Apple's NeXT Step - Part 2

Last week we started to look at OpenStep and its features, which are now going to be the basis for Apple's new Mac OS, code-named Rhapsody. We covered the basics of the modern OS features that OpenStep will bring to the Mac user experience, including protected memory, preemptive multitasking, multithreading and symmetric multiprocessing. But we've only scratched the surface; there's much more to discover about this complex and powerful, yet elegant operating system.

Unlocking the Door
Under both NeXTSTEP and OpenStep (and probably Rhapsody), users must log in to the computer. In a corporate or academic setting with multiple users, the system administrator will assign each user a username and password, as well as set your access privileges for various programs or files on the network, which you cannot change. If you're the sole user of your system, you get unlimited access to everything. This login requirement is common for users of mainframe and minicomputers, as well as Windows 95, Windows NT, Macintosh At Ease and other systems that use Unix.

Once you unlock the door and walk through, you're in what's called the Workspace (the NeXTSTEP and OpenStep equivalent of the Macintosh desktop), where (naturally) you do your work. So it follows that the Workspace is controlled by the Workspace Manager, which is equivalent to the Mac Finder. While this might seem to be a confusing concept to grasp at first, don't get worked up over it--Apple says that you should not draw any conclusions about the Rhapsody interface based on the current version of OpenStep. Translation: Apple will no doubt change the interface, and probably the terminology as well.

Getting at Programs
Today, most modern operating systems, including the BeOS, Windows 95 and NT (and NeXTSTEP and OpenStep before any of them) use what is called a dock, which usually runs along one side of the screen. It's a customized listing of program and file icons which you can instantly access. But docks differ from OS to OS. For example the BeOS will let you add icons to the dock, whereas Windows will not. Under OpenStep, the dock, by default, floats on top of all other windows. Each time you launch a program or open a file, its icon will appear at the bottom of you screen, and three dots will appear in the lower left hand corner of each application icon to indicate that it's running.

In a networked environment, your choice of icons for the dock will largely be determined by what access privileges have been given to you by the system administrator. In any case, space on the dock is limited. This due both to the large, square size of NeXTSTEP/OpenStep icons and the size of your monitor. But if you do run out of room, you have another option. The File Viewer in OpenStep includes a shelf that you can resize, where you can store icons for any of your programs.

Another alternative for reclaiming some screen real estate is to drag the dock off the screen so that only the NeXT icon is showing (you can't drag that off the screen). If you need to open a file in a program that didn't create it, but don't want to keep both programs in the dock, you can command-drag the file over the program you want to open it with. If you want to keep the dock on screen but make it less distracting, you can control-click on it to make it float beneath all other windows. Under NeXTSTEP (up to version 3.3, I believe) you could also make the entire dock disappear, although I haven't tried this under OpenStep.

While you can create a link (the OpenStep version of the Mac OS alias), you can't create them on, or copy them to, your desktop as you can with Mac System 7 and Mac OS 8, unless you have one of several 'dock extenders' that are available for OpenStep. These are really application launchers like we have for the Mac already: we load them up with whatever programs or files we want, and we get instant access just by clicking or double-clicking on whatever item we need.

Although Apple has probably decided what they intend to do with the dock and other parts of the Rhapsody interface, they aren't saying, yet. But if it were up to me, I would keep it, or at least give users the option of using it, and consider letting users choose smaller icons to view in the dock, both to save screen space and to fit more items on the dock. When I first started using NeXT systems back in 1989, I never found the dock to be confining or limiting--in fact, I enjoyed having everything available to me, consistently in the same place. And if I needed more screen space, I used one of the available options to make more available. The very idea behind the dock is to bring order to what is usually chaos. Having files and programs strewn all over your desktop is not a very comfortable or productive computing environment, just as having a messy house would not be very comfortable or enjoyable; neatness counts.

Viewing your Files
Ultimately, all files are accessed and viewed through the OpenStep File Viewer. It offers you three different types of views: Browser view, Icon view and Listing view. Most people would probably choose the Browser view, since it gives you a quick hierarchical rundown of the contents of files and folders, along with their directory path and file type. Clicking on an item makes its contents display below it, then horizontally in separate windows in hierarchical order.

With the Listing view, you get to see the size, history, and privileges (read, write and execute) of each file. You can also find out who owns the file or program and which user or groups of users have privileges to it. This is one area where users will appreciate the power of Unix. Assigning privileges will be a great security and peace of mind benefit to those who share files on networks or have other users in their home. So unless you make some critical error (like not saving your work) no one else will be able to change or delete your final draft of that blockbuster novel you've been working on the past four years.

Another difference is the use of file extensions. Under OpenStep, text files are always Rich Text Format, and followed by the .RTF extension. For images, OpenStep has only two native image formats that it recognizes: TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) and EPS (Encapsulated PostScript). Any other image format can only be created or read by a separate program. We don't know what Apple is going to do about file extensions, but I don't think they'll force it on users. Even so, it's a minor issue. Other than that, you can name your files and folders virtually anything you like, up to 1024 characters--you'll just have to avoid some characters that are reserved by Unix for other purposes.

Other nice touches to OpenStep include the File Inspector and the Image Inspector, both of which let you preview the contents of a file without launching the program associated with it. So let's say you've got an EPS file that you don't remember anything about. You want to find out what it is, but don't want to wait for your image-editing program to open, then wait while it opens the file. Just use the Image Inspector; save all that time, find out what that file is, and rename it so you remember what it is the next time. Likewise, OpenStep also has a Tools Inspector that lets you change which program is launched when you select a particular file.

Display PostScript
Unlike OpenStep, the Mac OS uses QuickDraw to render graphics and text on-screen, but PostScript for high quality printing. This shift from one imaging model to another can create troubling differences between what's displayed on your screen and what's printed. OpenStep, and now Rhapsody, will use one imaging model for both: Display PostScript (DPS). This will give users a single, coherent technology for rendering images on-screen and on the page, with very few exceptions. It means you can directly display EPS images, and you won't need Adobe Type Manager anymore to make your fonts look good.

Another benefit of DPS is that your Mac will now act as the raster image processor (RIP) when you print something, and it should be fast, if past experience holds true. At the same time, since your Mac is now the RIP, you shouldn't need a printer with the PostScript interpreter, which should make printers that much cheaper to buy and use. This was the case when NeXT was making hardware--their printer was much cheaper because it didn't need the PostScript interpreter, and it was very fast for the time (8 pages per minute) because the NeXT hardware did the RIPing. Even using a 68040 chip and 32 MB of RAM back then, I saw pages with sophisticated type treatments and EPS images RIPing in less than 20 seconds and completing the printing within 45 seconds.

Unfortunately, I haven't heard of any plans for printer manufacturers, including Apple, to make these types of printers available when Rhapsody ships. So, if you want them, your best bet is to call, write and E-mail the various printer manufacturers and let them know what you want.

Other Goodies
Both NeXTSTEP and OpenStep have several capabilities that the Mac doesn't have. Among them is NeXTmail, a very nice E-mail program that, besides sending files, actually lets you record and embed sounds and graphics, into your E-mail messages. Not only that, but you can compose and send your message in any number of fonts you have available on your NeXT system. If your recipient has the same fonts on their system, they will see the message exactly as you composed it; otherwise, it will default to the fonts on their system (usually Times or Helvetica) or they can change it to text only. When you stop to consider that these features were available nearly 10 years ago and compare it to today's E-mail programs, they don't look that good.

The main drawback to NeXTmail is that it requires a full-time Internet connection; it doesn't support dynamic host allocation, used for dial up Internet service today. But several NeXTSTEP/OpenStep applications are available that will let you use NeXTmail with a dial up account. At the same time, I have reason to believe that Rhapsody will ship with an updated version of NeXTmail to support dial up Internet service. This isn't based on what my contacts at Apple have said, but what they haven't said, when asked repeated questions on the subject.

While some of the media are of the opinion that NeXTmail won't make it into Rhapsody, claiming that it would seriously harm other Mac E-mail software companies, including Claris, and supposedly violating an Apple promise not to duplicate their efforts, this argument has no merit. Apple owns Claris, so Apple is already competing against these other software companies. More importantly, competition never hurts the marketplace, it drives others to develop better products at better prices. And the inclusion of NeXTmail in Rhapsody would do no more harm to these companies than the inclusion of Cyberdog instead of Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator; the user is free to make their own choices about what to use on their system, no one is forcing them to use any particular program. But if this is something you want, make yourself heard by Apple.

Getting Started with NeXT
There's still quite a bit we haven't covered yet, but if you're interested in getting started with your own NeXTSTEP or OpenStep system instead of waiting for Rhapsody, you'll find lots of used NeXT hardware available for good prices. Here are some pointers:

DeepSpace Technologies http://www.deepspacetech.com
Spherical Solutions Inc. http://www.orb.com

Both sell used NeXT hardware and spare parts; systems usually ship with NeXTSTEP 3.3 installed on the hard drive.

For NeXTSTEP/OpenStep software or Intel systems running OpenStep, try:

Black Hole Inc. http://blackholeinc.media3.net

Refurbished NeXT Laser Printers can be found at:

The Printer Works http://www.printerworks.com

In the meantme, keep sending your feedback: comments, ideas, constructive criticism. I can't reply to every one, but I do read them all.