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Re: brief status report





On Sat, 1 Apr 1995, Clifford Thomas Matthews wrote about the Future of 
Executor 1.99x and the Great Release of 2.0:

(And then I wrote a reply about all the stuff he talked about, and now 
you're reading it.  :)  It's a bit late now, so this probably isin't the 
most focused post, but here goes...

> Yeah, that's the good side of "experimental" releases.  We don't have
> to go through a "code freeze" before they come out.  The bad side is
> that every once in a while an experimental version comes out that is
> significantly *worse* than its predecessor.

	Sounds just like Linux 1.1.x releases.  Or better yet, the Linux 
0.99 kernels (I started by tinkering with a 0.99pl13 Yggdrasil release - 
but didn't really get into it until later...)

	[Some really cool 1.99l stuff left out to focus on stuff I want 
to reply to...]

> 	Browser will be used by default

	Yeah!
> 
> 	Chaining from one app to the browser and to another app works
> 		much better than the old chaining stuff

	Sounds good too...
> 
> 	We got permission to include Stuffit Expander, so it will be
> 		much easier for folks to expand .hqx files and
> 		whatnot.

	That'll make it much easier for people to get stuff, and will 
help the demo audience for sure.
 
> 	Printing will work for Linux users
> 
	Yes!  Now I can do all my wordprocessing under Word 5 in Linux! :)

> 	Animation works better under Linux (See Ultimate Solitaire)

	Is this the 4-dirty rectangle setup Mat was thinking about?  If so, 
that'll be a BIG improvement.

> 	Right alternate is now option key under Linux
> 
	Ah, I just love a bunch of new options :)

> 	A lot of misc. fixes that will make it more likely that
> 		randomly selected programs will work
> 
	Wonder if some of them will make PageMaker 4 work (fingers crossed...)
> 
> I'm not sure if I've posted this timeline to this list yet.  If this
> is old information, you have my humble apology:
> 
> 	1.99m will have a significantly faster blitter under DOS,
> 		(we're hoping for about a speedup of about a factor
> 		of five).  It will also support some screens with 16
> 		bpp (thousands of colors) and 32 bpp (millions of colors).
> 		We also hope that the remaining
> 		DPMI provider bug that we know of will be fixed by
> 		then, and we will be paying attention when people find
> 		browser bugs.  I don't know if System 7 spoofing will
> 		be in "m", but it is my goal (however, of all the ARDI
> 		employees, I'm the one who is most likely to not meet
> 		my goals).  Floppy disk formatting and the ability to
> 		install fonts and DAs by dragging them into the hot
> 		band are also tentatively slated for 1.99m, as is a
> 		"death certificate" that tells you *why* Executor died
> 		when it dies unexpectedly.

	(Yipes!  Just as you release 1.99l, you tell me more cool stuff 
planned for 1.99m/n... :)

	I'm especially glad to see floppy disk formatting and font/da 
support go in.  Those are things which Executor really needs to become a 
full Mac-like environment, along with the browser.

> 	1.99n will have any of the features mentioned above in 1.99m
> 		that don't make the cut.  Tentatively, 1.99n will be
> 		the last experimental version to have new
> 		functionality.
> 
	And then, finally we'll get 2.0!  (Sadly,  this will mean Linux 
will still have the record for longest x.99x public pre-release cycles.)

> 	Beyond 1.99n we plan to fly Cotton out to Albuquerque (he
> 		normally works out of Boston) and have a two or
> 		three (three is preferred) week "hackathon", where
> 		without having to worry about getting a new version
> 		out the door, and without any of us having to add new
> 		functionality or chase DOS extenders, we'll work
> 		exclusively on making more applications run.
> 
	Sounds like that'll really bring things up a level or two in 
terms of compatibility.

> 	After the "hackathon" is finished, Executor will go into a six
> 		week beta period where we only fix major bugs, and
> 		document minor bugs.  During this time we'll also be
> 		working on our packaging and documentation, working on
> 		our list of how well which apps work and which don't,
> 		and lining up our distributors, writing our press
> 		releases and placing our ads in popular magazines.
> 
> 	After those six weeks have elapsed, 2.0 will ship.
> 
> That's the plan, anyway.

	So, 2.0 will be out, in around, say July/August?  Anyone wanna 
take bets on whether Executor 2.0 or Windows 95 is going to go final 
first?  (I'm using Win95 build 347 now.  It's pretty stable, but a lot of 
technical stuff is weak.  I can't go above 640x480x256, and support for 
(E)IDE specific functions is nonexistant - it uses BIOS only, and dosen't 
even touch the drive's identify feature (which mentions what the hd's 
name is, among other things...).  Amazing what a Linux EIDE driver can do to 
your expectations :)

	Seriously, good luck!  I'm REALLY looking forward to 1.99l now!
	
	- Chad

> 
> [We actually have plans for beyond 2.0, but astrology is hard]
> 
> 	--Cliff
> 	ctm@ardi.com
> 


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