peterm@dna.lth.se (Peter M|ller) (01/02/90)
What do I want to see in the Macintosh of the 90's?
That question was adressed under the subject:"What do I want to se in
the Apple of the 90's" but became a war between Mac, NeXT and MS-DOS
almost immidiatly. I want a constructive debate, so if you want to
throw napalm over somebody, *DO NOT DO IT UNDER THIS SUBJECT*!!!
Then what do I want to see in the Macintosh of tomorrow? I would like to
divide the changes into three categories:
1. HARDWARE
- The hardware is not better than the software that runs it. True. But
the Mac hardware is, to say the least, not thrilling. Maybe it's
very hard to include DMA, blitter, co-processors for different tasks
etc. but that would allow programmers to develop even more thrilling
software than is on the desk today. One of the really innovative
things in the NeXT-computer is the DSP- chip. Couldn't that be
included in the Mac of tomorrow?? (By the way: isn't it time to
announce Macintosh III instead of Mac 2,5, Mac 2,9, Mac 2,95??).
- When the Mac first saw the ligth of day, AppleTalk was exiting. Today
it is tiresome, very tiresome. Why not include ethertalk?? Even
though Ethernet is becomming slower and slower (as people gets
connected as well as compared to fiber-optics), this would make the
Mac much more interesting for bigger companies and Universities.
- Include a termoelement-controlled fan to avoid unnecessery noice.
2. SOFTWARE
- The strong points of the Macintosh is the ToolBox and the software. A
continued development in the user interface is needed if Apple will
survive as one of the 10 big.
- A very interesting thing is the ability for the user to customize the
user interface. The user should be able to change the look of the windows
(f.ex. through the control panel); the differnt buttons in the
window, the look of those buttons, the look and action of the
scroll-bars and the look (color, shades, font etc.) of the window.
If a user like the X-Windows style of windows becomming active just
by pulling the mouse inside them - then let them have it! If the
user like a three-button mouse - not just let him have it, also give
him the support to send specific tasks to different buttons (ie
popup-menu on the rigth button etc.). OK, I know it would be a big
break in the Macintosh conformity, but the Mac will always be
delivered with the one-button mouse and standard user-interface-
look, right? Nowadays I can buy a new car customized at the factory.
Why shouldn't I be able to customize my Mac and its interface? I
already do that with various INIT's etc., but that requires me to
know that those INIT's exist and be able to get them, not "macish"!
I have included a sketch of a "User Interface Builder" (converted
with BinHex/StuffIt) below.
- Develop and support a sort of Command Line Interface (like the message
box in HyperCard) with a high-level language with wich one could control
the OS. It would be nice to be able to write a script to do things at
specific times I think it is a real interesting challenge to develop
such an environment giving it the look and ease of Macintosh
user-interface and the power of cli. I am *no* MS-DOS or UNIX
fetischist, but I think that many things could be solved with such a
language! Why not give HyperTalk a OS-module and use that in the OS
direct (without HyperCard being present)? This would also satisfy
many hary-core users who don't feel comfortable unless they have a
hex- display monitoring the state of the computer.(*no* flame).
- Develop a real "Talker" to replace the old MacinTalk, to be used in the
user-interaction.
Include some of the most popular INIT's in the System, such as:
* Screensaver (a la "Dimmer", which does the job without fuss)
* Command-keys (like "Commander Keys") which allows you to access a dialog
box via the first key in the name of the button you want to click in. (ie.
"p" for "Previous" etc.)
* SFVol-INIT (popup menu of disks in SFDialog box)
* SFScroll-INIT (remember the scroll-position in SFDialog box)
* Quickeys.(Makromaker). A true masterpiece, but shouldn't that be
included in the OS?? But please add the ability to record sequences as a
complement to build them.
* PopUp Menu (Popup menu anywhere on the screen)
* Rip-off menus supported everywhere
3. OTHER TNINGS
- PRICE. Please don't charge $$$$$ just becouse there are people who can
pay. I don't want to pay the developing costs of a program, I want to
pay what it is worth. A good program could cost becouse it is good
(but not as much as today). I would like to buy MS Word, becouse I
like it (it is *not* a Mac- program, but is competent and have
learned it). But the price gives me (a poor student) no alternatives
but use a pirat-copy. Shame on me. Only on me? What do you say?
(This is probably most acute in Europe. Almost all computer-related
stuff here is twice as expensive as in the US. Why? Why should I pay
$50 for IM 1, when the price tag in USA says $25?? Why should I pay
$1000 for a 20MB harddisk when I can buy 80MB for $800 from USA (guess
what I did). The University price for a MacSE/30 in Sweden is $5300
compared to $3000 in the US. Is this sane or is someone out there
becomming *very* rich??)
- Rewrite "Inside Macintosh" so that it includes all Technical Notes
and is up to date.
- I am sick and tired of this platinum-computer-gray. I want my apple
in apple-tree! Or at least in white, black, red or slate-gray! Give *us*
the chance to choose!
Yours truly
Peter Moller
Lund Institute of Technology / Sweden
Standard disclaimer: Nobody knows anything about what I am talking. Infact
I deny everything, am completely innocent and propagate the opposite.
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Ap-THekYlEDr8&41B!!!:6600pete@hub.UUCP (01/03/90)
From article <1990Jan2.124033.6783@lth.se>, by peterm@dna.lth.se (Peter M|ller): > What do I want to see in the Macintosh of the 90's? > That question was adressed under the subject:"What do I want to se in > the Apple of the 90's" but became a war between Mac, NeXT and MS-DOS > almost immidiatly. I want a constructive debate, so if you want to > throw napalm over somebody, *DO NOT DO IT UNDER THIS SUBJECT*!!! [ throwing napalm over Peter... ] :-) > it's very hard to include DMA Doesn't really fit into the memory management model. DMA wants a non-relocatable block. Those are possible, of course, but they thwart much of the utility of the Memory Manager. DMA becomes less and less important as the rest of the machine speeds up... or are people really sold on it? > blitter, As said in previous postings, Apple has people working on it. The problem is that no currently feasible graphics cop can handle Mac's complex region calculation. Imagine how expensive a chip would have to be if it handled MacPaint's lasso in hardware! Apparently, though, the technology is becoming cheaper and cheaper. > co-processors for different tasks Like what else besides a blitter? I'm curious. > - When the Mac first saw the ligth of day, AppleTalk was exiting. Today > it is tiresome, very tiresome. Why not include ethertalk?? You answer this one yourself: > Ethernet is becomming slower and slower (as people gets > connected as well as compared to fiber-optics), I think it's a mistake to include networking on the motherboard. I think it should be dirt cheap, because it's near absolutely essential. But I hate the idea of dead iron in my machine. It would be like buying a '386sx instead of a fast '286. Ick! What I would like to see for networking from Apple is a dirt cheap EtherNet SCSI box with AppleTalk connections in addition to its SCSI connection. Then at least one machine (mine!) could have ridculously fast networking and the rest of the machines on the net could have reasonably fast networking. This, of course, assumes that you wouldn't use Ether for Mac-to-Mac networking. By the time third parties supported Ether, fiber optics'd be here. > this would make the Mac much more interesting for bigger companies > and Universities. Well, probably. But so would stamping "IBM" on the side of it. Are you talking about improvements to the Mac, here, or marketing strategies? > - Include a termoelement-controlled fan to avoid unnecessery noice. I STILL haven't noticed what all the fan noise hoopla is about. Of course, I'm a converted PC geek, so it's understandable. > If a user like the X-Windows style of windows becomming active just > by pulling the mouse inside them - then let them have it! Ack. This is a large-scale OS modification. And it breaks all applications which currently do pointer management. Are you sure you want this option? > If the user like a three-button mouse - not just let him have it, also > give him the support to send specific tasks to different buttons (ie > popup-menu on the rigth button etc.). So you want this bit under the control of the OS? Applications written for three-button mice would be very frustrating to the one-button user, and I think they would take a good swipe at all the consistency good-will Mac has going for it. > OK, I know it would be a big break in the Macintosh conformity, but > the Mac will always be delivered with the one-button mouse and > standard user-interface-look, right? I dunno. It's your idea! :-) I think it's a fine suggestion, assuming applications can't see the second and third buttons. Maybe for System 8.0 the will be software that interrogates the mouse to see how many buttons it has. But apps still shouldn't know, because it would confuse the naive. > Why shouldn't I be able to customize my Mac and its interface? I > already do that with various INIT's etc., but that requires me to > know that those INIT's exist and be able to get them, not "macish"! Yes, but what's the alternative, include them on System distribution disks? Then you have to add four tons of documentation on configuring them, and that assaults Mac's ease-of-installation. > - Develop and support a sort of Command Line Interface... > I think it is a real interesting challenge to develop > such an environment giving it the look and ease of Macintosh OK, this is the first time I've seen this suggestion without an accompanying comment like "like DOS" or "like UNIX", and I'm glad to see it. And I don't see why it can't be done. Have you seen the way MPW does it? The big problem with it, of course, is that it violates the Mac gestalt. Sitting here, I can't imagine what I would want to do with it. Probably I'd end up using filters and pipe-able things with text files. But I would much rather have FKEYs for those anyway. (FKEYs are SOOO easy to write, folks; all we need is something like QuicKeys to assign them to something other than cmd-shift-number. I have TONS of FKEYs, much more than 6, called from QuicKeys. Probably I should write an FKEY that lists all your FKEYs, regardless of ID, and lets you run them; probably there already is one.) > This would also satisfy > many hary-core users who don't feel comfortable unless they have a > hex- display monitoring the state of the computer.(*no* flame). Yes, but you're talking about marketing again... > Include some of the most popular INIT's in the System, such as: > * Screensaver (a la "Dimmer", which does the job without fuss) A dozen companies lose a product. Or do you suggest making the one in the System lame enough that people will turn it off and use the third party products anyway? How about this: warn the screen-saver developers this is happening, and give them toolkits so they can convert to AfterDark style screen-savers... wait, that kills AfterDark, doesn't it... Hmmm. > * Command-keys (like "Commander Keys") which allows you to access a dialog > box via the first key in the name of the button you want to click in. (ie. > "p" for "Previous" etc.) This is better. Mark 3 Software will be displeased, but that's only _one_ company. However, there are other problems. Commander Dialog introduces an element of inconsistency. Do keys go to buttons or do they go to editText items? I know there's a rule. But deciding when the rule applies is, well, a decision. *I'm* not confused, but I shudder when I think of users who can't figure out how buttons work in the first place. (Gads, if they were chained to a CLI, they'd just learn their one incantation for their app, and then they'd be even _more_ ignorant, so I suppose I should be grateful.) > * SFVol-INIT (popup menu of disks in SFDialog box) Check out Boomerang. I bet Ray Lau doesn't even use SFVol any more. > * SFScroll-INIT (remember the scroll-position in SFDialog box) Boomerang does this, too. Basically, I think Standard File needs to be reworked. And we hear rumors out of Apple from time to time that it is being reworked. Something about unifying Standard File and the Desktop metaphor through MultiFinder. Sounds good to me... > * Quickeys.(Makromaker). A true masterpiece, but shouldn't that be > included in the OS?? But please add the ability to record sequences as a > complement to build them. Well, MacroMaker IS in the OS. Or at least it is distributed with the OS. I think it will evolve nicely. QuicKeys is still much better, but... > * PopUp Menu (Popup menu anywhere on the screen) Maybe in conjunction with the second or third button on your three-button mouse. But I don't like the pop-up idea. Perhaps if you dumped the menu bar and did this instead, it might make sense. But I don't like the idea of having two places where you can get menus. I'm afraid the naive user will suspect that there is something different about the two places, which ruins the Mac gestalt. > * Rip-off menus supported everywhere It'll be interesting to see how this is resolved with your Popup idea. Seems like you ought to be able to have one but not both. I haven't actually worked with tear-off's enough to say whether I like them, but I suspect my ultimate reaction will be similar to my reaction about Popups from the desktop. > - PRICE. Please don't charge $$$$$ just becouse there are people who can > pay. I don't want to pay the developing costs of a program, I want to > pay what it is worth. A good program could cost becouse it is good Agreed. But third party developers are going to charge whatever they can. Period. And I don't begrudge them it. (That's how capitalism works. Ugly, innit?) > I would like to buy MS Word, becouse I like it... But the price gives me > no alternatives but use a pirat-copy. Shame on me. I hear Microsoft/Europe knocking at Peter's door... > (This is probably most acute in Europe. Almost all computer-related > stuff here is twice as expensive as in the US. Why? I dunno. U.S. technology export tarriffs? I wouldn't be surprised. But is that really justification for piracy? I'm not going to sit here and rail at you for being a pirate, but I think high European prices is a pretty lame excuse. > - Rewrite "Inside Macintosh" so that it includes all Technical Notes > and is up to date. Everybody and his brother agree with you. > - I am sick and tired of this platinum-computer-gray. I want my apple > in apple-tree! Or at least in white, black, red or slate-gray! Give *us* > the chance to choose! PAINT the mother. There are services here in the US that do it for you... :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pete Gontier | InterNet: 6600pete@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu, BitNet: 6600pete@ucsbuxa Editor, Macker | Online Macintosh Programming Journal; mail for subscription Hire this kid | Mac, DOS, C, Pascal, asm, excellent communication skills