| From: | Gurth <gurth@******.NL> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: ASIST assistance? |
| Date: | Sun, 3 May 1998 13:48:34 +0100 |
> As I have said before, ASIST would be the "base code" for all OSs
> created, the actual OS is more like to be the set of Persona programs
> (Bod, Sensor, Mask, etc.), but all OSs would be compatible because
> they're all based on ASIST.
I don't think so... I think it's easier to compare ASIST to something like
a printer: to use the printer, you need to send it commands _it_ can
interpret, not the things you want to send to it. The same things happens
with the printer's error messages: if you don't know what it'll send back
to you, you can't interpret them.
Once you know the commands the printer expects and the messages it sends
back, you can write programs that will allow you to use the printer on any
computer, as long as the program does two things: 1) work under the
computer's OS, and 2) translate between the OS and the printer.
Same with the human brain: if you send it any raw data, the brain will
only be confused, while if you send it the type of data it _expects_,
it'll do what you want it to. The output given off by the brain is also in
a particular format, which you need to decipher if you want computers to
react to it.
What ASIST does (IMHO) is turn the human brain's signals into a
standarized set of instructions, which can then be turned into signals a
computer can use by means of an additional interpreter. This interpreter
could (and likely would) be built into an OS if that OS is designed
specificaly for working with ASIST signals, but it doesn't mean every OS
would be compatible just because they can all use ASIST signals. Another
comparison: both a Mac and a Windows PC can use a mouse. Does that mean
you can run Mac software under Windows?
--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html - UIN5044116
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