[comp.sys.mac] The Death of DAs

merchant@dartvax.UUCP (Peter Merchant) (08/28/87)

In article <4854@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>, Mike "My watch has windows" Meyer writes:
> In article <2731@husc6.UUCP> fry@huma1.UUCP (David Fry) writes:
> ...They must envy its fonts, its desk
> <accessories, its clipboard, and its large application base.
> 
> Let's see about this. Accessories. Not needed on the Amiga;
> multitasking covers for them.

I've read quite a bit recently about the death of desk accessories, most
of which is premature, I think.

I've been dealing, as of late with MS-Windows, multitasking in MSDOSland.
I've also played with the Amiga a little.  I have to admit that for simple
tasks, I prefer desk accessories because they're faster for me.

When I need to know a phone number and I'm using MS-Windows, well, I double
click on the DOS icon down at the bottom of the screen.  The DOS directory
shows up.  I find the Phone Book application and start it up.  Then I can
find out what so-and-so's phone number is.  The Amiga is similar, as would
be MultiFinder.  (In defense of Windows, I have to admit that I can create a
list of applications that I want started immediately and put on the icon
bar down below, so I could just double-click on the icon bar.  Unfortunately,
doing this uses up memory, which PCs are short of already.)

With a DA, I go up to my Apple menu and select "Phone Book."  Tah dah.
Instant phone book.

MacWeek had an article on MultiFinder eliminating the need for DAs.  I hope not.
They're the most convenient way of getting at those little utilities that I
keep on my Macintosh Desktop instead of my real desktop.
--
"It still hurts                           Peter Merchant (merchant@dartvax.UUCP)
 but the pain has shifted."