I'm in the mood for some flaming; please excuse me :-)

>VisualWorks: It's a good and stable IDE but nothing really happend in the 
>             newer versions, also a big image

Hey, VW's base image is smaller than Squeak 2.6 (even without adding the
source and change file :-)

>But Squeak is a little bit different: it's not only a Smalltalk-IDE it is 
>a SYSTEM.

So you think, this is an advantage?  I disagree.  It's the best prove for
Smalltalk's biggest problem - it's authistic ignorance of the surrounding
world.  

>interests working on this system. Some would like to use Squeak as 
>multimedia environment, others would like to use it for web applications,
>games, programming, ...

Unfortunately - as I really would like to see Smalltalk and/or Squeak
winning here - there's always a solution for each niche which is better -
at least on Windows machines.

My PC has 256 MB and a large and fast hard disk.  It has a fast graphics
card and I like pleasant looking and easy to use applications.  Most times,
the look is more important than a certain feature.  Normally, I decide in
the first 5 minutes whether I like a tool or not.  Celeste, Scamper, the
whole Squeak IDE, even the SameGame or FreeCell can't stand the comparison.
 I really like the games, but they're still slower than any C or VB
application on my old computer.  As I really liked the SameGame, I
downloaded another implementation of this idea.  If I only judge from the
application level, I don't need Squeak.

>Comparing to Java I would say Squeak is the platform and Java the language.

Oh, Java also wants to be a platform...

>What should we do to keep the squeak platform/system running (some ideas):
>
> - get squeak closer to commercial Smalltalks (speed and tools)
>   Fast bytecode with Jitter is good - but what about a way to compile
>   native, building native libraries from within squeak ?

Yes.

>   Get squeak accepted in the Smalltalk community!

Oh, I always thought that it's already well accepted - even if it's only as
a platform for experimenting and having fun.  This is the best way to
evolve things.  A prove would be, if commercial Smalltalks start to add
things invented for Squeak.

A redesigned Morphic would be a killer IMHO.  But it badly needs refactoring.

> - get squeak closer to underlying systems (hardware and software)
>   Changing UI like VisualWorks is a nice thing, but squeak should 
>   have it's own.

Why?  To stay different?  With Squeak, you could do native widgets if you
really want to.  I once tried for VisualWorks and only had to stop because
I couldn't add a small extension to the VM.  With Squeak, I could.  On the
other hand, if I want a native-Windows Smalltalk, I'd probably go for a
processional system, either Dolphin or ST/MT.

>   We can learn a lot from COM. In contrast to Java components it is not
>   limited to one language. 

I'm not sure, but I think, the Mozilla guys invented a platform independent
variant of COM as the core technology for their browser.  Wouldn't this be
a good way to start using something like COM but staying platform-independent?

> - think about a change from one-user-per-image to multiuser-per-image

I really like this idea.

> - integrate other languages into squeak 
>   Prolog is done, what about C/C++, ...

Ih, no not C :-)

But I'd vote for Self, Python, VisualBasic and Scheme (in this order)

>   Get squeak accepted in the developer community!

How?

>   Improve the multilanguage support (menue strings as interchangeable
>resources, UNICODE, ...)

Yes.  Even without Unicode, most west european (yes, I'm biased) countries
could be supported.  I'd really like to work with a localized IDE - and no
I don't want to translate the Smalltalk language, just the tools.

> - show people that we can also create serious applications

I'd really like to see one, yes...

> - find a way to install/deinstall squeak programs with different versions 

First at all, invent a way to modularize even one version.

> - give people what they wanna have on their computer:
>   text processing, a good webbrowser, paint programs, media, games,
>   communication, ...

Hm, I already have WinWord (which I really like - mainly because it's also
my VisualBasic development system ;-), Internet Explorer, PaintShopPro and
Corel, media?, Warcraft, Agent & Eudora Light.  Yes, that's really
Microsoft heavy, but on Linux, I'd use StarOffice, Netscape, Gimp, media?,
games? and kmail oder elm or emacs or ...

So I don't want these application.  Maybe I want the cores of these
applications as pluggable components, but at least on Windows with Office,
I've this already.  It's amazing want you can do with the IE components
alone...

> - speak about the things already done, write articles, books, websites, ...

Write this kind of encurraging emails... ;-)

>BTW: While looking today at www.javasoft.com I was a little bit surprised:
>     Java is now "Turbo-Charging client-side performance" and is moving
>     "from basic functionality to extreme performance". It is now 
>     "super-high-performance" and "Swing (JFC/Swing) libraries have been
>     super-tuned". The "performance has been boosted". - Wow ! 

Yeah, marketing will always win the battle.  Microsoft has proven this and
Sun is a good student.


bye
--
Stefan Matthias Aust  //  Bevor wir fallen, fallen wir lieber auf.