mattf@cac.washington.edu (Matthew Freedman) (01/25/91)
We are starting a pilot-program here, putting some very computer illiterate users on some advanced workstations. The powers-that-be are trying to decide on whether to buy a cluster of NeXT machines for this particular work-group, or a set of X-Terminals hooked into a DECstation server, running in a motif environment. I have been assigned the task of putting together a prototype "desktop" environment for the X configuration. As I see it, there are two basic approaches. I could just set up some standard .Xdefaults and .xsession files, to start up the standard applications (terminal, spreadsheet, wordprocessor, etc) as icons, and maybe use an application like dxue, which is a semi-friendly, menu-driven file manipulation utility from DEC. The other approach would be to get one of the commercial X desktop environments. The only ones I know of are Looking Glass, and IXI's X.desktop, neither of which I have used. There is an article in the current Unix Today! which describes the latest version of X.desktop, and contains this intriguing bit -- "IXI has proposed the IXI technology for inclusion in Motif Version 1.2". So my questions are as follows: What experiences have you all had in configuring X/Motif environments for naive users? Are the commercial packages worthwhile, or is careful set-up of standard tools enough? Is there, or is there going to be, some standard OSF-endorsed desktop environment? It seems like this should be a FAQ, although I have never seen it asked before. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- = Matthew M. Freedman = = U. of Washington Information Systems mattf@cac.washington.edu = = 4545 15th Ave. NE; 4th Floor (206) 543-5593 = = Seattle, WA 98105 = -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
wex@dali.pws.bull.com (Der Grouch) (01/30/91)
In article <15058@milton.u.washington.edu> mattf@cac.washington.edu (Matthew Freedman) writes:
So my questions are as follows: What experiences have you all had in
configuring X/Motif environments for naive users? Are the commercial
packages worthwhile, or is careful set-up of standard tools enough? Is
there, or is there going to be, some standard OSF-endorsed desktop
environment? It seems like this should be a FAQ, although I have never
seen it asked before.
We at Bull have just announced two UNIX workstations (demoed at UNIFORUM)
aimed at the totally UNIX-naive business professional user. These stations
use IXI's technology plus a lot of our own customization and integration
work.
My role in this project is as chief user-interface architect. I have a
great deal of experience with X.desktop.
If you have specific questions, I will be happy to answer those that I can,
but I do not want to pontificate in general, since I have a product stake in
this discussion.
--
--Alan Wexelblat phone: (508)294-7485
Bull Worldwide Information Systems internet: wex@pws.bull.com
"Honesty pays, but it doesn't seem to pay enough to suit some people."mike@tss.com (Mike Carl) (02/05/91)
In-Reply-To: your article <15058@milton.u.washington.edu> > So my questions are as follows: What experiences have you all had in > configuring X/Motif environments for naive users? Are the commercial > packages worthwhile, or is careful set-up of standard tools enough? Is > there, or is there going to be, some standard OSF-endorsed desktop > environment? It seems like this should be a FAQ, although I have never > seen it asked before. > The degree to which you want to insulate your users depends largely on what they want to do with the machine. If they only interact with a single application, a proper configured .Xdefaults (.Xresources) file or .Xsessions file should be sufficient. On the other hand, a desktop manager might be called for if your users need to perform a variety of file operations or use several applications during a session. Most of the ISV desktop offerings (e.g., Looking Glass, X.desktop) are ideal under the above circumstances. Since most of these ISV's have ported to all the *major* platforms, your users get an added advantage. The advantage being portability. Becoming skilled with a particular UI doesn't go "for not" when they move to a different piece of hardware. I would also add that many of the workstation vendors are getting hip to either layering a third-party desktop or integrating an internally developed desktop on top of X. Some of these home-grown versions are quite good (e.g., HP's VUE and IBM's AIXWindows Desktop). The NeXT user interface is also easy-to-use but I have yet to see or hear of an X version. As for an OSF endorsed desktop package, I think an earlier posting was on target. However, the MIT X Consortium is currently hammering out a definition for a drag and drop model of interaction for X Window Systems. Drag and drop has become a popular concern among many desktop developers. And when the Consortium makes a document public, I am sure it will carry some weight (and not just physically). -- Mike Carl
pd@x.co.uk (Paul Davey) (02/10/91)
-> ...Some of these home-grown versions are quite good (e.g., HP's VUE -> and IBM's AIXWindows Desktop). ... The AIXWindows Desktop is X.desktop licenced to IBM. -- Regards, pd@x.co.uk IXI Limited Paul Davey pd@ixi.uucp 62-74 Burleigh St. ...!uunet!ixi!pd Cambridge U.K. "These are interesting times" +44 223 462 131 CB1 1OJ