>From: "L.D. Best" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: NewDeal [ was Re: Re-using old systems]
>
>I took a look, and must heartily disagree that they complement Arachne.
>
>They would probably, if they could, stop Arachne in its tracks. They
>sell their own internet "suite" complete with browser, etc ... or so
>they say.
They have a very bad quality browser (no frames support, serious JPG
problems, unstable connection). They also sell a better suite of internet
apps separately, but again it's not up to scratch - problems with large
e-mails and attachments in particular.
>Despite their talk of being an alternative to "bloated
>software" they seem to produce their own brand ... things that must run
>together and won't run seperately.
There are many definitions of bloat. Their system is lean in the sense
that object orientation and object reuse is taken seriously, which lets
them provide an environment and applications on a par with win95+MS office
in a much smaller footprint. We're used to Arachne, so we know that
modern applications can run on older hardware. Most people would be
surprised to find a WIMP GUI and modern office suite can run on anything
from a 286 with 1 Meg of memory up.
>I found their demo, which supposedly includes their web browser. They
>do have something disquised as a Comm program but I couldn't find how to
>use it, how to write scripts for dialer [that was one option], or how to
>set up the module to use it to access ISP & web.
They have a terminal ('NewComm' :-) and also a browser (skipper). There's
no dialer, skipper dials when it needs to once the Modem & Internet
settings have been given. Those settings are an obstacle race
unfortunately. As I said the Internet apps are their weak point. There's
no mail client in the demo version.
>There doesn't appear to be anything new in all the files that came down
>with the demo. These folks bought out GeoWorks apparently...
Geoworks is still in business. They have rewritten their software for the
PDA and handheld markets, and their OS powered the Omnigo and Zoomer early
PDAs, as well as the Nokia webphone. They've licensed the old software to
NewDeal for desktops, and NewDeal is mostly staffed by former Geoworks
employees.
>and the
>internal copyright dates are 1991 despite the fact there are some files
>that are externally dated 97 & 98.
Much of the original GEOS techniques are still essential to the system,
but the NewDeal product has brought improvements to stability, new
features in the office apps and the internet libraries (what is now NewDeal
was going to be GEOS 3.0, but Geoworks turned to the PDA market and never
released its version 3 for the desktop). There's more 3rd party
applications, in particular in multimedia, internet (again), and
programming languages/development environments (including a Visual Basic
clone).
>And it is bloatware. The demo installation package is more than 5Mb and
>installed it takes ~10Mb.
It offers facilities comparable to Win 3.x and Win9x. Compared to the size
of those, it is an improvement.
>It tries to immitate windows as much as
>possible, including where you click on screen to do things, how you
>move, many of the commands, etc. It is very GUI filled.
There's a choice of two interfaces: the old GEOS one and an "industry
standard interface" - basically, a win9x look and feel. The software is
marketed to schools as an alternative to MS OSs, so they had to offer a
similar interface.
>Just out of curiosity I'd like to run it, but I'm not about to attempt
>to figure out how to setup the Comm section...
Definitely hard work.
>...and they don't even have
>the right drivers for my printer -- although I was able to "make do"
>with a "near model" for b&w printing.
GEOS and now NewDeal users have been deploring the absence of drivers for
years --- printers, scanners, sound cards, video, you name it.
Hardware manufacturers won't develop for an OS that has such a small share
of the market. NewDeal say they are working on print drivers between other
things.
>So if anyone has enough spare
>time to actually get the demo comm programs up and running, lemme know
>how. I did notice that they apparently have tcpip, slip, ppp & lan
>socket stuff ... but found no way to integrate it into use within comm
>program window.
NewComm only provides basic facilities. You can use it to check NewDeal
'sees' you modem. Try setting the intranet & modem settings, then getting
a page in skipper (just enter a URL). NewDeal has quite a lot of support
documents on its website, including some about intermet configuration.
You can also get help from comp.os.geos.misc.
Charles
PS. Apologies to anybody who found this has been a long off-topic mail. I
won't do that too often.
