Doomsday 3-D's here to stay

Article Abstract:

The game Doom was built by two young people as shareware. The addicting game is very graphic, and offers amazing sound and gruesome special effects. Incredibly, this virtual reality world can run on a standard 486 CPU. Although the texture mapping is somewhat crude, the responsiveness is incredible. The game represents a breakthrough in virtual reality, which had always been assumed to require high-end SGI hardware and a big budget. Of course, for scientific simulations, the full capabilities of an SGI machine are essential but the lower market is ready to explode. Games like Doom will change the nature of computer software. Three-dimensional technology will go beyond games, and will become more widely used in business software, desktop publishing and even spreadsheets. Three-dimensional visualization may even provide a new way to look at a database.

Prepackaged software, Usage, Market trend/market analysis, Virtual reality, Action game, Computer action games, Virtual reality technology, DOOM! (Action game)

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Just once around the neck, please

Article Abstract:

The proliferation of electronic gadgetry increases the number of items users have to carry around: laptop computer users have to deal with the battery and battery charger, and camera users have to handle lenses, film cases, and flash attachments, for example. All the accoutrements should be combined into a single carry-along, just as radios have been combined with clocks and phonographs. The problem is finding a unified software design that will allow the different portable components to work together. This runs counter to current software trends, in which designs are based on 'metaphors', or disconnected pieces of resemblance represented by icons of familiar objects. Complex functions can be folded together in a way that is comprehensible and usable - and easier to carry around.

System design, Systems analysis, Column, Ergonomics, Laptop computers, Portable computers, User need, End users, Laptop/Portable Computer

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Why I hate the Macintosh

Article Abstract:

Besides its ability to use long file names and show more than one screen, the Macintosh can be annoyingly cute. It employs a smug approach that tries to reassure end users with childish conventions and seems to assume ignorance on the part of the user. Macintosh conventions often look like simplistic toys and sometimes do not make sense. Putting something in the Garbage Can cn either mean 'Save This' or 'Destroy This,' depending on whether it is a file or a disk. The Clipboard bears little resemblance to a real-life clipboard. It only holds one item, and if an additional item is placed on it, the previous item is erased. The Macintosh interface has too many odd quirks to be truly productive.

Product information, AAPL, Design and construction, GUI, Graphical user interfaces, Apple Inc., Apple Macintosh (680X0-based system), Product Description/Specification

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