undefined | Better HN

0 pointsGeekyBear4y ago0 comments

In addition, the classic user interaction method for Macs has always been drag and drop between multiple on-screen windows, while Windows users have traditionally kept every window maximized.

Personally, I think it goes back to early Windows originally supporting very low resolution graphics cards where you simply couldn't display more than a single widow's worth of content at once.

Remember that EGA was only 640×350. You had to have a user interaction method that worked at such a low resolution.

Having things optimised for drag and drop between multiple windows is the reason for Classic Mac OS to only maximize a window enough so that the entire contents of the window is visible, instead of taking up the whole screen.

0 comments

4 comments · 2 top-level

pmontra4y ago· 1 in thread

The first Mac (actually Macintosh back then) had a 9" monochrome screen with 512x342 resolution, so less than EGA (16 colors). [1] The Macintosh and EGA were released at about the same time. [2]

[1] https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_classic/specs/mac_128...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Graphics_Adapter

GeekyBearOP4y ago

Remember CGA with a maximum resolution of 640×200 in two color mode or 320x200 at four color mode?

It was also supported in Windows, and given that Windows also kept a separate copy of the menubar as part of every window's chrome, they could have really called it Microsoft Window.

The need for a user interaction method that works at such a low resolution is the origin of Windows users expecting a UI that keeps every Window maximized.

touristtam4y ago· 1 in thread

Drag 'n drop has been in MS Windows and different flavour of Linux distros for the last 10-15 years at least regardless whether the application windows have been maximised or not. Or are you referring to something completely different?

GeekyBearOP4y ago

Are we pretending that Windows users don't use cut, copy, and paste instead of drag and drop for file management?

File management in the classic Mac UI was always to open a window for the source directory and another window for the destination directory and use drag and drop to move or copy the files.

File management in Windows was to navigate to the source directory, cut or copy the files, navigate to the destination directory and paste.

Just as the classic Mac OS only maximizes a window enough to show all the contents of the window, but no larger than that to facilitate interacting between multiple windows instead of having every window take up the whole screen.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse