Re: Application Idea

["Daniel Hauck" <xdesign hotmail com>]

> When I read email, the mail was transferred to my machine by one
> program, run through procmail to dump it to different files, I run
> a mail user agent which I told where to look for the different files,
> I can invoke a separate program (at the console, if necessary) to
> look at any URLs mentioned in it, the pager is either the mailer's
> default, 'more', or 'less', the editor is whatever I set it to, it
> uses one of two different libraries depending on how I configure
> it, and the encryption/verification stuff can be whichever program
> I tell it to be. That's a -lot- of different small programs pulling
> together, and we haven't got onto some of the other bits.
>
> This is a very different approach from what I understand of Windows
> applications, which tend to be one single giant app.
>
> Lots of GNOME programs appear to be arriving to do lots of different
> things which traditionally under UNIX were separate. In fact, there's
> a whole bunch of Linux programs which are the same. The obvious
> example is the system configuration tool, whether it's linuxconf or
> YaST.
>
> I'm not saying either is better. I personally prefer the "lots of little
> programs" because I can get inventive about which program I pipe the
> results of then where I please, and I have the time to waste learning
> such things. Other people find the convenience of one overall program
> simpler.
>
> But that's probably why your hoped-for program doesn't exist :) I can
> think of various apps that concern themselves with parts of what you're
> talking about, but none which do the lot.
>

I think there is a need for such a program.  Currently, no combination of
smaller programs will allow the modem device to be used in multiple fashions
at once.  Some sort of modem wrapper functionality that will determine if
the incoming call is voice, fax or data and what to do with any depending on
type is a great and useful thing.  Many modems can at the very least do fax
and data.  Voice fax and data are even more useful as an answering machine a
small business.  I cannot imagine a function set like this being built from
many smaller programs.

I appreciate your approach when it's applicable, but it does tend to make
some tasks contian many little steps and not every end user is a
script-writer.  And since the Gnome project is aimed at approaching the
style and functionality of Windows and/or surpassing it, then it certainly
makes a lot of sense when such programs are already present under Windows.
They are expensive and commercial programs but for Windows only.