Re: Wozniak vs Jobs

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

regnirps@aol.com (Regnirps) wrote:

Supetimer wrote:

>>Charlie, I usually agree with everything you write, but there is one glaring
>>omission in the above: GS/OS on the Apple IIGS.
>>
>>System 6.0.1 for the GS is a true event driven deterministic GUI OS.
>>The Apple II could and can use the same floppy drives used in the Mac.
>>Under GS/OS in System 6.0.1, many programs make extensive use of
>>this disk ejection capability -- backup software and installers, for
>>example (the disk pops out and a dialog box asks "please insert disk
>>xyz of set").
>>
>>On the GS, the disk is not frozen in the drive...a user can press the
>>eject button at any time, unlike a Mac...BUT, the drive SENSES that
>>the disk has ejected and the disk's icon is DIMMED in Finder.  That's
>>a pretty event driven deterministic GUI OS to me!
>
>I agree the IIGS can come closer than a PC, but user ejecting is to the OS the
>same as hot plugging or unplugging RAM SIMMS while the computer is running.
>Something I think you would agree is a bad thing.
>
>Charlie Springer

I do agree.  The eject button on GS' floppy drive just never bothered
me because I really do use the GS just like I would use a Mac.  I
almost never press the reject button, preferring instead to wait for
the OS to give me the disk or dragging the floppy disk to the trash
and I always shut down properly, so all my floppy and Iomega Zip
disks get popped out before the GS says "It is now safe to turn off
your IIGS."  I also almost never use floppy disks anymore.

My GS is right next to me, so I am going to test to see if it will
eject a disk when the drive is doing something...hang on...

Here goes...Welcome to the IIgs...it is loading the system off the
hard drive...there I see my two lines of extension icons going
across the bottom of the screen...here comes Finder...the GS
is playing the "Welcome to the IIgs" startup sound...mounting
all my drives and drive partitions and "on desktop" aliases...

Let me find a floppy disk to format...I'm sticking in the red disk
...double clicking on it...darn, it is the HFS disk I use to take
data to a Mac...I am dragging its icon to the trash...the disk
has ejected, its window automatically closed, and the disk icon
is no longer on Finder.

Let me find another disk...so far so good, it says MSDOS# 239
...double-clicking on its icon...good news, it is an emty
pre-formatted disk for the Wintel that I can reformat!  Closing
its window now...the disk icon is still hilighted, now I am going
to the disk menu...pulling it down...selecting initialize...I am
choosing the HFS file system so that it can be read on Macs
(I don't want to format this disk just for the test, you know!)...
I clicked the initialize button...

The moment if truth...I am pressing the disk drive ejection
button...THE DISK WON'T EJECT...second try...THE DISK
WON'T EJECT...third try...THE DISK WON'T EJECT...I am
waiting till the disk finishes formatting for further tests...

O-neato!  Guess what?  AFTER the disk finished formatting,
the eject command was executed and THEN the disk pops
out and the its icon is dimmed.

I think the key is that the GS uses the same Sony mechs
that the Mac uses in its drive.  The GS drives are also auto
eject, but more importantly, the eject buttons are electronic,
not mechanical.  The GS is smart enough to lock the disk
in the drive before a drive access.  If I recall, there is also
an init that will disable the drive button all the time.

I kind of like the way the GS works...the OS can work the
disk drive eject automatically, but the user can also eject
the disk WHEN IT IS SAFE.  It is a nice compromise with
the way a Wintel works and the way a Mac works.  It CAN
do it like a Mac, but I think GS users prefer it this way.

On a PC, the OS can't control.
On a Mac, the OS is the BOSS and the user can't control.
On the GS, the OS can be the boss, but it shares control
   with the user, but takes over completely when it feels it
   is dangerous.