Date: 14 Jan 86 11:41:42 PST (Tuesday)
From: Eldridge...@Xerox.ARPA
Subject: Microsoft Windows Review
cc: IBMPC^...@Xerox.ARPA, Eldridge...@Xerox.ARPA
After a two year wait, Microsoft Windows has appeared; and it is a
disappointment. I just received Microsoft Windows and I am not
impressed.
My first disappointment was that it did not support the mouse I have.
Windows will support only eight different mice; mine was not one of
them. At first I was not too concerned because my mouse has a driver
that emulates the Microsoft mouse. This driver allows it to run
Microsoft WORD and other such programs that use the "standard" Microsoft
mouse interface. So I selected the Microsoft mouse as the choice in the
Windows installation and continued on. When I actually ran Windows, the
mouse would not work. It seems that Microsoft, the same Microsoft that
developed a "standard" mouse interface, chose not to use the "standard"
interface but to have mouse drivers that are specific to Windows. If
your mouse isn't one that they have a driver for, you are out of luck.
I called Customer Support at Microsoft and they said there is not much
you can do if your mouse isn't on the menu. Of course, you could write
your own driver if you purchase the Microsoft Windows Programmers
Development Kit for $500 and write the driver in Microsoft C or
Microsoft Pascal. The mice that are supported are: Microsoft bus mouse,
Microsoft serial mouse, Mouse Systems mouse, VisiOn mouse, Logitech
Serial mouse, Kraft Joystick mouse, Lite-Pen Company Lightpen, FTG Data
Systems Lightpen and Single Pixel Board. Information about which mice
are supported does not appear in any of the documentation.
Not having the mouse, I decided to see what I could get it to do using
just the keyboard. The key sequences that they use to perform the mouse
functions are difficult to remember and execute. Combinations of
Alt-Space and Alt-Tab are used along with other obscure sequences. In
short, do not get Windows if you do not have a mouse that they support.
As for the screen presentation, it leaves a lot to be desired. Windows
does not even provide true windows! It should be called Microsoft
Tiles. It does not allow overlapping windows, but uses tiling. When a
new window is opened, the existing windows on the screen are adjusted to
make room for the new window in such a way that they do not overlap. It
is not clear that you can make a small window in the corner and just
leave it there without having it resized every time you open another
window. Everything is done in graphics mode. If an application is
running in a small window (as opposed to taking over the screen) Windows
uses its own fonts. This slows the screen update considerably.
Windows is a poor attempt at a windowing and multi-tasking package. A
disappointment after the years of waiting. It is definitely not worth
the $99 list price, or even the $69 I paid through PC-Connection.
If you need multi-tasking on your PC, buy DesqView from QuarterDeck
Office Systems. It is available from PC-Connection for $65, and it does
a much better job of providing windows for the PC.
If you just want nice windows and don't care about multitasking, then
buy GEM Desktop and other GEM applications from DRI.
Save yourself some disappointment and avoid Microsoft Windows.
George <Eldridge...@Xerox.ARPA>
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From: yao-c...@puff.WISC.EDU (Yao-chung Lee)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Bus mouse and COM ports !
Message-ID: <928@puff.WISC.EDU>
Date: Tue, 4-Aug-87 22:08:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: puff.928
Posted: Tue Aug 4 22:08:00 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 6-Aug-87 07:29:35 EDT
Distribution: comp
Organization: U of Wisconsin CS Dept
Lines: 17
Keywords: Logitech Bus or Mouse Systems Mouse
I got a question, does a BUS mouse use up a COM port as currently, I
have a external modem (COM1) and a hookup (COM2) to a laser printer.
If I were to purchase a BUS mouse, what happens ?
Does it need COM1 or COM2 configuration ?
Thanks for any feedback !
=================================================================
Yao Chung Lee
University of Wisconsin, Madison
ARPA: yao-c...@puff.wisc.edu
UUCP: ...!{harvard,ihnp4,seismo,topaz}!uwvax!puff!yao-chun
=================================================================
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From: bri...@hope.UUCP (Brian Bender)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Bus mouse and COM ports !
Message-ID: <1410@hope.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 8-Aug-87 12:38:48 EDT
Article-I.D.: hope.1410
Posted: Sat Aug 8 12:38:48 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 9-Aug-87 13:28:38 EDT
References: <928@puff.WISC.EDU>
Distribution: comp
Organization: University of California, Riverside
Lines: 35
Keywords: Logitech Bus or Mouse Systems Mouse
Summary: nope
In article <9...@puff.WISC.EDU>, yao-c...@puff.WISC.EDU (Yao-chung Lee) writes:
>
> I got a question, does a BUS mouse use up a COM port as currently, I
> have a external modem (COM1) and a hookup (COM2) to a laser printer.
>
> If I were to purchase a BUS mouse, what happens ?
> Does it need COM1 or COM2 configuration ?
>
> Thanks for any feedback !
>
>
>
> =================================================================
> Yao Chung Lee
> University of Wisconsin, Madison
> ARPA: yao-c...@puff.wisc.edu
> UUCP: ...!{harvard,ihnp4,seismo,topaz}!uwvax!puff!yao-chun
> =================================================================
answer:....NOPE
Brimoe, Brian Bender @ University of calif, Riverside
UUCP: {ucbvax!ucdavis,sdcsvax,ucivax}!ucrmath!hope!brimoe
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x x
x [@@@@@@@@][@@@@@@@@] x
x (@@@@@@/ \@@@@@@) x
x (@@@@/ \@@@@) x
x x
x "The Future's so bright - gotta wear shades!" x
x x
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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From: j...@islenet.UUCP (Jonathan Spangler)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Bus mouse and COM ports !
Message-ID: <3421@islenet.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 12-Aug-87 20:00:26 EDT
Article-I.D.: islenet.3421
Posted: Wed Aug 12 20:00:26 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 15-Aug-87 11:49:22 EDT
References: <928@puff.WISC.EDU> <1410@hope.UUCP>
Reply-To: j...@islenet.UUCP (Jonathan Spangler)
Distribution: comp
Organization: Islenet Inc., Honolulu
Lines: 65
Keywords: Logitech Bus or Mouse Systems Mouse
In article <1...@hope.UUCP> bri...@hope.UUCP (Brian Bender) writes:
>In article <9...@puff.WISC.EDU>, yao-c...@puff.WISC.EDU (Yao-chung Lee) writes:
>>
>> I got a question, does a BUS mouse use up a COM port as currently, I
>> have a external modem (COM1) and a hookup (COM2) to a laser printer.
>>
>> If I were to purchase a BUS mouse, what happens ?
>> Does it need COM1 or COM2 configuration ?
>> =================================================================
>> Yao Chung Lee
>> University of Wisconsin, Madison
>> ARPA: yao-c...@puff.wisc.edu
>> UUCP: ...!{harvard,ihnp4,seismo,topaz}!uwvax!puff!yao-chun
>
>answer:....NOPE
>
>Brimoe, Brian Bender @ University of calif, Riverside
> UUCP: {ucbvax!ucdavis,sdcsvax,ucivax}!ucrmath!hope!brimoe
hmm, I don't think this is the correct answer. I have a Microsoft Bus mouse,
and have also had experience with the Logitech Bus mouse. Both are excellent
the Microsoft mouse is, however, more expensive and the Logitech mouse comes
with more software to install with existing software.
In the installation manual for the bus mouse adapter card is a page that
describes how to set the jumper (you have 4 choices: 2,3,4 or 5)
And only Microsoft would tell you INDIRECTLY and BACKWARDS how to install
the mouse:
If you have... Do not use pair...
Asynchronous Com Adapter
1st serial port (com1) 4
Synchronous Data Link Control
Com Adapter 4
Binary Synchronous Com Adapter
1st serial port (com1) 4
Asynchronous Com Adapter
2nd serial port (com2) 3
IBM XT 5
IBM AT 2
And a few others...
Obviously, the jumpers 2 thru 5 refer to the IRQ or interrupts 2 thru 5. 4, or
course is com1: and 3 is com2:.
So, the answer to the question is YES, you do need to set the interrupt. For
example, I use two serial ports AND the bus mouse in my machine. THEREFORE,
I use IRQ 2, or pin 2 because I have an XT clone.
I hope you buy a mouse...
Aloha,
--
Jonathan Spangler
{ihnp4,vortex,dual}!islenet!jons
OR
j...@islenet.hawaii.edu