With all this talk of shiny Avalon, I'm surprised that more people aren't mentioning "text-mode" applications. I assume we all realize that there are literally millions of Windows machines from 95 to XP that exist only to allow more than one Telnet/ProcommPlus/Terminal window at a time, so end-users can interact with remote systems.
Point of Sale is a huge example:
- Blockbuster Video – I'd hate to have the video store guy have to reach for a mouse and click on a Gray Screen button OR a shiny Avalon Form.
- Toyota Service – Searching for Parts, making service appoinments, it's considerably faster in text mode than any *.*Forms technology, and I've seen them open as many as 8 windows at a time.
- Teller Banking Systems – Many banks are changing their TextMode systems over to intranets, and I personally waited 90 mins at a large bank last week to open a checking account, while I watch the teller move between three intranet ASP applications and two Word Macros, then attaching the Word files to an Outlook Email. This same process, in text mode, at First Technology Credit Union took 10 mins.
I'd like to see how far someone could take the new Colored Console support in Whidbey and make me a forms renderer.
I’m just saying that my Tab,Tab,Tab,Enter will beat your Click,Tab,Alt-F,O,Click,Double-Click, more often than not and I will take the Pepsi Challenge otherwise. :)
Am I nuts to think that Windows is missing the text-mode boat?