Iconitis

[Gary M. Samuelson]

In article <28679 at apple.Apple.COM> austing at Apple.COM (Glenn L. Austin) writes:
>In article <7898 at pyr.gatech.EDU> is813cs at pyr.UUCP (Cris Simpson) writes:
>>Anytime I have had to use a Mac, I always asked,
>>"Why is it so slow?."
>
>Compare the time it takes to type "DIR<return>" with double-click.  If you
>notice, it takes a lot less time to double-click than it does to type the
>command.

Not a fair comparison.  Typing DIR corresponds to moving the mouse until
it points to (for example) the icon of the disk whose contents you want
to examine.  Typing <return> corresponds to double-clicking.  Compare
the time to type DIR<return> with <move the mouse><double-click>.
I will guess that they are about the same.

>I took a stopwatch to the two machines and found that it took about
>half the time to execute a command on the Mac than it did on the PC.

Not a fair comparison.  Which version of Mac, and which version of PC?
How many files?

Did the Mac display the same information as the PC?  Probably not; with
the Mac you get (assuming "display by icon") names and icons, which
roughly correspond to names and extensions (file types) on the PC.
With the PC, if you type only DIR, you get a lot more information (which
you may or may not want).  To get the same information on the Mac, you
have to change from "display by icon" to "display by size".  I don't
even recall if it's possible to get the MAC to display all the information
at the same time that the DIR command displays.

>Oh, by
>the way, I type at 98 WPM, so I'm no slouch at the keyboard, but even I
>appreciate (and use) the mouse and cursor keys.

Fine.  Some people prefer not to use a mouse; unfortunately, the Mac
doesn't always give you a choice.

What I want is a computer that can tell on which part of the screen
(if any) my eyes are focused.  Imagine 'more' stopping when you look
away from the screen.  Imagine 'vi' moving the cursor as you move your
eyes.  (Of course, there should be a way to dynamically enable and disable
such a feature).

Gary Samuelson