info-mac@uw-beaver (info-mac) (08/07/84)
From PATTERMANN@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA Mon Aug 6 18:09:49 1984
LCDR Larry F. Byard, USN
HQ USEUCOM, Box 1054
APO NY 09128
Teach Hard- und Software Vertrieb Gmbh + Co.
Siemensstrasse 22
7257 Ditzingen
Dear Herr Hacke:
Rainer, below are listed some problems we are having with our Lisa and
Macintosh computers. I decided to convey these problems to you in
writing so that you would have something which you can readily pass to Apple.
Our primary concern, at present, are problems with LisaWrite and MacWrite
which make them very difficult to use for electronic mail. Electronic
mail is very important to our business and to the project that we have
planned for the Lisas. The problems in the numbered paragraphs below are
especially critical and urgent. We would appreciate anything you can do
to get them corrected as soon as possible.
L. F. Byard
CC: Info-Mac@Sumex
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Page 28 of the LisaTerminal (version 2.0/B) User's Manual states...
"Since LisaTerminal does not allow printing, you should paste information
your information you want printed to LisaWrite. You can then print the
information from LisaWrite."
"LisaTerminal will not wraperound or format text as does LisaWrite. In
other words, punctuation and spaces between sentences may appear at the
beginning of a new line, and words may split between lines. If you want
the same format in the LisaTerminal document as in the LisaWrite document,
prior to pasting place a return at the end of each line in each paragraph
in the LisaWrite document. You should also set the tabs in the LisaTerminal
document to match those in the LisaWrite document."
Comments on the above:
1. When working on electronic mail with LisaTerminal, we must have a
means to toggle the printer on and off, as we can with a VT 100. The
requirement to copy from LisaTerminal and paste into LisaWrite, to print
our electronic mail, is not practical. We need the ability to print
electronic mail as it is received. Specifically, when receiving infor-
mation on serial port A, and with the printer connected to serial port
B, there must be a simple way to turn port B on and off to print the infor-
mation as it is sent to and received by port A and displayed on the screen.
On the VT 100, the serial printer port is toggled on and off the data
stream being received by the communications port with Control-ENTER. Also,
the VT 100 will do a screen print with the command Shift-ENTER. Both
commands should be duplicated on the Lisa and implemented on the Mac.
Electronic mail does not require graphics or fancy fonts. The Imagewriter
should print in its own font and at full speed. Printer XON/XOFF should
be operable for bauds higher than 1200. Indication of the printer status
(on or off) should be constantly presented in the display. Local form feeds
should be possible without deselecting the printer or sending them to the
mail host computer.
2. Both the Lisa and Mac do not add carriage returns at line endings or
fill-in tabbed space with spaces for transmission. The result is what
you see in *Write documents is not what is transmitted. The format is
destroyed. The requirement to have to manually add carriage returns at
the end of lines and white space for tabs and centered titles is impractic-
able--very time consumming. It essentually rules-out LisaWrite dumps to
electronic mail and greatly reduces the effectiveness of our Lisas and Macs.
Other problems...
LisaTerminal does not have a file transfer capability. (MacTerminal does.)
# is received as as a pound when using LisaTerminal. # should be a shifted
3, as are most American keyboards. The shifted 3 on our keybaords is an
English pound sign.
LisaList examples use the English pound instead of $.
LisaTerminal will not work at 4800 baud in an XON/XOFF mode. The system
stops after a line or so (or less) and reports that it is receiving excess
noise, which, in fact, it is not.