> > I agree with your idea, however. Although the possibility of getting a >> graphics quick browser is nil to none, I'd like something quicker for my >> Plus, my SE/30, PB100 and my hot-rodded SE FDHD. > >You can get pretty far with software written in very neat and efficient >68000 assembly code. Problem: there are very few people who are that >good at programming... They are now among the most expensive and time >pressed software architects around. >Luckily, especially those top of the bill programmers have a weakness >for system 6, because it is one of the all time masterpieces in their >field. > >Translated into the music business: it is like asking the late Heifetz >to play for free, but you might have a chance because you are asking him >to play Bach. > >Marten >
I am not talking about a whiz-bang version of Opera or iCab for 6 - I am talking about a simple, stable and fast BASIC browser - no javascript, tables, frames, or forms - just display the darn pictures within the same window as the text. And to do so without crashing when you add to the hotlist or change the prefs would be pretty neat as well. The really old versions of IE and Netscape are not bad on an SE/30 - IF YOU USE SYSTEM 7 (which really slows down that poor, old compact Mac). And a NEW text-only 6-Browser similar to the beautiful WannaBe by David Pierson would REALLY make life with System 6 much more useful and speedy. But, again, to use WannaBe you have to have System 7. So, going out on a particularly thin limb here, this is what I propose. We need to organize and write grants to hire developers. In the past, has this community EVER tried to organize to write grants for software development under System 6? I think that some time-strapped developer would at least TRY to do it if we bothered to form a REAL community and coughed up some REAL cash for his or her time. All you need to do to get grant money for a project like this is to present your case in the right light to the right foundation. The blurb at the top of Marten's site would be an excellent place to start. It states good reasons to attempt these ideas; these ideas are worth money to some foundations out there. And this is a money-driven field. There is a ton of money held by privately funded foundations out there. And they make grants for all sorts of obscure stuff if the idea is presented to them in the correct manner. This is how composers and authors get by in many cases. I guess that it is rather obscure to lay persons. But it is a very legitimate route to travel if one is willing to do some work. If we formed a real group, we could get money granted to developers to write privately for us. When the group commissions a piece of software, we could stipulate exactly what we want: a patch for the "xxx" init in 6 to update its functionality, a new cdev for 6 that will duplicate the functionality of "xxx" from 7, or a better text browser with a feature set to be determined by us. We don't have to be so hopeless about this situation. But it would take a group of people that really want to make 6 better and are willing to spend a lot of time in order to do it. You have to be a bit pushy and have a fistful of cash to get things done. But things can be done, nonetheless. People who ONLY use 6 because it is obscure and old (believing that that somehow makes them superior) probably shouldn't be in this group, because any real attempt to reactivate software development in the 6 environment would be tantamount to sacrilege to them. I have leanings in that direction myself, at times. I feel that 6 should just be left alone - that it is good enough as it is. Then I look at OS X and wish that I was part of a movement to revitalize System 6. I really would like to make it my main OS. My reasons? They involve both software and hardware issues. I dislike the direction the GUI is going. I am tired of ever-growing, RAM-hogging bloatware. I am tired of MicroSoft products. I am tired of Apple's current trend towards hardware "planned obsolescence" dictating when my fairly new Mac will die so that I will be forced into yet another multi-thousand dollar purchase. I want to sell my broken Lombard to someone who does not care that the case is flimsy, the screen hinge is floppy and the trackpad no longer works. Therefore, if Apple made my SE/30 bulletproof AND made a fast and stable OS for it that is free, then I want to "go retro" and use them as my main computing platform! EVEN FOR BROWSING, IF AT ALL POSSIBLE! Give me my SE/30 and let it fly with 6! (Man, do I come off as some sort of rebel in this or WHAT? All I really want is a better text browser or a browser that displays images in the parent window. Really. I'm not a raving fanatic . . . but I could become one if others were willing to join me. It can not be done by one person.) Wade Rackley -- System6 is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... 123Inkjets.com <http://lowendmac.com/ad/123inkjets.html> Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> System 6 Heaven <http://www.euronet.nl/users/mvdk/system_6_heaven.html> System6 info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/system6.html> Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/system6%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
