giving about 15 different ways to
do this, some of which were quite elegant. But that's not the point.
It's a simple task, and it should have a standard solution. I mean the
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.
--
Craig Werner (future MD/PhD, 4.5 years down, 2.5 to go)
werner@aecom.YU.EDU -- Albert Einstein College of Medicine
(1935-14E Eastchester Rd., Bronx NY 10461, 212-931-2517)
"Someone write me a letter. I need to know that I'm still alive."casseres@apple.com (David Casseres) (01/06/90)
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. > True, you can display it. And I do it all the time. It involves > a 7 step sequence using software I have readily available, and it is more > complex than Unix 'more' or even a PC's 'type.' It is true that you can't display a TEXT file from the Desktop, using today's Finder. The Finder is just a program and could be replaced with a program that has its own facilities for displaying TEXT files, or knows that you want to use TeachText (or MPW, or whatever) for TEXT files. This is a limitation of the present Finder, not of the Mac itself or the system software. As for a 7-step sequence, I don't know why you have to do that many steps. Launching TeachText and using it to open the file is a lot fewer steps than that, and it is certainly not more complex than "more" or "type." David Casseres Exclaimer: Hey!
lsr@Apple.COM (Larry Rosenstein) (01/06/90)
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