Subject: kendall shaw: Re: FVWM: Re: "active focus" applications (MetaCard)

From: kendall shaw <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 23 Oct 1996 14:25:07 -0700

Subject: Re: FVWM: Re: "active focus" applications (MetaCard)
From: kendall shaw <[email-masked]>
To: Scott Raney <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 23 Oct 1996 14:24:15 -0700

>>>>> "S" == Scott Raney <[email-masked]> writes:

    S> It's still amazing to me that people who work primarily with
    S> the "stone age" version of GUI technology (xterms) have the
    S> nerve to stand up and say that pointer focus is superior and
    S> should be the default.  My whole point is that given the
    S> choice, most people want true GUI applications instead of
    S> command-line tools, and that these applications work better
    S> with explicit focus.  A point that no one has provided a
    S> defensible argument against.

I have no opinion about what the default should be. But, I think you
are advocating more than just a default. You seem to think that it is
a good idea for developers to ignore peoples use of pointer focus.  It
is laborious for me to have to click on a window in
order to manipulate it regardless of wether it's xterm based or
not. (The problem with selections being lost when you move to a menu
sounds serious, but hopefully there is some other solution than
requiring explicit focus).

Also, I really hate the way that motif attempts to lock people into a
single metaphor like windows and mac. These are easy to use because
you are restricted to a single metaphor. But once you get more
experienced it's nice to be able to take the training wheels off.
While an etcha-sketch is even easier to use, people prefer computers
because they are more versatile. Unix and X are useful because they
are versatile. Trying to reduce X to windows or mac, by developing as
if it were, is a bad idea.

    S> If we can't do any better than xterms as a primary work
    S> environment, the X market is going to continue its slide toward
    S> oblivion because people just won't bother with it when there
    S> are GUI systems that give them everything they want and need
    S> without having to use a command-line interface. 

I think people who don't like versatility will not like X. X developers
should develop for X rather than mac or windows.
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