🚀 go-pugleaf

Just installed my 3.0 upgrade today. Amidst all the wonders, there are a  
few things that have me pulling my hair out.

In the 3View demo, I can't seem to use the virtual trackball thingy to  
rotate the rendering around. It just moves from side to side. This is  
probably my fault, since I have seen this work in a demo. Does anyone have  
the magic secret to this? I haven't been able to find it in the docs.

I thought Icon in 2.0 was bad, but IconBuilder is even worse. OK, so it's  
supported, and it doesn't crash. But, there does not seem to be a way to  
work in different compositing modes, and I can't seem to get a scrolling  
background (given by command-1 in Icon) so that you can see the  
transparency in the image. If these features are somehow supported, I eat  
my words. If not, they have turned a buggy but useful program into one  
that is stable but... 

                     -->> TOTALLY %&$^%$&#* USELESS! <<--



Why has AppInspector gone from a development tool to a demo? This was one  
of the most useful tools they provided. Perhaps 3rd parties don't like  
having their apps inspected? ;-)

Some good things... The HeaderViewer app is an absolute dream come true. 
And, Terminal Services... YES!

A pity there aren't more 3D demos. I'd love to be able to show off the 3D  
kit to my friends in a more meaningful way, and to see what the shaders  
look like. No great loss, though. 

The UI designers have gone mad with useless icons; the "Compose" window in  
Mail is really ugly, particularly in monochrome. The lips in "Lip Service"  
look like they belong to an overweight grouperfish with an overbite.

Links are cool, and trivial to add to existing programs. I like this very  
much; it's totally in the NeXTSTEP spirit. 

Overall, the real winners with 3.0 seem to be the developers... this, of  
course, will trickle down to the users eventually. What a pleasure it is  
to develop for a computer made by a company that actually cares about the  
mental health of its developer community! And, the package as a whole has  
a very solid, professional feel to it, from the artwork on the disk to the  
superbly smooth installation procedure. Merely opening it inspired renewed  
confidence in NeXT. If NS486 is this good, it should definitely cause a  
stir. 

That's about all that comes to mind right now. Hope this provokes some  
discussion.

-Anthony