Re: AS/400 vs. NT -- MIDRANGE-L

I couldn't agree more. I have been biting my toungue during this discussion
so far. I am not saying that screens cannot get the job done. But I would
rather have a really cool looking GUI that was fully functional than a text
based GUI that was fully functional. I am definitely not saying that a
POORLY designed gui is better than a text based screen. I have been
designing GUIs for 6 years and I have also designed data entry screens
(GUI) -- just because a data entry program is a GUI doesn't mean it is going
to be hard to use. Sure, there are poorly made GUIs out there that are not
suited to data entry. Just as there are crappy pick up trucks. But if you
want a pickup truck, does that mean you should not get one just because some
of them are crappy? Of course not. I have also seen excellent data entry
GUIs where the users have keystrokes for everything they need and they fly
along keying in data as fast as they can type.

Obviously, there are some applications which can only be performed with a
GUI -- applications which show photos, do modeling, etc.

But the bottom line is that most people prefer to use a nicer looking
application. Some GUIs might be poorly designed, but don't throw out the
baby with the bathwater. For me, there is no comparison. And GUI sells.

Luther

-----Original Message-----
From: HwaRangRon@aol.com <HwaRangRon@aol.com>
To: MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
Date: Friday, 29 October 1999 14:28
Subject: Re: AS/400 vs. NT


>In a message dated 10/28/99 6:31:07 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
>boothm@earth.goddard.edu writes:
>
><< I find it interesting that the  AS/400 vs. NT topic becomes a 5250 text
> vs. GUI topic.  They really aren't the same thing excepting that we see it
> that way.
>
> AS/400 can do GUI and text while  NT seems to be pretty much GUI-centric.
>>>
>
>As/400 can do a pale imitation of GUI only. Show me a 3 dimensional
rotating
>gant chart in green screen. Can't be done. Why would I need a 3 dimensional
>rotating gant chart, you ask? Because sex sells.
>
>We sell a medical billing package consisting of about 3000 screens and 1
>million or so lines of ILE RPG code. When the package was green screen
only,
>we couldn't get anybody into the booths at the trade shows to see the
>package, regardless of the features that it has. We "GUI"ized the product
(we
>chose SEAGUL, but any guie product would do) and now we pack em in. Sales
are
>going through the roof. We haven't added any more functionality to the
>package, we simply modernized the look with a gui tool.
>
>Green screens can not compete with PC's. We should use the presentation
>abilities of the PC's - after all, that's what they do best. Use the AS/400
>for storing data (safely, reliably, with fast access). That's what it does
>best.
>
>Ron Hawkins


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