April 20 1997
Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel
the Netherlands


                           MICROSOFT NOTES
                         ===================  


Although Microsoft is very strong in the design and visual
departement. The stuff that really matters is unfortunately 
underdeveloped. This is also the case for the Windows95 Explorer
Below are features that differ from the Win95 version to the 
Linux version as we are developing.


- Operation consistency.

  In Windows95 the left mousebutton can have 2 different operations
  while dragging and dropping. This is by definition inconsistent.
  ( said the Vulcan ) When you drag and drop files/directories to a
  place on the same partition, the explorer assumes you want to move
  them. When you drag and drop files/directories to a different
  partition it assumes you want to copy.

  The Linux explorer has dropped that inconsistency. The left mousebutton
  always means copying. You can move files with the right button. This
  gives you a popup in which you can also cancel the operation.

- Weird engeneering.

  I found out that the Windows95 version does not do much checking before
  it tries to do a file operation. A good example of this is when you want
  to copy directories from the right view to the left tree-view. The Win95
  explorer does not notice if one of the directories is the same until
  it tries to copy/move it. 

  The Linux explorer will see if there are some operations that are not
  logical, like the operation mentioned above. You then get a message
  box asking if you want to continue the operation and leave the offending
  directories/files out of the operation.

- This item is not an inconsistency but more a general difference.

  When you select multiple files in the file-list view and select 
  properties in the popup in win95, the explorer will let you modify
  the attributes of multiple files. 

  In the Linux/UNIX explorer this is impossible because each file can have
  different rights. Besides that in our version the properties dialog 
  contains the filename of the entry. The Linux/UNIX explorer will detect
  a multiple selection and ask if you want to change the property of the
  entry you clicked on.

- Different views to the system. 

  When you look at the directory tree in the win95 explorer you will notice
  that at the top of the tree is the desktop icon and contents. This 
  suggests that the Desktop is the root of the system.

  The Linux Explorer has a more UNIX like view of the system. It recognises
  the root of the filesystem as the place to start. It lists the system
  name (network name) and UNIX type as the root node of the tree.

I would like to point out a perculiar thing. I started work on the Linux
Explorer during the Christmas vacation of 1996. From then on it took Ruben
and myself 4 months ( not continous but more sporadic ) to come to 
the writing of this file. This compared to the team of programmers at
Microsoft who took probably a bit longer to arrive at the same point but 
not with the necessary engeneering quality ( see statements above )

Oh well just a personal ego boost.

MvV 


                             DISCLAIMER
                        ===================

We can not be held responsible for personal taste.

