On 8 Mar 2006 at 23:33, Eric Dannewitz wrote:
> A quick GOOGLE of Nextstep can yield all the answers you want. Here
> are some examples:
> http://www120.pair.com/mccarthy/nextstep/intro.htmld/ and especially
> this one http://lowendmac.com/orchard/05/0705.html It's down around
> the NeXTstep Interface for people who don't want to read the whole
> thing.
>
> I believe that would predate Windows 95, and I don't remember (nor
> want to remember) if Windows 3.1 had a Taskbar.
But it isn't the same as the Taskbar. From the second URL above:
The most defining feature of the NeXTstep interface was its dock,
where frequently used programs or filed programs could be linked
and where applets could dock. There was no desktop in NeXTstep;
users would access their file system through an icon in the dock.
That says nothing about representing running tasks in the Dock, which
is the chief purpose of the Taskbar (hence its NAME). And I see
nothing in the first arcticle you cite that contradicts my
understanding that the NextStep Dock was an app launcher, not a
representation of running tasks.
Yes, the Taskbar is used to launch applications, but not via the
"bar" part of it, but from a separate menu. In the original
implementation of the Taskbar (Win95) there was no iconic
representation of non-running programs for launching applications,
except in the Start menu. Around the time just before Win98 was
released, an upgrade to IE4 added the Quicklaunch bar to the Taskbar,
which was the first instance of program launching icons in the
Taskbar.
This was not very much like the NextStep Dock.
And, indeed, there were lots of Windows utilities that provided
floating toolbar program launchers before Win95.
But so far as I can see, there was no representation of running
applications and open documents in those program launchers -- it was
the Win95 Taskbar that introduced that concept, one which the OS X
Dock incorporates (along with the program launching functionality).
If this is not the case, then please provide the specific quotations
that show that I'm misunderstanding the purpose and functionality of
the NextStep Dock. Simply citing an article and then saying "read the
whole thing" is not very helpful. You are the one who is trying to
prove priority of the NextStp Dock over the Windows Taskbar, so it's
up to you to provide the specific evidence, not up to me to find it
or to disprove your assertion.
--
David W. Fenton http://dfenton.com
David Fenton Associates http://dfenton.com/DFA/
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