tony@cs.tamu.edu (Tony Encarnacion) (03/06/91)
Has anybody used GeoWorks Ensemble, another window manager for PCs? How does it compare to Windows 3.0? From the GeoWorks brochure, they claim that it can run on just 512K on an XT and has Motif-compliant interface. It comes with a text processor, a drawing program, etc. but I did not see mention of program development.
pburke@vms.macc.wisc.edu (Peter Burke, MIC, 263-7744) (03/10/91)
In article <13085@helios.TAMU.EDU>, tony@cs.tamu.edu (Tony Encarnacion) writes... >Has anybody used GeoWorks Ensemble, another window manager for PCs? >How does it compare to Windows 3.0? > >From the GeoWorks brochure, they claim that it can run on just 512K >on an XT and has Motif-compliant interface. It comes with a text >processor, a drawing program, etc. but I did not see mention of >program development. I had a chance to play with Geos on a 286 machine for several hours. I was impressed at the speed of the thing, but I really missed some standard features such as a spell check for the Word Processor. The screen and printer fonts are breathtaking (I printed a 400 point letter on a Panasonic 9-pin: came out without any jaggies, yet took about 5 minutes to print. The menus can be taken off the menu bar and placed anywhere on the screen, reminding me of the NEXT environment, yet the screen resolution is limited to VGA, not leaving enough space to work in anyway. In the filemanager files appear as icons just like on a MAC, and one can select by dragging over groups. It even has a garbage can in the corner (how did they avoid a lawsuit?). About program development: I heard the entire environment and the applications have been written in assembler! No wonder there is not much happening in terms of Geos add-ons. The look of the package is a little playful (just about everything is done in 3-D style, with lots of color and wallpaper.), but since it is mainly designed for a low-end (home?) market, this design is probably appropriate. The best feature overall is the font support on screen and low-end printers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- PBURKE@VMS.MACC.WISC.EDU (608) 263-7744 MICRO INFORMATION CENTER 1210 W. DAYTON ST. MADISON, WI 53706 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------