Aucbvax.2130
fa.works
utzoo!duke!decvax!ucbvax!STECKEL@HARV-10
Mon Jul 6 03:04:26 1981
Ivanciw's ideas &c: comments
From: STECKEL at HARV-10
As an implementor type, I have a few questions. When I work,
I have at least three stacks of things on my desk (where each
stack has sub-sub-sub-, etc. stacks):
a) what I am trying to do on a long term
b) what I started this morning because it's gotta be done today
c) the phone rang and you need it when?!?!
So... the idea of "kept context" is a nice one, but I suspect
that there could be a lot of mess. What happens in Randy's
scenario when the phone call about line 78 (+ or -) required
the use of (1) messages (2) filing cabinet? How do you "file"
where you were in a file cabinet? My file cabinets have about
3000 things in them.
I also have a quibble about the "desk" key. If the interactive
whizzes can make the super page screen work, I would much rather
never have my "desktop" hidden...
I trust my machines about as far as I can throw them when it
comes to saved contexts. Why doesn't the "phone", "pad", etc.
stay around in "icon" form? Part of the idea of piles is that
you can still see the existence of a pile, even if you're not
too sure what's in it.
Unrelated quibble concerning EMACS, &C. I am in the (lonely)
minority of those who cannot stand EMACS, and have limited
tolerance for any screen editor I have yet seen.
A) all I have experienced know far too much about what I
"want" to do (words, lines, etc. are too fully built
in) Quick, what does your screen editor call a "word"?
B) the mouse-type input ones use too many hand motions - I
touch type my TECO commands; why should I have to slow
down?
C) the control-meta-shift ones make me use many fingers at
once. I don't like that either. Also, the more obscure
the character, the less likely it will survive (1) my
memory (2) the system deciding it wants that character
This is merely to say that I think editor design is in the
dark ages, and EMACS ain't God.
Back to Ivanciw's scenario:
Does he envision a page printer, etc., for that item in the
file cabinet? My file cabinets are full of brochures from
manufacturers which arrived by U.S. Snail. Do we encode
them with a TV camera? I have had much difficulty trying to
digest any message longer than about 25 lines via any screen.
The present Workstation message blizzard gets imaged out on
a Calcomp (nee Gould) 200 dot-per-inch plotter in "micro"
form (280-character columns per page) so I can sit down and
quit craning my neck at the screen.)
Anyway, my point is: the workstation seems great if all I/O
is within the electronic environment, but falls down when
you get things like hard paper involved. I hope I provoke
a little controversy.
geoff steckel
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