When graphical-based operating systems became the new thing for higher-end computers in the early/mid-80s, I thought how cool it would be to have that same luxury on the Atari 8-bit. There were freeware/shareware and commercial programs such as GOS (which Antic gave high praises for in its review) made available. I relished the idea of using my Atari like "the big boys."
Alas, I found the whole experience anti-climactic. It was eye candy, to be sure. But I found it way too cumbersome to drag and click and using the joystick for functions that I did much faster by typing. Even though I had also purchased a mouse for such a purpose, it didn't improve the experience whatsoever. You could say I really didn't care for graphical interfaces for any platform. It seemed "too wimpy" for me to point-and-click. In fact, when I began using PCs, MS-DOS was my operating of choice for the longest time through 1999. And it was something I preferred using whenever possible (e.g., when I used Windows 3.11 or 98, I would exit to DOS mode. I always liked that tactile feeling of using the keyboard.
GOS was a good attempt at keeping the Atari 8-bit line relevant, but by this point it was all but dead. I figure this -- using an operating system only took up a minuscule amount of my actual Atari use, aside from the occasional formatting new disks, copying/deleting files. A lot of my programs were run batch files or autoboot menus, so programs like GOS seemed a bit extraneous. |