> LISA "FINDER" INFO
>
> PART 5a OF 7
>
> Signal: What's an example of Macintosh taking a step backward?
>
> Smith: A step backward was the "run one program at a time" model. For
> example, you clicked on MacPaint, the entire screen would be cleared, and
> up
> would come something that was totally different than what you had been
> looking at before. The desktop model disappeared on you, and now you were
> running this entirely new program. If you wanted to do any type of filing
> operation, you either had to quit that program, go back to the Finder and
> manipulate your files, or there was this little dialogue box that allowed
> you to search through a list of names as opposed to seeing them in their
> iconic format. On Lisa, you stayed in the desktop the entire time and
> would
> just click on another icon to open it. That would open up a window, but
> you
> would stay in the desktop. You wouldn't get this dramatic state change,
> and
> you also wouldn't have to go from at one point dealing with icons to, at
> another point, dealing with a list of names.
>
> Signal: How much of that step backwards was forced by the hardware
> limitations of the Macintosh? Could the programmers have pulled off a
> multi-application environment like the Lisa?
>
> Smith: That's a tough one. With the 128K of memory available on the
> original
> Macintosh, they really couldn't have pulled it off. But with the 512K
> Macintosh, it was definitely more possible. Now with the Mac Plus, it
> could
> be done quite easily.
>
> Signal: There are a lot of little differences between the Macintosh Finder
> and its predecessor, the Lisa desktop. The Lisa desktop underwent cycles
> of
> consumer testing and design reviews. Is it true the Finder programmers
> were
> influenced by a lot of Lisa features, but ended up doing many things their
> own way just because they wanted to?
>
> Smith: That's fairly accurate. The Macintosh group had much more liberty
> as
> far as the user interface design. They had the opportunity to make little
> tweaks to try to improve on the overall design. It wasn't that the Finder
> was totally unreviewed by anyone other than the programmers, but there was
> definitely more liberty. That's not necessarily a bad thing. The
> programming
> team on the Macintosh was quite a bit smaller. With a smaller group, they
> had an opportunity to have the product be a little bit more consistent,
> because you get more of a single-mindedness to the product. It didn't look
> like it was hatched up by twenty-five different people.
>
> Signal: It's interesting how the Macintosh was able to successfully
> provide
> a standard set of programming routines for developers, even though they
> aren't object-oriented, compared to the Lisa group's inability to do that.
> Why?
>
> Smith: It has to do with the initial orientation of the project. When I
> first started on the Lisa project, the goal was to produce a machine
> essentially not programmable by outside developers. When we later decided
> it
> would be appropriate to have outside software developed, we were in a
> little
> bit of trouble, because we had created quite a complex system. It was very
> difficult to program. Whereas the Macintosh software architecture tended
> to
> be open at the very outset, and all the routines were carefully documented
> and carefully designed with respect to outside people using them.
>
> Signal: What was your influence on MacPaint?
>
> Smith: While I was working for awhile on future products, I was working
> with
> Bill Atkinson and others out at Bill's home. Bill was still working on
> MacPaint at the time. We would get together in his workroom and kick
> around
> various ideas about the MacPaint user interface. He would cook up a new
> version and hand it to us, and we would play with it and give him
> feedback.
> We got to be firsthand users with that product. That was a real treat.
>
> Signal: MacPaint, for all its greatness, violates a lot of Apple's user
> interface guidelines. Was there ever any concern about that?
>
> Smith: Yes, there was, as a matter of fact. There were a number of people
> who were opposed to some of the things Bill did. Bill's feeling was that
> we
> needed to pioneer some new ideas, and there were just certain things in
> some
> of the user interface guidelines which weren't appropriate for his
> application. He decided to push for some of those things, and hope for the
> best. It turns out he was able to move more towards the user interface
> guidelines down the line.
>
> END OF PART 5a
>
> Regards,
> David T. Craig
>
> ###########################################################
> # David T. Craig -- CyberWolf Inc. -- ACI 4D Developer #5
> # Aspen Plaza, 1596 Pacheco, Suite 203
> # Santa Fe, NM 87505 USA
> # voice 505.983.6463 ext 15 -- fax 505.988.2580
> # dcraig_at_email.domain.hidden
> ###########################################################
>
> Regards,
> David T. Craig
>
> ###########################################################
> # David T. Craig -- CyberWolf Inc. -- ACI 4D Developer #5
> # Aspen Plaza, 1596 Pacheco, Suite 203
> # Santa Fe, NM 87505 USA
> # voice 505.983.6463 ext 15 -- fax 505.988.2580
> # dcraig_at_email.domain.hidden
> ###########################################################
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Received on 2001-01-05 16:55:02