MUSIC Specs 0.0 [djo4-ish]

[Andreas Arff]

ACK :-)
> From the brain of Dan Odom
> > From the brain of JJ Lay came:
>
> >             B. OVERVIEW
> >             The objective of this MUSIC (as it will be called from here
> >             on) will be to provide an user interface that is easy to use
> >             for both user and programmer.  Historically, most interfaces
> >             have been one or the other.  For example, a text oriented
> >             interface is easy to program but rather cumbersome for an
> >             end-user.  An advanced graphical environment such as
> >             OSF/Motif is somewhat complex to program in, but is easier
> >             for beginnners to learn based on my experience.  There is
> >             one exception - Microsoft Windows - which is difficult for
> >             everyone to use.
>
> I would argue this.  GUIs are easy to learn, but once you learn them
> CLIs are easier to use.
 No doubt but many people never uses computer more than a couple of hours
 every day, and hence only learns the GUI. Almost only computer literate
 will learn the text version.

> >             C. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND CONSTRAINTS
> >             The basic hardware requirements are as follows:
> >             a 386DX operating at 33MHz with 2Mb of RAM and 80Mb of
> >             external storage (the term hard disk was avoided because of
> >             alternative media such as flopticals and network devices).
> >             The video quality for a graphical interface (GUI) is
> >             recommended to be a VGA monitor and adapter (640 x 480
> >             resolution) with 1 Mb of RAM capable of 256 colors.  Text
> >             quality can be as poor as a text-only dumb terminal.  Input
> >             can come from a number of various devices.  Currently,
> >             keyboard and mouse are considered the main input channels.
> >             MUSIC will have no such prejudice.  It will be built
> >             assuming anything can give input.  The same will hold for
> >             output.
>
> 1) VGA is not high enough quality, I don't think.  Anybody who uses a
> SPARC knows exactly what I mean.

I have been arguing for SVGA only, but it showed up to be a stone-hard
resistance against it. Actually 640x480x8 is SuperVGA, but it is the second
lowest resolution with 256 colors.
I agree, the higher resolution the better!
But to save us from a lot of work, we could start with a lower resolution.
To you who thinks we should support CGA and EGA, noone can use a GUI even if
exists effectively under these resolutions. It simply looks to ugly!

> >             Information has the nature that it can easily be converted
> >             from one type to another.  This will be the key to MUSIC.
> >             Text can be easily converted to audio and vice versa.
> >             Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for more complex
> >             information types such as video amd other graphical forms.
> >             This will be one of the limiting fasctors for now.  Basic
> >             types must be identified and will be termed "basics."  The
> >             following basics are proposed:
> >                  - text
> >                  - audio
> >                  - graphics (computer generated mainly)
> >                  - video
> >                  - motion
>
> OK.  My only comment about this part is that it will take a HELL of a lot
> of WORK.

As I have already told Lay it is almost impossible to convert text to video,
or audio to text.
My suggestion is instead that we make all the proposed BASICs moveable
between each other. You could move a picture into a video etc.

> Dan Odom


Arff
sig.'s in for 1000 miles service
        --Andreas Arff          andreasa@dhhalden.no--