Re: Computer differences

[dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson)]

Greg Weston <gwestonREMOVE@CAPSattbi.com> wrote:

> A nit....
> 
> In article <1f9qeu2.10puqlw1bga118N%dempson@actrix.gen.nz>, David
> Empson <dempson@actrix.gen.nz> wrote:
> 
> > The final revision of the //e changed the appearance of the case
> > ("platinum IIe"), adding a numeric keypad to the keyboard. 
> 
> And wired the shift keys to BTN(2)

All they did was changed the default setting of the "shift key mod" - it
was off by default for the earlier IIe, with a simple "cut and solder"
option to enable it.  I haven't had a close look at the innards of the
platinum IIe, but I assume that it has a matching option to disable this
feature.

> > When running in native mode, the IIgs supports a desktop environment
> > which is very similar to the Macintosh, complete with a Mac-like toolbox
> > which provides standardised user interface support to applications.
> 
> It was actually somewhat better than the Mac OS Toolbox, in that the
> IIgs team had a chance to sit back and watch the fallout from the first
> Mac release.

TaskMaster is a prime example of an advantage the IIgs has over the Mac.

There are some areas where the IIgs doesn't do as well as the Mac.  For
example, QuickDraw II only supports coordinates in the +/- 16K range,
while QuickDraw on the Mac supports +/- 32K.

It also took the IIgs a long time to catch up with major features like
the Resource Manager and TextEdit toolsets (both introduced in System
5.0, around 1989).

-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz