CompuServe Thread

#Workbench for novices

3 messages in this thread
#4006From: J BaylessAug 1, 1988 12:49 AM
Well, the Mac doesn't "Force" any program to use icons/windows/mouse. Its just that a program on the Mac that doesn't use these doesn't sell (several companies tried to sell such programs in the early days of the Mac). The presence of icons as part of the OS itself would not be "crippling" to the Amiga, since with the Amiga you have the option of using the CLI, and if icons were in the OS there wouldn't be ".info" files _anywhere_, yet you would still be able (when you wanted to) to go to an icon based interface and have all files accessible. You wouldn't have to, you could stick with the CLI and never use the iconic representation–but in the same vein others who preferred to never use the CLI (and there are a lot of them) would still be able to get to every file. James Bayless New Horizons Software, Inc.
#4008From: John DraperAug 1, 1988 12:57 AM
I'd have to see it and assess the implications James. It has been my understanding that programs for the Mac have something called a 'resource fork' and that it must contain an icon, or at least until someone found out how to get into the innards of the machine in spite of Apple's attempts to force every user into the same restrictive mold.
#4026From: Thomas HoladayAug 1, 1988 7:06 AM
I'm all for being able to get to every file without having to use the command line interface, but I think this worthy goal is better accomplished by the inclusion of a directory utility such as Browser of DiskMaster on a future "Extras" disk than by flooding the screen with information-free identical icons. Which leads to the next thread, "Default Icons Bad."