Executor 2.0/executorv2.0.iso/pc/linux/extra/docs/maillist/text/archive.95/text2497.txt

Text File | 1996-04-02 | 9.6 KB | 194 lines

>>>>> "Michele" == Michele Marziani <[e-mail]> writes:

    Michele> On Fri, 1 Dec 1995, [e-mail] (Clifford T. Matthews)
    Michele> wrote:
    >> The stock System file should have in it:
    >>
    >> Chicago Courier Geneva Helvetica Monaco New York <--- (*)
    >> Symbol Times

    Michele> (*) Mine didn't have it. At least it wasn't shown in the
    Michele> Word 5.1 dropdown font list. How do you check the builtin
    Michele> fonts in the "stock System file" ?

Word 5.1 should have listed it.  Over here, Word 5.1 does list it.
You can also use a program like Tex-Edit, or look at "System
Folder:System"'s resource fork directly with Resorcerer.  You can try
reinstalling Executor from scratch and checking again, but I have no
explanation for why Word 5.1 didn't list "New York".

    >> In addition, the "Fonts and DAs" folder should contain
    >>
    >> Avant Garde Bookman N Helveitca Narrow New Century Palatino
    >> Zapf Chancery Zapf Dingbats

    Michele> True.

    >> Using Font D/A Mover shouldn't be necessary.  The stock fonts
    >> should already be there, the other ones should install by just
    >> dragging them to the hot-band.  Right now I think there are
    >> bugs that allow you to put a font in the hot-band twice and
    >> there also may be trouble removing fonts from the hot-band, but
    >> if you just drag each one in once, it should work.

    Michele> Sorry, not for me. I mean, they *did* get dragged to the
    Michele> hot-band and they seemed to stay there. But when I opened
    Michele> Word it seemed there was no means of getting these damned
    Michele> fonts in the dropdown font list.

    Michele> How do you accomplish this?

I have described how it is supposed to work.  There are a few known
problems with the current way we do things and we're looking into ways
we can fix them.  However, since you can't see New York, and New York
is built directly into our System file, I really don't know what is
happening.

    Michele> On a side note. Since the MS installer crashes Executor I
    Michele> couldn't install Word, in a literal sense. I had to copy
    Michele> an installed Word 5.1 from my Mac IIsi via floppy
    Michele> disks. I did copy all the relevant files and
    Michele> (sub)folders. At least I hope so. Is this the right way
    Michele> to do it?

Installing on a Mac and then getting the files transferred is the
right way to do it.  Whether the copying is done with floppies or a
network or an external hard disk, the important thing is that the Word
folder layout is preserved.  NOTE:  MAE 1.0 -- *Apple'* own Macintosh
emulator for SPARCs and HPs didn't support Word's installer, either.

    Michele> Furthermore, the Insert/Object menu item is dimmed in
    Michele> Word. It means the menu item is unavailable. So, how to
    Michele> insert an Equation Editor object?

Executor currently doesn't support multi-tasking, so you must run
Equation Editor, construct the equation, copy it to the clipboard,
quit, run Word and then use "Paste Special...".  I know this is
tedious, under NEXTSTEP you can just run two executors and cut and
paste between the two.  After we support a native Windows '95 version,
you will be able to do the same with Executor.  Under Linux we need to
do some work on our pasteboard routines and then it too will allow you
to do this.

    Michele> I had copied the Equation Editor to the
    Michele> ExecutorVolume. When I double click on the Equation
    Michele> Editor program, however, it starts but it complains that
    Michele> the MT Extra font is missing. So, again, how to install
    Michele> this font?

To install bitmapped fonts, you drag them to the hot-band.  However,
as mentioned above, you're having font trouble that nobody else is, so
I don't know where to look.  However, we already know of some other
problems with our font handling and will be fixing Executor
appropriately.  Although I don't see how they're related, maybe when
we make those fixes, your troubles will disappear, too.

    >> Currently, you're stuck with Letter paper.  Under NEXTSTEP
    >> Executor can communicate with the printing subsystem and you
    >> can use the NEXTSTEP printing panels.  There are no equivalent
    >> ones under Linux, so we'll have to create them.  This takes
    >> time.  I realize that 8.5" x 11" is not the common paper size
    >> in europe, but support for alternate paper sizes is an example
    >> of Feature N+1.

    Michele> Try to have a look at recent postings in
    Michele> comp.emulators.mac.executor.  There are at least a couple
    Michele> more messages relating to this topic. I don't think it's
    Michele> a feature to be postponed at level N+1.

I guess I didn't make myself clear.  Executor is already able to do
some things.  As such, if you assign a count to the number of features
that Executor currently has, and call it N, then any new feature (such
a sound, modem support, the ability to choose paper size) would be
feature number N+i, where i is just a placeholder for an arbitrary
positive integer.  i.e. the first new feature we add would be feature
N+1, the second would be N+2, etc.  We can't go backwards and change
history, so the ability to change the paper size is inherently going
to be Feature N+i.

    >> We realize that no matter what feature set we provide, there
    >> will be some who really will not be able to use Executor until
    >> Feature N+1 is added.  That does not bother us, as long as
    >> those people don't use Executor (other than in demo mode) in
    >> the meantime.  However, holding back Executor from licensing
    >> until Feature N+1 is included deprives people of the chance to
    >> register it now, something that many people clearly want to do.

    Michele> I'm sorry, but really it's an effort for me to follow
    Michele> your reasoning...  I for sure won't register anything
    Michele> which still is pre-alpha code, for what I'm able to see
    Michele> now...

All I'm saying is that if Executor doesn't do what you want it to do,
then you can just ignore that a non-useful (to you) version of
Executor exists.  You can wipe it from your hard-drive and neither you
nor ARDI are at a disadvantage.  In the meantime, *other* people who
do find Executor useful *can* license it.  Such license fees are used
to make Executor better and again, neither party is at a disadvantage,
because only people who find Executor useful are registering it.  No
matter how many things Executor can do, there will always be some
people for whom it is not useful.  This is acceptable to ARDI.
*Sure*, we'd like to provide all functionality from day one -- we'd
also like development costs to be non-existent, but that's not the way
it is.

We go out of our way to tell potential customers about Executor's
limitations.  We have the demo mode so that people can see what
they're getting and if people call up and order Executor, we
specifically ask to make sure they've seen the demo and that that they
know what Executor can and can't do.  Beyond that we have 30 day money
back guarantee, just in case Executor proves unsuitable.  We don't put
in bogus copy protection code which makes life a hassle for honest
customers and is usually lobotomized by clever hackers, *because* we
do care very much about providing a program that is, in fact, useful
to _some_ people.  The fact that you, and anyone who needs the ability
to print to different paper sizes, are not in that group is not
particularly disconcerting.

    Michele> Don't feel offended by my statement. I mean, keep up the
    Michele> good work. Only, I'm unable to regard Executor as a valid
    Michele> Mac environment now. There is no doubt that your 68K
    Michele> emulator works well, at the processor level. What is
    Michele> heavily lacking, IMHO, is a valid System (MacOS)
    Michele> substitute.

That's fine.  Executor in its current form serves some people well.  I
would guess that *everyone* is looking forward to new features and
greater compatibility.  Work on Executor is not standing still and we
have very good reasons to believe that we'll make greater progress in
1996 than we made in 1995.  I am sure that a year from now, there will
be some feature missing, or some performance aspect of Executor that
will lead someone to post that Executor in its then current form will
not be useful.  That's life.

    >> As for Executor's price, everyone is entitled to an opinion.  I
    >> am sure there are some people who would not use Executor even
    >> if *we* paid *them*.  Luckily, they aren't our target audience.
    >> Enough people think that the US$49 fee for students, faculty
    >> and staff of educational institutions is a bargain, that we
    >> have no plans to lower that fee.  If Executor is not worth that
    >> fee, don't license it.

    Michele> Certainly not a bargain for our Department. Please take
    Michele> into account that we have a campus license for MS
    Michele> products. This means we are buying MS-Word and MS-Excel
    Michele> at a price equivalent to about US$30.

Fine.  Again, as long as those people who aren't paying the license
fee aren't rationalizing and hacking out the time-out code or
illegally using someone else's serial number and key, we don't mind
that licensing Executor isn't for everyone.  This isn't a dark little
secret; we are very up-front about it.  Sometimes we get people who
describe what they want to use Executor for on the phone and we
recommend that they buy a Macintosh, instead.  We try very hard to be
honest and fair.

    Michele> -- Michele Marziani Universita' di Ferrara e-mail (work)
    Michele> [e-mail] Dipartimento di Fisica (home)
    Michele> [e-mail] 44100 Ferrara - ITALY * * *
    Michele> voice/fax [phone]

--Cliff
[e-mail]