It is too bad that they didn't even mention the fact that Steve basically did it all over again with NeXT, while Billy-boy was still stealing software in the same old pattern for most of the '90s.
User experience is far more than the pictures of the icons.
And to borrow a phrase from history (I forget where in history), "Sir you are no NEXTSTEP." Or something like that. But I'm babbling again. Someone really needs to get me to stop that.
The NeXT UI, and the Mac UI are dramatically different things from Windows, and from each other. If it was just the shape of the icons, it wouldn't matter what we did. It comes down to elegant design vs. windows. Now that's just a troll, isn't it?
The start menu has some potential, but not much. The apple menu was intended for DAs, and other utility programs. It was good at what it did. According to The Microsoft Way, the start menu is the doorway to all of the programs on your computer. The Apple menu (after System 7) could be used at that, but that was never its intention. Users were to navigate to application folders and launch programs. That is an interesting user experience item, as it requires the user to know where the program is on the drive. One of Windows main functions is to isolate the computer from the user--programs are located in the start menu and do not at all represent what is on the drive. The Open and Save UIs take the user to a cordoned-off set of folders. While the MacOS does provide the "Documents" folder, the user has to be much more aware of the directory structure of the hard drive to make use of it.
I am not saying which is better--the Mac Way certainly does have disadvantages. It makes it easy to break programs (uhh, i dragged the icon onto the desktop to make it easy to open, why don't my plug-ins work anymore?), and there is a time factor (where did I put MacWrite, again?). With Windows, though, should you move something or save something in a non-MS suggested place, it can be very difficult to find again. Both have their drawbacks.
In my experience, NeXT interfaces share more with MacOS than with windows. One has to navigate the drive (with the browser) to open a program. Or click on it from the dock (quasi apple menu). Files can be saved anywhere (with UNIX-imposed restrictions [somewhat MS-like, i suppose]), but there are suggested locations.
I keep hearing that Win95's explorer is somehow related to NeXT's UI. I just don't see it.
As a regular user of NEXTSTEP 3.3 and WinNT 4.0, I find them considerably different. The NeXT's clean simplicity is far ahead of the cluttered look of the windows gui. The start menu is stupidly designed, and the NeXT, while unable to present as many applications to the user (the dock is clever, but inherently limited), does what it does in a much better (and different) fashion than the taskbar/start menu.
Exactly! The first time I saw it, I read it as rye-serfs. I had no idea it was an FS until I read more about it. In fact, that's why I kept reading--to find out what a Reiserf was.
Thank you! It rather bothered me to read the 'pretty dog' post. I don't have one at the moment, but I have--in the past--had sites could be considered 'pretty dog' sites. I like them, and I like those of others.
People have pictures of their family on their desks at work. I would consider putting a picture of my dog here. A web site pursuing that same end is, IMO, nearly the same thing.
Maybe I will throw together a page for my dog when I get home.
You have to admit, though, that listening to Scott McNealy (sp?) is lots of fun. Once he starts ranting, he can be one of the most amusing people in the industry.
Nah. MS 1.0 products usually aren't that bad. (Typically because they've just been bought from some hapless startup)
When we get MS Human 4.0, that's when it's time to worry--too many toolbars and useless COM functions will have us all looking the same and communicating with others in completely unnatural ways. And life expectency will drop down to hours, as out uptimes shrink.
Eek. Shrinking uptimes. I'm going to go hide in the corner. That sounds icky.
It strikes me that Yoda is pretty bad at seeing the future. He eventually succumbs to letting Obi Wan train Anakin. Perhaps he knows that OW will do it anyway, but still--one would think that he's a little more adept than he appears to be.
Brin got me to thinking. Nowhere has it been said that the Jedi get everything right. I think everything is going to fall apart because of Yoda. After his handling in this film, I think he's a lot less special than he appeared to be in The Empire Strikes Back. Yodas arrogance and hubris will ultimately bring the Jedi down. Brin pointed out how he's been wrong a few times, and his stubbornness will end everything for the Jedi.
Losing 130,000 is really very good. That isn't all that much money, when you look at the revenue growth mentioned in the article. Even if it is way-inflated, it still puts them in the black in not very much time.
I didn't read the Newsweek, but I have always been impressed by Levy's articles. Back when he wrote for Macworld, The Iconoclast was the first article I read each month.
I love it! It's damned hilarious! I almost fell off of my chair laughing when I saw it. It only needs eerie pulsating sound effects and a distant voice murmuring "buy me...buy me."
Of course, it might. My work computer doesn't have speakers.
Apple wouldn't have done that. According to the GPL (as I understand it), anything in which Apple used GPLed code (the Linux kernel) would have to be GPLed as well. While Darwin is open source, it's likely that parts of Darwin are integrated into the non-free portions of the OS that Apple would not want to GPL.
Slashdot Mirror
Your user name is also CrAzYjOn, though.
=)
-awc
It is too bad that they didn't even mention the fact that Steve basically did it all over again with NeXT, while Billy-boy was still stealing software in the same old pattern for most of the '90s.
-awc
User experience is far more than the pictures of the icons.
And to borrow a phrase from history (I forget where in history), "Sir you are no NEXTSTEP." Or something like that. But I'm babbling again. Someone really needs to get me to stop that.
The NeXT UI, and the Mac UI are dramatically different things from Windows, and from each other. If it was just the shape of the icons, it wouldn't matter what we did. It comes down to elegant design vs. windows. Now that's just a troll, isn't it?
Oh well.
-awc
The start menu has some potential, but not much. The apple menu was intended for DAs, and other utility programs. It was good at what it did. According to The Microsoft Way, the start menu is the doorway to all of the programs on your computer. The Apple menu (after System 7) could be used at that, but that was never its intention. Users were to navigate to application folders and launch programs. That is an interesting user experience item, as it requires the user to know where the program is on the drive. One of Windows main functions is to isolate the computer from the user--programs are located in the start menu and do not at all represent what is on the drive. The Open and Save UIs take the user to a cordoned-off set of folders. While the MacOS does provide the "Documents" folder, the user has to be much more aware of the directory structure of the hard drive to make use of it.
I am not saying which is better--the Mac Way certainly does have disadvantages. It makes it easy to break programs (uhh, i dragged the icon onto the desktop to make it easy to open, why don't my plug-ins work anymore?), and there is a time factor (where did I put MacWrite, again?). With Windows, though, should you move something or save something in a non-MS suggested place, it can be very difficult to find again. Both have their drawbacks.
In my experience, NeXT interfaces share more with MacOS than with windows. One has to navigate the drive (with the browser) to open a program. Or click on it from the dock (quasi apple menu). Files can be saved anywhere (with UNIX-imposed restrictions [somewhat MS-like, i suppose]), but there are suggested locations.
I dunno. I'm rambling.
-awc
So, did they buy it just to use it to sue MS? I don't know too much about the whole situation, but that's what it looks like from here.
Not that that's a bad thing =)
-awc
I keep hearing that Win95's explorer is somehow related to NeXT's UI. I just don't see it.
As a regular user of NEXTSTEP 3.3 and WinNT 4.0, I find them considerably different. The NeXT's clean simplicity is far ahead of the cluttered look of the windows gui. The start menu is stupidly designed, and the NeXT, while unable to present as many applications to the user (the dock is clever, but inherently limited), does what it does in a much better (and different) fashion than the taskbar/start menu.
If i'm missing something, please tell me!
-awc
It seems that the legal system (not just Judge Penfold) is wholly against MS.
Not all bad.
Is Caldera planning to do anything with DR-DOS that isn't Microsoft/legal-related?
-awc
Exactly! The first time I saw it, I read it as rye-serfs. I had no idea it was an FS until I read more about it. In fact, that's why I kept reading--to find out what a Reiserf was.
-awc
That looks pretty darned nifty.
Does anyone know anything about the portable computing implications? Like a really big, thin, flexible Palm Pilot? Now, _that_ would be sexy.
-awc
Thank you! It rather bothered me to read the 'pretty dog' post. I don't have one at the moment, but I have--in the past--had sites could be considered 'pretty dog' sites. I like them, and I like those of others.
People have pictures of their family on their desks at work. I would consider putting a picture of my dog here. A web site pursuing that same end is, IMO, nearly the same thing.
Maybe I will throw together a page for my dog when I get home.
-awc
You have to admit, though, that listening to Scott McNealy (sp?) is lots of fun. Once he starts ranting, he can be one of the most amusing people in the industry.
-awc
He's grumpy, but accurate. What you see is what you get, i guess.
-awc
How is it for stability?
The previous Mozillas just didn't 'feel' solid. Has that changed any?
Nah. MS 1.0 products usually aren't that bad. (Typically because they've just been bought from some hapless startup)
When we get MS Human 4.0, that's when it's time to worry--too many toolbars and useless COM functions will have us all looking the same and communicating with others in completely unnatural ways. And life expectency will drop down to hours, as out uptimes shrink.
Eek. Shrinking uptimes. I'm going to go hide in the corner. That sounds icky.
-awc
It strikes me that Yoda is pretty bad at seeing the future. He eventually succumbs to letting Obi Wan train Anakin. Perhaps he knows that OW will do it anyway, but still--one would think that he's a little more adept than he appears to be.
-awc
Brin got me to thinking. Nowhere has it been said that the Jedi get everything right. I think everything is going to fall apart because of Yoda. After his handling in this film, I think he's a lot less special than he appeared to be in The Empire Strikes Back. Yodas arrogance and hubris will ultimately bring the Jedi down. Brin pointed out how he's been wrong a few times, and his stubbornness will end everything for the Jedi.
-awc
Losing 130,000 is really very good. That isn't all that much money, when you look at the revenue growth mentioned in the article. Even if it is way-inflated, it still puts them in the black in not very much time.
-ponty
I didn't read the Newsweek, but I have always been impressed by Levy's articles. Back when he wrote for Macworld, The Iconoclast was the first article I read each month.
-awc
I love it! It's damned hilarious! I almost fell off of my chair laughing when I saw it. It only needs eerie pulsating sound effects and a distant voice murmuring "buy me...buy me."
Of course, it might. My work computer doesn't have speakers.
-awc
Apple wouldn't have done that. According to the GPL (as I understand it), anything in which Apple used GPLed code (the Linux kernel) would have to be GPLed as well. While Darwin is open source, it's likely that parts of Darwin are integrated into the non-free portions of the OS that Apple would not want to GPL.
-awc