> From: John R. Hall [mailto:overcode at lokigames.com]
>
> <thoughtful comments on Squeak snipped>
> 
> So, yes, I can understand why a student might proclaim 
> frustration with Squeak.

Yes, I can understand your points.  I'll offer the following counters:

1.  Yes, Squeak (and all Smalltalks) are different.  In the words of the old
Burger King commercial, "different is good".  In the past <mumble> years of
programming computers I have yet to find anything I prefer.  To paraphrase
Churchill's comment on democracy, "Smalltalk is terrible.  It's inefficient,
slow, bloated, and a damn pain in the ass to figure things out in.  It's
*only* saving grace is that it's better than any other way humanity has yet
discovered for programming computers".  All IMHO.

2.  I agree, mice are not the be-all and end-all of input/manipulation
devices.  Good keyboard shortcuts (above and beyond what's already there)
would be a Nnice Thing.

3.  Instability is bad.  Let's hope Stable Squeak/Pink Squeak/Business
Squeak/BizSqueak (my personal favorite :-) will be able to help here.

4.  I like the clean look of Squeak.  YMMV.

5.  I can understand your point, having spent my time digging through
classes to try to figure out what's going on.  On the other hand, at least
you've got the classes to dig through.  Compare this to working in something
like VB where you're trying to use a control produced by a third party; said
control doesn't work as per documentation, the company who made it is
defunct, the source code for the control is not available, the guy who wrote
the program you're working on quit two years ago, you've got to get things
working, your boss wants the program changed/fixed yesterday, layoffs have
been announced and your department figures prominently in the "opportunities
for cost reductions" column, AND your doctor says you should do something to
reduce your stress levels.  See - Squeak isn't so bad...  :-)

Bob Jarvis
Compuware @ Timken