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- From: peter@ferranti.com (peter da silva)
- Newsgroups: comp.arch
- Subject: Re: <None> (Should be Open Systems, bloody NEWS system...)
- Message-ID: <id.GL0W.ED9@ferranti.com>
- Date: 21 Dec 92 21:42:13 GMT
- References: <BzGL07.2wK@dscomsa.desy.de> <fWPrzAU@quack.sac.ca.us> <BzIx0C.C6G@dscomsa.desy.de>
- Organization: Xenix Support, FICC
- Lines: 56
-
- In article <BzIx0C.C6G@dscomsa.desy.de> Hallam@zeus02.desy.de writes:
- > zow07> man dd
- > Warning: couldn't stat file /zow/userb/hallam/man!
- > WARNING: terminal cannot clear to end of line
- > WARNING: terminal cannot clear screen
- > WARNING: terminal cannot home cursor
- > WARNING: terminal cannot move cursor to lower left of screen
- > WARNING: terminal cannot scroll backwards
- > - (press RETURN)
-
- Sure as hell a better disgnostic than having the screen hash up, or the
- output go to the screen *despite* your redirect, which are the usual results
- on DOS. On NT, of course, you'll have an RTF hypermedia file for your manual
- and you wouldn't consider even trying to pull in a man page unless it was
- going to someone on your LAN.
-
- > Note the warnings caused by sysop hackery since my last login.
-
- That's not a UNIX problem. I take it you've never used a multiuser CP/M
- system and had your user area disappear overnight.
-
- > Like the stupidity of ftp which assumes ascii conversion mode as default.
-
- You mean like every OTHER program of this type, from Kermit on through every
- terminal program I've ever used?
-
- > Back to the question of "Open" systems. An open system to me is a system
- > that an uninformed but intelligent user can simply be given a password
- > for an acccount and a primner and told to get on with their stuff.
-
- Buddy, that's nothing to do with open systems. That's user friendliness... which
- is another desirable quality that I'd like to see more of, but it's orthogonal
- to openness...
-
- Brief history of recent buzzwords:
-
- 1986: everyone came out with "User Friendly" systems, usually by
- stamping "User Friendly" on the box.
- 1989: everyone was coming out with "Object Oriented" systems,
- usually by stamping "Object Oriented" on the box.
- 1992: now it's "Open" systems, usually produced by stamping "Open"
- on the box.
-
- In 1995 it's going to be either multimedia, virtual reality, or distributed
- systems. Buy your rubber stamps early.
-
- In general, user friendliness requires detailed control over every aspect of
- the user interface (as any Apple developer about that!). Open systems require
- conformance to externally defined standards and interoperability with software
- you've never had a chance to spec. It's VERY hard to get the two together,
- which is why so many people are excited about the NeXT.
- --
- Peter da Silva `-_-'
- Ferranti International Controls Corporation 'U`
- Sugar Land, TX 77487-5012 USA
- +1 713 274 5180 "Zure otsoa besarkatu al duzu gaur?"
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