🚀 go-pugleaf

This is largely a rebuttal to a previous posting about Microsoft Windows
which was so negative I just had to reply.  If you read any of the trade
press you already know that this guy is in the minority--in general TopView
has been totally trashed by any and all reviewers (though of course nobody
gives up hope...), and GEM is nice but limited.  My personal opinion is
that GEM is AWFUL, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.  However, GEM
Draw is a nice program--the only good reason to buy GEM.  Windows has any
number of advantages over GEM--multi-tasking support, EMS support, cut
and paste support for existing programs, TopView-aware program support,
a limited form of virtual memory (program swapping, segment swapping).
Anyone using GEM for more than a few minutes will realize how paper-thin
it is, while Windows sets a standard which will allow whole new kinds of
applications to be written.

The key question is why will anyone write Windows-Apps.  They haven't written
TopView Apps or GEM Apps.  The reason is that Windows supports the new
executable format which will be used in later versions of DOS.  Again if
you listen to the trade press you can see that Windows IS getting a certain
amount of support from the ISVs (including possibly Lotus and Ashton-Tate).

And if all you really want is a graphics program, In*A*Vision is very good,
though rather expensive (rumor has it that MicroGraphx is working on a
reduced-price consumer version).

For now, there are a few reasons to use Windows.  One, it has a nice
COMMAND.COM replacement, making the beast a little easier to use for
novices.  Two, it supports real multi-tasking.  If you have reason to
want this, it does a good job.  And finally it supports interworking
of text and graphics, and comes with a bunch of nice programs that support
this capability.  If you want to integrate text and graphics in a simple
fashion, this will do it for you.

And honestly, anyone who thinks that $69.00 is a lot of money shouldn't have
a PC in the first place.  I feel I can recommend Windows to those of you
who are not worried about spending this kind of money.  This is the kind
of program that you just have to work with for a while to see if it fits
the way you do things.  It sounds like DesqView is also a good program, and
one that will work for those of you without graphics capability.

Glenn