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
>
From owner-executor Sun Apr 2 05:26:25 1995
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