On Sat, 1 Apr 1995, Clifford Thomas Matthews wrote:
[Lots of cool new Ardi stuff deleted...]
>
> As for 1.99l; true, it's about a week late, but we were hoping to
> track down a bug in our DPMI provider and have that fixed. Now it
> looks like we'll have to release 1.99l without the bug fix, and hope
> to have the fix in by the time 1.99m ships.
>
What about releasing DOS/1.99l as a DOS/1.99pre-l (for people like me
who like to try new stuff...), and release the Linux version normally when
things like this happen, since the bug obviously dosen't affect E/Linux.
When the DPMI bug gets fixed, release the normal DOS/1.99l or m as the
case may be...
Good luck with the DPMI bug!
- Chad
> --Cliff
> ctm@ardi.com
>
>
From owner-executor Sat Apr 1 15:03:16 1995
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Date: Sat, 1 Apr 95 16:04 MST
From: ctm@ardi.com (Clifford Thomas Matthews)
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>>>>> "Chad" == Chad Page <cpage@best.com> writes:
Chad> What about releasing DOS/1.99l as a DOS/1.99pre-l (for
Chad> people like me who like to try new stuff...), and release
Chad> the Linux version normally when things like this happen,
Chad> since the bug obviously dosen't affect E/Linux. When the
Chad> DPMI bug gets fixed, release the normal DOS/1.99l or m as
Chad> the case may be...
Too confusing.
A week delay doesn't really hurt the Linux users, since we are usually
stuffing new (and hopefully good things) into the core code during the
week of delay, so even though a given release might come out a little
later, it's also a little better.
--Cliff
ctm@ardi.com
From owner-executor Sat Apr 1 16:40:10 1995
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>>>>> "Chad" == Chad Page <cpage@best.com> writes:
Chad> On Sat, 1 Apr 1995, Clifford Thomas Matthews wrote:
>> A week delay doesn't really hurt the Linux users, since we are
>> usually stuffing new (and hopefully good things) into the core
>> code during the week of delay, so even though a given release
>> might come out a little later, it's also a little better.
Chad> I'm glad to hear the code isin't frozen while the DPMI
Chad> work is going on, and if the 1.99l that comes out is better
Chad> than the one that would without the freeze, I'm happy.
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.
Chad> - Chad, (who's wondering what cool new stuff is in
Chad> 1.99l.)
I wonder too. That's one more aspect of record keeping that ARDI
doesn't do too well. Some things that I can think of are:
Browser will be used by default
Chaining from one app to the browser and to another app works
much better than the old chaining stuff
"Eric's Ultimate Solitaire" a very well done solitaire app now
runs and will be included as one of the demos
We got permission to include Stuffit Expander, so it will be
much easier for folks to expand .hqx files and
whatnot.
We'll probably have a text editor in there, although I have to
make up my mind about that in the next hour or two.
Some misleading options that aren't yet supported are now
dimmed out to make things less confusing
BinHex will work for Linux users
Printing will work for Linux users
ClarisWorks is much closer to being useable
Text in various dialogs that used to get erased (various
error messages in ResorcerDemo, for instance) no
longer do
Although our DOS extender isn't perfect, it's better than what
is in 1.99k (doesn't help Linux users, though)
Better explanation of why people should register in the splash
screen/license sequence
Animation works better under Linux (See Ultimate Solitaire)
Right alternate is now option key under Linux
A bunch of browser fixes
A lot of misc. fixes that will make it more likely that
randomly selected programs will work
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.
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.
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.
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.
[We actually have plans for beyond 2.0, but astrology is hard]
--Cliff
ctm@ardi.com
From owner-executor Sat Apr 1 18:11:23 1995
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From: burton@het.brown.edu (Joshua W. Burton)
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> After those six weeks have elapsed, 2.0 will ship.
>
> That's the plan, anyway.
>
> [We actually have plans for beyond 2.0, but astrology is hard]
I didn't see _any_ time in the schedule to even work towards a NeXTstep
release. We've heard the story about missing technical data from NeXT;
if you could be a bit more specific, perhaps some of us can lean on our
acquaintances there to help. We old users are feeling more bypassed
with every 1.99 release, every week, every month that goes by without
us. (If necessary, we'd settle for what you can give us without the
help from NeXT...we don't question your good intentions toward us, but
unsupported faith always erodes with time.)
What happens if a big asteroid hits the Earth? |===============================
Judging from realistic simulations involving a | Joshua W Burton (401)435-6370
sledge hammer and a common laboratory frog, we | burton@het.brown.edu
can assume it will be pretty bad. --Dave Barry |===============================
From owner-executor Sat Apr 1 19:45:29 1995
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