jpp@slxsys.UUCP (John Pettitt) (10/02/87)
In article <1740@rti.UUCP> bcw@rti.UUCP (Bruce Wright) writes: >In article <2440@drivax.UUCP>, braun@drivax.UUCP (Kral) writes: >> ... More than just for print spooling, time >> sharing is needed for *any* background task: modem control, keyboard mapping >> etc. .... >These tasks are most often done by techies whose environment would be more >accurately described as a workstation and hence would be a logical OS/2 >or Un*x target. But the people who form the bulk of the PC marketplace don't >do a lot of this - they have enough trouble with disks, files, and so >forth. We may not like it, but that's the way it is - these people are >pretty confused already, and will not want to go to the added confusion of a >complex, expensive and (to them) incomprehensible multitasking system. 1) I think the multi tasking issue is not just a techie one. Borland seems to have sold far too many copies of Sidekick (and had even more ripped off) for that to be the case. All Sidekick does is let you have a calc, wp, dialer and diary in a 'pop' up form. The user may not want the background task to keep on running - but they do want access to other tasks without the up to 5 min load times associated with most dos applications. Further examples of the demand for multi tasking can be seen in the sucess of Desqview (Quaterdeck), Concurrent DOS (at least in the UK - Digital Research) and Multilink (The Software Link). 2) Un*x is not just a workstation product - there are a large number of user's out there running 'boring' applications like accounts on 2 to 10 terminal Xenix boxes / NCR towers etc. Just because that class of user is not normally on the net don't forget that Un*x is not just an engineering / Educational OS. I agree that for multitasking to be usable by most users it has to be simple - A fact that escapes most OS developers is that while most applications are based on 80 by 24/25 screens the ONLY useable window size is 80 by 24/25. (Mac is an exception) Perhaps all that is needed is the ability to hot key from task to task without waiting a disk load or having to check the copy protection every time. -- John Pettitt G6KCQ, CIX jpettitt, Voice +44 1 398 9422 UUCP: ...uunet!mcvax!ukc!pyrltd!slxsys!jpp (jpp@slxsys.co.uk) Disclaimer: I don't even own a cat to share my views !
mrk@gvgspd.UUCP (Michael R. Kesti) (10/05/87)
In article <212@slxsys.UUCP> jpp@slxsys.UUCP (John Pettitt) writes: >The user may not want the background task to keep on running - but >they do want access to other tasks without the up to 5 min load times >associated with most dos applications. John- I would be *very* interested to know what program (and the system(s) upon which it it was run) that takes "up to 5 min" to load. I just can't believe there are any. Perhaps it feels like that long, sometimes, but you fail to indicate any exageration here! -- =================================================================== Michael Kesti Grass Valley Group, Inc. P.O. Box 1114 Grass Valley, CA 95945 UUCP: ...!tektronix!gvgpsa!gvgspd!mrk