1. "Junk mail", Wolf & GUIs
Sorry guys, I too can't help answering our friend Izchak, who wrote:
> In the last week, all the e-mails I get from the list are junk mail. How can
> I say it? You're not writing about Euphoria itself,but about some
> unsubscribing espects. Or - you're talking what games you've played when you
> had an old computer. I don't think ALL of us need to know about it.
The talk hasn't been not so much about nostalgia for the old days as about
ideas. Where do you think ideas for all the exciting stuff people do--and
not only in computing either--come from? They are born of 'I recall..' and
'what if kind' of talk. They are in the air until someone grabs them.
I wouldn't like this list to become a dry-as-bone academic discussion, a
place where poker-faced mentors deign to drop pieces of advice for the
others to follow in awe, or merely an educational smorgasbord. In fact I
have been impressed how the idea of an isometric Wolfenstein remake surfaced
in the "idle talk" (aka "junk mail").
[Incidentally, Michael, if you ever get Wolf'n done, are you going to
add SB support, and if you do, how 'bout an option to turn it off? Perso-
nally for me, please 
So don't let's "tighten up" but let's be humans. You never know
where the next good idea will emerge from. In the computer-centered
world many of use live in, everything matters. So let's chew some fat too.
I for one am interested in who you are and what you all think about--
but no IRCs. Hope it's dead and buried.
...
Another thing I'd like to ask of the Greats: more GUIs. The text-based
interface came as a surprise to me. I never thought someone would care
to take the [really great] trouble to write anything like that. Thanxalot,
David. I owe you a bottla gin (or whatever you like).
While I'm on the subject of GUIs and the pet peeve-cum-love unto death
WinDOS: I might be wrong but few non-business users care if they use
Windows or DOS programs, or how robust the idea and implementation. It's
really all about how attractive the interface is and how long it can
hold their attention. (I'm not speaking about games, of course.) Generally,
people tend to get sick and tired of the cloying W. interface quite soon--
hence MS's emphasis on redoing the visuals in Win95 rather than adding much
substance. Nifty interfaces that add some variety could keep the DOS
market afloat for some time--what do you say?
A.Y.
2. Re: "Junk mail", Wolf & GUIs
> Another thing I'd like to ask of the Greats: more GUIs. The text-based
> interface came as a surprise to me. I never thought someone would care
> to take the [really great] trouble to write anything like that. Thanxalot,
> David. I owe you a bottla gin (or whatever you like).
The interface is great!
> While I'm on the subject of GUIs and the pet peeve-cum-love unto death
> WinDOS: I might be wrong but few non-business users care if they use
> Windows or DOS programs, or how robust the idea and implementation. It's
> really all about how attractive the interface is and how long it can
> hold their attention. (I'm not speaking about games, of course.) Generally,
> people tend to get sick and tired of the cloying W. interface quite soon--
> hence MS's emphasis on redoing the visuals in Win95 rather than adding much
> substance. Nifty interfaces that add some variety could keep the DOS
> market afloat for some time--what do you say?
I think that if DOS had a muti-program, multi-tasking GUI as part of
the DOS package that it would have a lot more usage. Windows gives
the users something that they can deal with on a regular basis.
Consistant Point and Click interfaces keep the novice users happy.
New PC buyers are not programmers for the most part and simply want
to use their computer. DOS scares most people. They don't won't to
have to learn "cryptic" commands. A new user can learn to manipulate
windows in the fraction of the time that he can with DOS. Tell a
user to change to a specific directory and delete a file in DOS and
a Windows user is lost. If DOS had something native to it like Windows
without the overhead, I think more applications would be written for
DOS. Applications run faster in native DOS and have less problems
than in windows.
L8r,
Greg.
3. Re: "Junk mail", Wolf & GUIs
WinDOS: I might be wrong but few non-business users care if they use
>Windows or DOS programs, or how robust the idea and implementation. It's
>really all about how attractive the interface is and how long it can
>hold their attention. (I'm not speaking about games, of course.) Generally,
>people tend to get sick and tired of the cloying W. interface quite soon--
>hence MS's emphasis on redoing the visuals in Win95 rather than adding much
>substance. Nifty interfaces that add some variety could keep the DOS
>market afloat for some time--what do you say?
I'm a non business user who NEVER uses windows unless forced to by
available of a service. Probably I am the only one left.
Arthur P. Adamson, The Engine Man, euclid at mail.horandata.net
4. Re: "Junk mail", Wolf & GUIs
If DOS had something native to it like Windows
>without the overhead, I think more applications would be written for
>DOS. Applications run faster in native DOS and have less problems
>than in windows.
>
A shareware directory and file handling prog which has gone through
many variations is DS421B. It is available via Simtel. Combined with Buerg's
list.com, it brings to DOS a far freindlier interface than windows without
significant overhead and resource wastage. Had more people known about it,
the windows insanity would have been unneeded. My humble opinion. Bye Art
Arthur P. Adamson, The Engine Man, euclid at mail.horandata.net
5. Re: "Junk mail", Wolf & GUIs
- Posted by Michael Packard <lgp at EXO.COM>
Feb 01, 1997
-
Last edited Feb 02, 1997
On Sun, 2 Feb 1997, Arthur Adamson wrote:
> I'm a non business user who NEVER uses windows unless forced to by
> available of a service. Probably I am the only one left.
> Arthur P. Adamson, The Engine Man, euclid at mail.horandata.net
I'm with you too. Windoze wouldn't be that bad if you didn't have to
reinstall it and your programs whenever you change a system component. =)
Michael Packard
Lord Generic Productions
lgp at exo.com http://exo.com/~lgp
A Crash Course in Game Design and Production
http://exo.com/~lgp/euphoria
6. Re: "Junk mail", Wolf & GUIs
Arthur Adamson wrote:
> I'm a non business user who NEVER uses windows unless forced to by
>available of a service. Probably I am the only one left.
>Arthur P. Adamson, The Engine Man, euclid at mail.horandata.net
You're not. I work and play with computers, at home and in my job, and
almost always use DOS. For myself and for colleages I have installed Qmenu
(an older version, for DOS), which is also a very nice graphical interface
for novices and not so novices. An even better interface in my opinion is
StupenDOS. If I want to look at the contents of a text file, or an .ex or
.e file, I only type 'sd' or 'qm', switch directories and view the files,
delete, move, copy, zip 'm. It's so easy. In windows, you have to start up,
click on an icon, enlarge a window, click on a icon, enlarge a window
etc... Ick. The best option in Windows is 'Exit to DOS'.
Ad Rienks.
