MAC

Put on your thinking caps and take your smart pills. Apple has announced System 7.0, and it's sounding more and more like UNIX and OS/2.

That's not bad because the actual operating environment will probably be as friendly as ever. However, the new System will likely require two megabytes of memory. It's also designed for high-end use—hooks for electronic mail, for example and an affinity for the 68030 microprocessor.

One feature that will profoundly affect all users is the Interapplication Communication architecture. In English it's a method for your programs to communicate with each other. You've probably seen how integrated packages work. IAC will create a similar environment, except you'll be able to issue commands to one program from another. For example: You're working on a budget proposal for your daughter's Girl Scout troop. You want to show how an increase in money-raising projects will affect the troop's camping opportunities. So from MacWrite II in which you're writing your proposal. You request that Excel create a graph with last year's figures and copy it to the clipboard. Now you can use the graph in your proposal. Next you request that Excel plug your proposed figures into the spreadsheet create a new graph and copy it into the clipboard. All the while, you've never left MacWrite II. It's a pretty nifty idea.

In this environment, it may be very convenient to work with small programs with limited features, more like the original MacWrite. Because all programs will be linked dynamically, you won't need the monsters like Word to calculate columns of numbers and create complicated page layouts.