🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <BzIx0C.C6G@dscomsa.desy.de> Hallam@zeus02.desy.de writes:
> zow07> man dd
> Warning: couldn't stat file /zow/userb/hallam/man!
> WARNING: terminal cannot clear to end of line
> WARNING: terminal cannot clear screen
> WARNING: terminal cannot home cursor
> WARNING: terminal cannot move cursor to lower left of screen
> WARNING: terminal cannot scroll backwards
> -  (press RETURN)

Sure as hell a better disgnostic than having the screen hash up, or the
output go to the screen *despite* your redirect, which are the usual results
on DOS. On NT, of course, you'll have an RTF hypermedia file for your manual
and you wouldn't consider even trying to pull in a man page unless it was
going to someone on your LAN.

> Note the warnings caused by sysop hackery since my last login.

That's not a UNIX problem. I take it you've never used a multiuser CP/M
system and had your user area disappear overnight.

> Like the stupidity of ftp which assumes ascii conversion mode as default.

You mean like every OTHER program of this type, from Kermit on through every
terminal program I've ever used?

> Back to the question of "Open" systems. An open system to me is a system
> that an uninformed but intelligent user can simply be given a password
> for an acccount and a primner and told to get on with their stuff.

Buddy, that's nothing to do with open systems. That's user friendliness... which
is another desirable quality that I'd like to see more of, but it's orthogonal
to openness...

Brief history of recent buzzwords:

	1986: everyone came out with "User Friendly" systems, usually by
		stamping "User Friendly" on the box.
	1989: everyone was coming out with "Object Oriented" systems,
		usually by stamping "Object Oriented" on the box.
	1992: now it's "Open" systems, usually produced by stamping "Open"
		on the box.

In 1995 it's going to be either multimedia, virtual reality, or distributed
systems. Buy your rubber stamps early.

In general, user friendliness requires detailed control over every aspect of
the user interface (as any Apple developer about that!). Open systems require
conformance to externally defined standards and interoperability with software
you've never had a chance to spec. It's VERY hard to get the two together,
which is why so many people are excited about the NeXT.
-- 
Peter da Silva                                            `-_-'
Ferranti International Controls Corporation                'U` 
Sugar Land, TX  77487-5012 USA
+1 713 274 5180                            "Zure otsoa besarkatu al duzu gaur?"