>From: "Alan Sargent" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >However, the metaphor of ejecting a disk by putting it into the trash isn't >so obvious. To many it seems like you're going to erase its contents. I >once worked with someone who refused to believe that was the way to >eject, >and used apple-E which didn't gracefully close or save files on the floppy. >But she insisted on doing it that way. And the very first time I used a Mac >(a 1st generation one) with a borrowed boot floppy, on inserting it came up >with "eject or initialise disk". Well, "initialise" means "begin" so I went >ahead and wiped the guy's disk.... > >"The only intuitive interface is the nipple. After that it's all learned."
This is an example of the interface changing to accommodate new hardware. When all Macs had were floppy drives Command E ejected the floppy without unmounting the disk from the desk top. The disk ejected but the icon of the disk remain on the desktop. At this point while the floppy was no longer in the drive, the Mac still maintained the directory in memory. This enable you to have several floppies mounted on the desktop where they would appear in Save and Open dialog boxes. If the physical floppy was not in the drive the Mac would prompt you to insert the necessary Floppy disk. When you were sure you would no longer be working with a floppy, you drug the image of the floppy to the trash and the icon disappeared from the desktop if the actually physical floppy was not in the drive. If the physical floppy were in the drive, it would be ejected but its icon would remain. So early on in the Mac interface, it was pretty clear that this was not a harmful operation. If you wished to remove a physical floppy from the drive and remove its icon from the desktop at the same time, you would use the put away command which had no keyboard shortcut accessible only from the file menu of the Finder, would eject the floppy and remove its icon at the same time. (Put away is now Command Y and no longer has any floppy functions associated with it.) Like many Mac interface elements working with floppies was easier to do than to describe. It is somewhat interesting to see what once seemed a logical user interface for floppies morph into what is noted as one of the biggest oddities in the Mac interface. bill -- \/\/i||i@^^ ()\/e -- G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
