rjs@trwrba.UUCP (Robert J. Suyehara) (12/19/85)
Does anyone know what changes were made to MacDraw version 1.9? The dealer did not know what was changed except that "some bugs were fixed." Is it worth updating to 1.9 or has anyone had any problems with the new version? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks, Bob Suyehara
dad@mit-vax.UUCP (David Duff) (12/23/85)
In article <1743@trwrba.UUCP> rjs@trwrba.UUCP (Robert J. Suyehara) writes: >Does anyone know what changes were made to MacDraw >version 1.9? ... One fairly major bug I hope that they fixed is that ugly one with text objects inside grouped objects. When you move (drag) a gouped object which has text objects in it, the text objects drift from their correct positions. Can anyone else confirm that this is a MacDraw bug, or could it have been a damaged system or font file? Dave Duff
rubin@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU (Mike Rubin) (12/23/85)
> One fairly major bug I hope that they fixed is that ugly one with text > objects inside grouped objects. When you move (drag) a gouped object > which has text objects in it, the text objects drift from their correct > positions. Can anyone else confirm that this is a MacDraw bug, or could > it have been a damaged system or font file? Yes, but it can be avoided by using center-justified text; only left- or right-justified text seems to cause the drifting problem. Then there are the numerous bugs with high quality printing: pen patterns other than black do all kinds of wierd things, and "smoothed" polygons have all their wavers and jaggies amplified. And the bug with DA's that put up their own menus: MacDraw blows them away. General question.... why does Apple only sell software that's low on features? I know the rumor about MacWrite being deliberately crippled so as not to compete with Microsoft Word, but why have they never fixed MacPaint to use normal scroll bars or let you select beyond screen boundaries, or MacDraw to do the stuff MacDraft does, or MacTerminal to work properly? (As I've heard it, Apple wouldn't let Columbia University GIVE them Kermit protocol for MacTerminal unless Columbia paid for a MacTerminal source license!)
joel@gould9.UUCP (Joel West) (12/26/85)
In article <4297@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU>, rubin@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU (Mike Rubin) writes: > General question.... why does Apple only sell software that's low on features? > I know the rumor about MacWrite being deliberately crippled so as not to > compete with Microsoft Word, but why have they never fixed MacPaint to use > normal scroll bars or let you select beyond screen boundaries, or MacDraw to do > the stuff MacDraft does, or MacTerminal to work properly? Examining it from a business standpoint, Apple has divided up the software turf with its third party developers, and has promised not to cross that line, in exchange for their investment in the cost of software development. This is a bit ridiculous at times; for example, every Fat Mac should include a RAMDisk utility--particularly since one is in the p.d. On the other hand, how would you like to have spent money to develop and market a RAMDisk utility, then Apple cut out your feet underneath you? Incidentally, IBM does this all the time--stands aside waiting until a market becomes interesting, then attempting to grab it for itself. But Apple needs more developer loyalty, since investing in the Mac market is more speculative than for an IBM PC. So, the standard answer from Apple is, if you don't like MacWrite buy MS-Word MacTerminal buy Versaterm, etc. I've heard a rumor there's even a 3rd-party MacPaint coming out. Now if only there were a 3rd-party MacWrite, since MS-Word has such a mediocre WYSIWYG user interface. > (As I've heard it, > Apple wouldn't let Columbia University GIVE them Kermit protocol for > MacTerminal unless Columbia paid for a MacTerminal source license!) Now this seems dumb. I don't even use my MacTerminal any more, because MacKermit is better (except on bold-face and 132-column). It seems stupid that they wouldn't even take advantage of this to improve their basic product (XMODEM protocol behaves badly on noisy lines). -- Joel West (619) 457-9681 CACI, Inc. Federal, 3344 N. Torrey Pines Ct., La Jolla, CA 92037 {cbosgd,ihnp4,pyramid,sdcsvax,ucla-cs}!gould9!joel gould9!joel@nosc.ARPA
bart@reed.UUCP (Bart Massey) (01/04/86)
> > One fairly major bug I hope that they fixed is that ugly one with text > > objects inside grouped objects. When you move (drag) a gouped object > > which has text objects in it, the text objects drift from their correct > > positions. Can anyone else confirm that this is a MacDraw bug, or could > > it have been a damaged system or font file? > > Yes, but it can be avoided by using center-justified text; only left- or > right-justified text seems to cause the drifting problem. Then there are > the numerous bugs with high quality printing: pen patterns other than black > do all kinds of wierd things, and "smoothed" polygons have all their > wavers and jaggies amplified. And the bug with DA's that put up their own > menus: MacDraw blows them away. The text drift occurs in version 1.9 only with custom rulers turned on, with certain spacings of the divisions. I don't know about earlier versions. It has been suggested here that this is the result of interaction between ruler spacings and font sizes... At any rate, it turns out to be sort of workaroundable. Another ugly bug is that the Laserwriter occasionally prints something which is nothing like right. For instance, create a polygon, duplicate it, and set the duplicate flush against the right edge of the original. Now hit flower-D to make more of them. I have found circumstances where it then badly garbles the Laserwriter image. Sigh. It's too bad that MacDraw is so buggy. It's SO CLOSE to being exactly what I need for a number of projects, but until it's functionality is improved some, and a LOT of bugs fixed (the above are just the tip of the iceberg), I tend to avoid the silly thing whenever possible, Bart Massey ...tektronix!reed!bart