Re: PLEASE STOP THE MAC AND MICROSOFT MESSAGES

[shack@onyx.southwind.net (Randy Shackelford)]

Mitchell Spector (spec@vax2.concordia.ca) wrote:

: >This is a crock. Apple's OSes are easily extensible, and they've never tried
: >to tell anyone what components they can and can't use with 'em.

:     Are you certain about that? There was in fact a long period of
: time when the only printer Apple IIgs System Software supported was
: Apple's own ImageWriter II. Not only was this the only driver that
: shipped with the OS, Apple also insisted that 3rd parties *only*
: support the ImageWriter II in their software. When I bought my
: system, I was forced into buying an ImageWriter II as that is what
: was required if I wanted to print from the vast majority of IIgs
: specific applications (letting a perfectly good 9-pin parallel
: printer from my II Plus go to waste). Sure, there was some support
: for laser printers, but again, they were Apple printers (this is
: moot regardless, as back then no one could afford LaserWriters).

I pulled out my system 1.1 and 3.1 disks to take a look. They both have
drivers folders in their system folders. I see nothing to keep anyone from
supporting any type of printer they wanted by writing a suitable port driver
and printer driver.

Apple gives guidelines, which people either follow or ignore. One doesn't
have to follow the human interface guidelines, for example. Look at Bill
Basham's software such as Diversitune to see a non compliant app. If Apple
only wanted IWs supported (I don't recall that myself) they still weren't
twisting arms to ensure it.

As for alternatives to IWs, they weren't plentiful in the eighties. Inkjets
weren't there, and as you mentioned, LWs were too expensive. But since they
are networkable, it made sense to support them. Most other printers from 
that era aren't Apple, hence Apple didn't go overboard supporting them.

:     It's also funny you should mention that, since Apple OS's refuse
: to support SCSI hardrives and CD-ROMs that don't have an Apple ROM
: installed in them, even today (MacOS 8 for example). Apple in both
: the past and present has always forced people into buying Apple
: components whenever possible. Having to depend completely on a 
: single company is not a good thing (that will be especially true 
: when the that single company ceases to exist and your left stuck).

This is just not so. Apple's Drive Setup can format hard disks from anywhere.
It didn't like a Fujitsu I tried with it, but then I didn't expect it to since
I read that is doesn't support that brand. Every other disk on hand works
pretty as you please. That's everything from a 30 mb Seagate to a 1 gig DEC 
to a 2 gig 5.25" full height Seagate and a slew of Quantums, none of which 
came from Apple. And it of course does IDE drives too since most new boxes
have them internally unfortunately.

As for CDs, non support of non Apple CDs is a non issue since no Apple boxes
ship without one any more. But there is third party software out there for
them just the same.
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