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Originally posted by Alpha Kodiak:
but mainstream Users want the features that are in Windows, and even more. I don't care if it's MS or Amiga or whoever, they are going to have to handle all of the different functionality, and that means a ton of background code doing all of it. When I write a dialog for Windows, I don't have to write any code to handle the mouse, or the keyboard, or anything like that. It's all handled by MFC (same with Delphi, VB or any other tool used to put the dialog together). The same situation would be true on any other GUI-based platform. As for the handhelds that may someday take the place of the desktops, what do you think they run as an OS? Windows CE.

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Back in 85 the Amiga Workbench (Windows without Microsoft and concurrent multitasking to boot)was controlled either by the developer using the Intuition interface to the lower level drivers, or going down to the driver level and customizing them for oddball devices. They HAD drivers for every device, and animation/ graphics/ sound at any level desired to boot. They would have had packages for software composition at higher levels than the Intuition interface if the company had Lasted long enough to get customers that NEEDED it. That's because it was an OPEN operating system supporting thousands of third party companies with cheap or free development tools, well documented, well designed for ease of understanding, well concieved for functionality, and memory/ execution time efficient to boot. People like me wrote and published over 800 Megabytes of FREE software for the Amiga, managed by Fred Fish. Commodore Amiga had everything they needed except money and marketing skill, which was utterly lacking. ..

If the new incarnation of Amiga can survive just a couple more years, they will OBLITERATE Microsoft, but I expect MS knows it well and will prevent it. HOW they will do so is the only question. But I predict that it will NOT be by offering superior products.