Re[2]: Screen vs. Window

[johnbell <johnbell -at- EROLS -dot- COM>]

Arlen Walker said:

> The possibly apochryphal story about it is that after Bill Atkinson saw the
> Star in action, he "remembered" a behavior in the windows that they didn't
> actually have, and he stayed up late for weeks trying to duplicate it. In
> fact, the Xerox developers had never been able to solve that particular
> issue, but Bill Atkinson's faulty memory made him sure they had. So, not
> knowing it was impossible, he did it.

You are referring to the ability of one window to overlap another and the
OS's
ability to "remember" what is under the top window. When you activate a
window
beneath the topmost window, the OS can recall the window contents and
display it
accurately. Not too much of a problem when there are only two windows
displayed,
but a lot trickier when you have a dozen or so windows to deal with.

After the Mac was released, the Xerox guys called up Atkinson and asked
how he
did it. That wasn't the only "mystery" feature of a windowing interface
that
the Mac had that the Xerox Star simulated, but it was the most visible
one.

Another major difference that Apple did with the Mac was usability
studies on
the GUI. Every design element was reviewed to ensure it was easy to use.

--- John Bell
    johnbell -at- erols -dot- com