wombat@claris.com (Scott Lindsey) (10/28/89)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CLARIS ANNOUNCES MAJOR ENHANCEMENTS
TO APPLEWORKS GS APPLICATION
SANTA CLARA, Calif., October 27, 1989 -- Claris Corporation
today introduced a new version of its AppleWorks GS software that
features major speed enhancements and provides compatibility with
the latest Apple IIGS hardware and System 5.0 software from Apple
Computer Inc. AppleWorks GS is the best-selling integrated software
for the Apple IIGS computer that combines six powerful applications in
one easy-to-use package.
When used with System 5.0 software, the new version,
AppleWorks GS 1.1, offers overall performance improvements that load
the program eight times faster than the previous version (AppleWorks
GS 1.0v2) running under System 4.0 . The upgrade also offers
enhanced screen updating to allow users to scroll more quickly
through documents, faster spreadsheet recalculations and direct
importation of AppleWorks 3.0 files.
The upgrade runs under Apple IIGS System 5.0 to allow users to
take advantage of the new System features and offers enhanced
memory utilization and compatibility with 1.125 Mbyte Apple IIGS
computers.
"This new version of AppleWorks GS demonstrates Claris'
continued commitment to our customers," said Bill Campbell, Claris
president and CEO. "With AppleWorks GS 1.1 we've not only
addressed the performance and compatibility issues that our customers
have asked for, but we've also added many features to make it a more
robust, fully-featured product."
Additional features incorporated in AppleWorks GS 1.1 include a
memory test utility that allows users to test their memory expansion
board before using the program, a database conversion utility for
converting previous version database files for use with AWGS 1.1, a
custom ImageWriter printer driver that improves printing speed, a
database template designed especially for creating 1-inch mailing
labels, special palettes that improve the quality of imported color
graphics and "Contains", "Begins" and "Ends" functions that have
been added to the database and spreadsheet modules.
Also, a new graphics Control Panel makes it easier to perform
many routine tasks, such as choosing a printer, and users can create
accents and diacritical marks used in foreign languages as well as a
variety of special characters.
AppleWorks GS 1.1 is will begin shipping in November with a
suggested retail price of $299. The new operating system, System 5.0,
comes with AppleWorks GS 1.1. Registered AppleWorks GS 1.0 users
can purchase an upgrade to version 1.1 directly from Claris for $29.
For upgrade order forms and instructions call (800) 544-8554.
Claris Corporation, the leading vendor of Apple II applications
and one of the top two vendors of Macintosh software, is a subsidiary
of Apple Computer, Inc. The company develops, markets and supports
application software for Macintosh and Apple II computers. It began
shipping Claris-labeled products in January 1988 to business,
government, education and technical markets. The company's
product lines include integrated productivity applications for Apple II
computers and word processing, graphics, data management,
planning, CAD (computer-aided design) and EFP (electronic forms
processing) software for Macintosh computers. Claris, with
headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., is currently making the transition
from Apple subsidiary to independent company.
###
Claris is a trademark of Claris Corporation.
Apple, Apple IIGS, Macintosh and ImageWriter are registered trademarks of
AppleComputer, Inc.
AppleWorks is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., licensed to
Claris Corporation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- the AWGS Development team:
Michael Hibbetts <mrh@claris>
Tom Hoke <tom@claris>
John Kinder <john@claris>
Scott Lindsey <wombat@claris>
Sydney R. Polk <jazzman@claris>
Stephan Schwirzke <largos@claris>
Kevin Watts <kevin@claris>
--
Scott Lindsey |"Cold and misty morning. I heard a warning borne in the air
Claris Corp. | About an age of power when no one had an hour to spare"
ames!claris!wombat| DISCLAIMER: These are not the opinions of Claris, Apple,
wombat@claris.com | StyleWare, the author, or anyone else living or Dead.rnf@shumv1.uucp (Rick Fincher) (10/28/89)
Scott, it sounds like AWGS 1.1 is just like 1.0v2 except that it runs correctly under System 5.0. What new features does it have separate from System 5.0? Thanks! Rick
emerrill@tippy.uucp (10/29/89)
/* Written 4:41 pm Oct 27, 1989 by wombat@claris in tippy:apple */ >CLARIS ANNOUNCES MAJOR ENHANCEMENTS >TO APPLEWORKS GS APPLICATION >SANTA CLARA, Calif., October 27, 1989 -- Claris Corporation >Also, a new graphics Control Panel makes it easier to perform >many routine tasks, such as choosing a printer, and users can create >accents and diacritical marks used in foreign languages as well as a >variety of special characters. Is this a different control panel than the NDA that comes with System Software 5.0 and 5.0.2? If so, what makes it different than the system control panel? _________________________________________________________ | | | Eric Merrill tippy!emerrill@newton.physics.purdue.edu | | | | My other witty .sig is in the shop being repaired. | |_________________________________________________________|
fadden@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Andy McFadden) (10/29/89)
In article <10645@claris.com> wombat@claris.com (Scott Lindsey) writes: >"This new version of AppleWorks GS demonstrates Claris' >continued commitment to our customers," said Bill Campbell, Claris >president and CEO. Interesting how whenever Apple II products are released (system 5, ROM 03, and now AWGS), the "dude in charge" is always careful to point out how it demonstrates their "continued commitment" to their customers.. Maybe somebody up there in Macintosh, Inc. is actually *aware* that five million Apple IIs are out there... and that the users are pretty annoyed, especially when the Macintosh appears at AppleFest and Claris doesn't. Nah. >Scott Lindsey |"Cold and misty morning. I heard a warning borne in the air -- fadden@cory.berkeley.edu (Andy McFadden) ...!ucbvax!cory!fadden
rewing@Apple.COM (Richard Ewing) (10/29/89)
Well, Claris has not only elected onot to attend Applefest, but they also didn't show up at Washington MacWorld, so the excuse of "not enough money to attend" might actually be correct. As much as some of the community would like to think, there are no grand conspiricies in the way these companies deal with booking trade shows. -- __________________________________________________________________________ |Disclaimer: Segmentation Fault: Core Dumped. | | | |Internet: REWING@APPLE.COM-----------------------Rick Ewing | |ApplelinkPE & MacNet Soon!------------------Apple Computer, Inc. | |Applelink: EWING--------------------100 Ashford Center North, Suite 100 | |Compu$erve: [76474,1732]--------------------Atlanta, GA 30338 | |GENIE: R.EWING1--------------------------TalkNet: (404) 393-9358 | |USENET: {amdahl,decwrl,sun,unisoft}!apple!rewing | ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
fadden@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Andy McFadden) (10/30/89)
In article <36011@apple.Apple.COM> rewing@Apple.COM (Richard Ewing) writes: >Well, Claris has not only elected onot to attend Applefest, but they also >didn't show up at Washington MacWorld, so the excuse of "not enough >money to attend" might actually be correct. When I think of - how many copies of AWGS and AW "classic" have been shipped - the price on each of these dudes Either Claris has a lot of debts to pay off or their Macintosh sales just aren't happening. How much money does it take to come to AppleFest? If companies like Applied Ingenuity and the guys who make Xenocide can show up, I think that Claris (which shouldn't be more than an hour's drive away from SFO) can probably take up a collection and manage to send *somebody*. > As much as some of the >community would like to think, there are no grand conspiricies in the >way these companies deal with booking trade shows. The problem is that there *isn't* any conspiracy to book trade shows. It would be nice if they would all conspire to show up... >|Internet: REWING@APPLE.COM-----------------------Rick Ewing | -- fadden@cory.berkeley.edu (Andy McFadden) ...!ucbvax!cory!fadden
shankar@SRC.Honeywell.COM (Subash Shankar) (10/30/89)
In article <18916@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> fadden@cory.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP (Andy McFadden) writes: >Either Claris has a lot of debts to pay off or their Macintosh sales just >aren't happening. How much money does it take to come to AppleFest? If >companies like Applied Ingenuity and the guys who make Xenocide can show >up, I think that Claris (which shouldn't be more than an hour's drive >away from SFO) can probably take up a collection and manage to send >*somebody*. But does Claris gain anything by coming? Chances are that Claris sales aren't going to be significantly affected (in the short term) whether they come to Applefest or not. AI and Xenocide need to show their products or go bankrupt. Although it would still be nice for Claris to show up (I agree that it can't cost that much to come) --- Subash Shankar Honeywell Systems & Research Center voice: (612) 782 7558 US Snail: 3660 Technology Dr., Minneapolis, MN 55418 shankar@src.honeywell.com srcsip!shankar
mattd@Apple.COM (Matt Deatherage) (10/30/89)
In article <18916> fadden@cory.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP (Andy McFadden) writes: > >When I think of > - how many copies of AWGS and AW "classic" have been shipped > - the price on each of these dudes > >Either Claris has a lot of debts to pay off or their Macintosh sales just >aren't happening. How much money does it take to come to AppleFest? If >companies like Applied Ingenuity and the guys who make Xenocide can show >up, I think that Claris (which shouldn't be more than an hour's drive >away from SFO) can probably take up a collection and manage to send >*somebody*. > Remember that AWGS programming team list posted a while back? Claris has to use the proceeds for AWGS to pay their salaries, and for all their equipment (including samples of printers and modems to test with), as well as for getting the new packages into the stores in time for the holidays, and a bunch of other stuff. I would bet that most of the AppleWorks 3.0 sales for the calendar year 1989 are upgrade sales, and I'll further bet a lot of that goes into the cost of the upgrade program and the cost of producing the software. In other words, I find this about as viable as the "the manual only costs $3 to print and the disk is another $2, so they should be able to sell it for $1 with 100% profit." It's just more expensive than that, especially in the Apple II market where everyone wants upgraded to the latest version cheap or free and when you do that, no one even sees it. Claris, in fact, upgraded people to AppleWorks 2.0, 2.1 and 3.0 for much less than buying the package over again, and is doing the same for AWGS 1.0v2 (which was *totally free*) and 1.1. Try finding many other software companies who do that. A lack of Apple II software sales is hurting everyone. Bill Basham makes most of his living off the Apple II as well, but no one's attacking him for no being at AppleFest. It's the same issue on a different scale. >-- >fadden@cory.berkeley.edu (Andy McFadden) >...!ucbvax!cory!fadden -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matt Deatherage, Apple Computer, Inc. | "The opinions expressed in this tome Send PERSONAL mail ONLY (please) to: | should not be construed to imply that Amer. Online: Matt DTS | Apple Computer, Inc., or any of its ThisNet: mattd@apple.com | subsidiaries, in whole or in part, ThatNet: (stuff)!ames!apple!mattd | have any opinion on any subject." Other mail by request only, please. | "So there." -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
wombat@claris.com (Scott Lindsey) (10/30/89)
In article <145300013@tippy> emerrill@tippy.uucp writes: > Is this a different control panel than the NDA that comes with System > Software 5.0 and 5.0.2? No. It *is* the control panel NDA that ships with System 5.0(.x, if you insist). What I posted Friday was a press release. It was not written specifically for posting here where we can assume the casual reader is at least aware of the existance of the new system software. *I* believe the paragraph concerning the control panel was written to address issues users have brought to Claris' attention. Namely, the need for full access to the Apple Extended ASCII character set, and, to a lesser degree, the ease (or difficulty) of dealing with different printer configurations. [Don't you just love sentence fragments?] I'll agree that the announcement could have been more clearly written in some areas, however, I was not a consulting editor :-). I posted the announcement verbatim, with the exception of converting various extended ASCII characters to something more meaningful on the Net. Scott Lindsey |"Cold and misty morning. I heard a warning borne in the air Claris Corp. | About an age of power when no one had an hour to spare" ames!claris!wombat| DISCLAIMER: These are not the opinions of Claris, Apple, wombat@claris.com | StyleWare, the author, or anyone else living or Dead.
shatara@memit.enet.dec.com (Chris Shatara) (10/31/89)
I realize the announcement said that AWGS will be shipped with System 5.0. Is this by any chance 5.02? If not, why not? /chris ============================================================================= | Chris Shatara | Internet: shatara@memit.enet.dec.com | | Opinions expressed are | DEC Easynet: memit::shatara | | mine and mine only! | UUCP: ...!decwrl!memit!shatara | =============================================================================
joseph@elbereth.rutgers.edu (Seymour Joseph) (10/31/89)
Scott, Is there a way to get any additional information about the 1.1 release of AWGS? Many of the features claimed as NEW by the press release were, in fact, included as part of the 1.0v2 release. The memory tester, ImageWriter driver, label template, color palettes and expanded database functions are all part of the current 1.0v2. It is not truthful to call these new features of 1.1. Your press release also claims the graphics Control Panel that is actually part of Apple Computer Inc.'s System 5.0 as being a feature of AppleWorks GS 1.1 This is misleading and untrue. The things that are important are whether it works properly with System 5.0 and AppleShare, what functionality has been added to >THIS< version, and what bugs have been fixed. The press release you posted only makes one of these clear (System 5.0 compatability). I have encountered two serious bugs in AWGS that have cost me many hours of work and seriously limited the package's usability. I took the time to make sure they were reproduceable, to call your Tech support people (It's an expensive toll call from New Jersey), report the bugs and tell Claris how to reproduce them. Both times I was told I was the first person to report these particular bugs and that they would be addressed in upcoming versions of the program. I feel like a beta tester. I don't like feeling like a beta tester for a product that costs lots of money and has been available for years. How can we, as AppleWorks GS owners, find out what improvements were actually make in this release? What bugs were squashed? What was improved? I really don't want to send $29 to Claris to find that these bugs are still there. Help. Seymour Joseph AppleWorks GS Owner and Apple II User Group co-ordinator
rnf@shumv1.uucp (Rick Fincher) (12/06/89)
For those of you wondering, I got the AWGS 1.1 upgrade on Dec. 4th. I'm in North Carolina so the East Coast folks should see it soon. I ordered on the day the Press Release was posted here. General Impressions: Everything is generally faster, particularly the spread sheet which is several times faster. Modules load faster. Support for networked imagewriter II's is included, as well as for AppleTalk in general, it is not multi-launch, though. I presume the database files are not byte range locked but I haven't had a chance to see yet. Byte Range Locking allows multiple users to work on the same database (or other) file simultaneously (Scott- any word on this?). The different disk format for the database is puzzling. The database program seems otherwise unchanged. Did they do this so the DB files would load faster? Or, to make the files more compatible with FileMaker (a Claris Mac product)? Or maybe to conform with Claris' proposed file exchange standard? The new printer drivers help a lot. Personnaly, I find the improved draft mode performance to be the biggest help here. If you printed in draft mode before and set the ImageWriter II to NLQ, that was turned off at the beginning of each page. Graphics mode printing is just too slow for business purposes, although the speed has improved in the new version. So, being able to print in NLQ without doing anal calisthenics is a big plus. All in all, everything is faster, particularly the spreadsheet, many (but not all) of the more annoying bugs are stomped out, and all of the features of System 5.0 are supported. No real added features, just improvements to old ones. The program is more useful now and more pleasant to use because of the bug fixes and general increase in robustness. Has anyone else found neat new things or bugs (either old or new)? Rick Fincher rnf@shumv1.ncsu.edu
wombat@claris.com (Scott Lindsey) (12/06/89)
In article <1989Dec5.195806.13131@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu> rnf@shumv1.uucp (Rick Fincher) writes: > Everything is generally faster, particularly the spread sheet which is several > times faster. Modules load faster. Support for networked imagewriter II's is > included, as well as for AppleTalk in general, it is not multi-launch, though. Specifically, it is single-launch on a AppleShare file server. Originally, marketing wanted me to make it 0-launch, but I was able to convince them otherwise. > I presume the database files are not byte range locked but I haven't had a > chance to see yet. Byte Range Locking allows multiple users to work on the > same database (or other) file simultaneously (Scott- any word on this?). No, byte range locking is not done (does anyone know if this capability is even available through GS/OS?) DB is a memory-based database... it loads the entire database into memory and works with it there. In general, AWGS does not have "good" support for a network environment. This is mainly due to its design (back before System 3.2 and any hint of the IIgs being a network machine). AWGS opens files, reads them, closes them, lets the user modify them... if the user saves, the file is opened, truncated, and rewritten. This means that users have the capability to change files out from under each other on a fileserver. > The > different disk format for the database is puzzling. The database program > seems otherwise unchanged. Did they do this so the DB files would load faster? > Or, to make the files more compatible with FileMaker (a Claris Mac product)? There is some speed gain, but the main reason was an internal data structure change in DB. > Or maybe to conform with Claris' proposed file exchange standard? I assume you mean XTND? XTND has to do with providing a mechanism for reading other file formats, whatever they may be, so there's no particular reason for a file format change for compatibility here. > The new printer drivers help a lot. Personnaly, I find the improved draft > mode performance to be the biggest help here. If you printed in draft mode > before and set the ImageWriter II to NLQ, that was turned off at the beginning > of each page. Graphics mode printing is just too slow for business purposes, > although the speed has improved in the new version. So, being able to print > in NLQ without doing anal calisthenics is a big plus. The funny thing is that the opt/cmd key modification to the ImageWriter driver was done at the last minute as a "hidden feature" because I thought it might appease a few vocal users who wanted to use NLQ or Correspondence modes. Scott Lindsey |"Cold and misty morning. I heard a warning borne in the air Claris Corp. | About an age of power when no one had an hour to spare" ames!claris!wombat| DISCLAIMER: These are not the opinions of Claris, Apple, wombat@claris.com | StyleWare, the author, or anyone else living or Dead.
rnf@shumv1.uucp (Rick Fincher) (12/06/89)
In article <WOMBAT.89Dec5150204@claris.com> wombat@claris.com (Scott Lindsey) writes: >> included, as well as for AppleTalk in general, it is not multi-launch, though. > >Specifically, it is single-launch on a AppleShare file server. Originally, >marketing wanted me to make it 0-launch, but I was able to convince them >otherwise. Good going! That would have been a real pain for network users. Why would they want to make it 0-launch if only one user at a time could run it? Does Claris hold to the notion that software is licensed for a particular CPU? > >No, byte range locking is not done (does anyone know if this capability is >even available through GS/OS?) DB is a memory-based database... it loads the You can with the AppleShare FST. You have to make the AFP calls from the application to lock a range. The application has to keep track of which bytes in the file represent a record. This also requires disk based database files, or at least files that write modifications to the disk immediately. The application would have to send a message to other users of the file that the record was changed so that they could update their memory version of it. > >> Or maybe to conform with Claris' proposed file exchange standard? > >I assume you mean XTND? XTND has to do with providing a mechanism for reading >other file formats, whatever they may be, so there's no particular reason for >a file format change for compatibility here. > I was under the (mistaken) impression that it was some sort of meta format like IGES in the CAD world that everyone could write their own converters for. So would this be sort of like Apple File Exchange built into the program? Is AWGS eventually going to support it?! The thought of being able to use MacWrite, MacPaint, and FileMaker documents and vice-versa over a network is very appealing. > >> The new printer drivers help a lot. Personnaly, I find the improved draft >> mode performance to be the biggest help here. If you printed in draft mode > >The funny thing is that the opt/cmd key modification to the ImageWriter driver >was done at the last minute as a "hidden feature" because I thought it might >appease a few vocal users who wanted to use NLQ or Correspondence modes. Whoa! What is that? I've just been setting the front panel switch (though, now that I think of it, that would be impractical with a networked printer) is there a better way? Thanks a million Scott! Just knowing that you guys are there listening makes me feel good about buying and using your product. I've got a lot of confidence in AWGS and its future because of your responsiveness to customer input. I have a suggestion or two for future versions. One would be a Finder-like module. This would give the program all of the functionality of multiple programs running on a Mac under MultiFinder. Perhaps you could even get with Apple and actually use their Finder. This would take a lot of memory, but it's down to less than $100 a meg now. This in combination with the new 1 meg IIgs will allow new IIgs owners to to get 2 megs for less than it cost us to get the 512K extra that we needed to run lots of stuff last year. The other suggestion I would have is to give developers a means of adding their applications to the kernel of AWGS, similar to the way you do with AppleWorks. It would be great if we could pick and choose among many programs and add 1 or 2 modules from 3rd parties (or Claris). Also the Communications module would be far more useful if it had VT-100 capability. With that you could sell IIgs's as generalized Vax terminals. A monochrome system with one floppy and using a Vax as an AppleShare Server for hard disk storage, would cost less than $1300 with AWGS. That's cheaper than a Mac Plus without software, faster too, and you get a 12 inch screen! The local word processing et al would also offload the Vax, stretching its resources further. Documents could be transferred in the background, so very little productivity would be lost waiting for file transfers. Rick Fincher rnf@shumv1.ncsu.edu
mcgurrin@MWUNIX.MITRE.ORG (12/06/89)
And I'm glad you did! (put the ability to use NLQ in) I had asked about this when I first got AWGS. Speaking of AWGS 1.1, though, how do I go about getting an upgrade, and how much does it cost for an AWGS owner? Thanks!
jm7e+@ANDREW.CMU.EDU ("Jeremy G. Mereness") (12/07/89)
I want to emphasize Rick's last point about AWGS.... I would love to see a fully functional, vt100 emulating terminal module for AWGS. I don't have the package myself, but I have experimented with it at a dealer. With a decent amount of RAM, this program really truly impresses me and is one of the potentially most useful packages I've seen for ANY computer. Kudos to the authors, many of whom read this board. The communications module didn't seem to have been installed correctly at the store (the letters were real fat and bulky and certainly didn't fit 80 columns to the screen... font trouble?) But the idea came to me of being able to write a complete report at my desk, and when I got board or distracted, easily popping open the DataCom module and dialing up my university.... better still, if I could not only kermit files back and forth but ymodem them right into a WP file. Who needs a Mac, anyway? The word processor is very impressive, and happily you support all the functions Macwrite forgot, like counting words and characters. The rest? I need to scrape up some cash to check it out... Lastly, Rick Fincher mentioned the kernal... depending on how flexible it is (it's gotta be to do as much as it does) it would be great if add-ons were a possibility, like Timeout does for Classic Works. Damn... If a scripting language were built in and some sort of Finder front-end, AWGS could become an entire system that users would never leave, much like Hypercard has become for the Mac, only better! Claris deserves a hand for this... they obviously did some major code-hacking to make the GS so capable!! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |Jeremy Mereness | Support | Disclaimer: | |jm7e+@andrew.cmu.edu (internet) | Free | The above represent my| |r746jm7e@cmccvb (Vax... bitnet) | Software | opinions, alone. | |a student at Carnegie Mellon U. | | Void where prohibited.| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
wombat@claris.com (Scott Lindsey) (12/07/89)
In article <1989Dec6.072954.22907@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu> rnf@shumv1.uucp (Rick Fincher) writes: > >> included, as well as for AppleTalk in general, it is not multi-launch, though. > >Specifically, it is single-launch on a AppleShare file server. Originally, > >marketing wanted me to make it 0-launch, but I was able to convince them > >otherwise. > Good going! That would have been a real pain for network users. Why would > they want to make it 0-launch if only one user at a time could run it? > Does Claris hold to the notion that software is licensed for a particular > CPU? If it were 0-launch, *no-one* would be able to run it off of the server, i.e., it could only be run off a ProDOS filesystem (floppy, HD, RAM, ROM). It's not multi-launch because this is not a network version. > >No, byte range locking is not done (does anyone know if this capability is > >even available through GS/OS?) DB is a memory-based database... it loads the > You can with the AppleShare FST. You have to make the AFP calls from the > application to lock a range. In other words, no. If you have to make the AFP calls yourself, you're not using the AppleShare FST (or GS/OS) but are talking directly to AppleTalk yourself. >>I assume you mean XTND? XTND has to do with providing a mechanism for reading >>other file formats, whatever they may be, so there's no particular reason for >>a file format change for compatibility here. > I was under the (mistaken) impression that it was some sort of meta format > like IGES in the CAD world that everyone could write their own converters > for. So would this be sort of like Apple File Exchange built into the > program? Is AWGS eventually going to support it?! No, it wouldn't really be like AFE, which is for different types of media and disk formats. Since it's Macintosh technology, I truly doubt that AWGS will ever support it, but, of course, there's no guarantee. > Whoa! What is that? I've just been setting the front panel switch (though, > now that I think of it, that would be impractical with a networked printer) > is there a better way? If you set your ImageWriter to NLQ or Correspondence mode and try to print in "draft" mode, the printer gets reset to *real* draft mode, so there was no sure method for getting NLQ or Correspondence output from your ImageWriter II using AWGS or any other print-manager based program. The hack I added was a check for the option and for the Fan/Cmd/Clover/Open-Apple key. I don't remember which is which (one is NLQ, the other Corr.). If you hold it down when you hit the OK button in the Print dialog in draft mode, it tells the ImageWriter.CL driver you want a different "draft" mode. Your ideas for expanding AWGS are noted, but keep in mind that currently, AWGS stretches the edge of what can be fit on an 800K floppy, so extensions and additions are not particularly feasible. As for Comm and terminal emulation, it's very difficult to provide a 24 line terminal using 200 lines of vertical resolution after taking away the menu bar and window title bar's space. You end up needing about a 6 or 7 point font. And that looks hideous... worse than Monaco 9 :-) Scott Lindsey |"Cold and misty morning. I heard a warning borne in the air Claris Corp. | About an age of power when no one had an hour to spare" ames!claris!wombat| DISCLAIMER: These are not the opinions of Claris, Apple, wombat@claris.com | StyleWare, the author, or anyone else living or Dead.
hartkopf@tramp.Colorado.EDU (Jeff Hartkopf) (12/07/89)
In article <WOMBAT.89Dec6134119@claris.com> wombat@claris.com (Scott Lindsey) writes: [in response to a suggestion to make AWGS capable of vt100:] >As for Comm and terminal emulation, it's very difficult to provide a 24 line >terminal using 200 lines of vertical resolution after taking away the >menu bar and window title bar's space. You end up needing about a 6 or 7 point >font. And that looks hideous... worse than Monaco 9 :-) I know. However, I also think it sure would be *GREAT* if you could somehow figure out a way to do it. SnowTerm does it very well (although, of course, there is no window title bar--but there is a menu bar). As it is, I don't use the communications module much at all. However, I'd use it *all the time* if it had vt100. To me, vt100 emulation would very much increase the value of AWGS. What do other people think? Jeff Hartkopf Internet: hartkopf@tramp.Colorado.EDU
jazzman@claris.com (Sydney R. Polk) (12/08/89)
Before I start, I want to say that I have not seen an idea that we didn't
talk about at one time or another in development.
From article <UZTLq4y00VA_MDY7cd@andrew.cmu.edu>, by jm7e+@ANDREW.CMU.EDU ("Jeremy G. Mereness"):
> I want to emphasize Rick's last point about AWGS....
> I would love to see a fully functional, vt100 emulating terminal
> module for AWGS. I don't have the package myself, but I have
> experimented with it at a dealer. With a decent amount of RAM, this
> program really truly impresses me and is one of the potentially most
> useful packages I've seen for ANY computer. Kudos to the authors, many
> of whom read this board.
Thanks. I really wanted VT100. The fates were against it, alas. We didn't
have the time or the resources.
> The communications module didn't seem to have been installed correctly
> at the store (the letters were real fat and bulky and certainly didn't
> fit 80 columns to the screen... font trouble?) But the idea came to me
> of being able to write a complete report at my desk, and when I got
> board or distracted, easily popping open the DataCom module and
> dialing up my university.... better still, if I could not only kermit
> files back and forth but ymodem them right into a WP file. Who needs a
> Mac, anyway?
I have both a MacPlus and a GS at home. I turn on my Mac to play Risk.
I use AWGS for everything else. Of course I don't have a modem.
The dealer above did not have Monaco 9 in his system folder. You can
almost achieve the same thing a downloading into WP. You can download
to the window and copy-paste, or you can save it to a text file and
import it. You can also send the text from a WP, AppleWorks WP, MSGS,
or a text file directly from CM.
> The word processor is very impressive, and happily you support all the
> functions Macwrite forgot, like counting words and characters. The
> rest? I need to scrape up some cash to check it out...
I think the Word Processor is the second weakest module.
> Lastly, Rick Fincher mentioned the kernal... depending on how flexible
> it is (it's gotta be to do as much as it does) it would be great if
> add-ons were a possibility, like Timeout does for Classic Works.
> Damn... If a scripting language were built in and some sort of Finder
> front-end, AWGS could become an entire system that users would never
> leave, much like Hypercard has become for the Mac, only better!
Well, if we do a 2.0, we have some really, really cool ideas about how
to redo the driver to do really serious stuff (drop-in modules, backgroud
tasks (other than downlaods), modules hat don't have windows (spell-checking,
for instance), XTND capability, etc.).
> Claris deserves a hand for this... they obviously did some major
> code-hacking to make the GS so capable!!
Well, a lot of it wasn't hacking (but a lot of it was!). Thanks for the
post! From an old StyleWare guy who at one time never thought we could
do it!
--
Syd Polk | Wherever you go, there you are.
jazzman@claris.com | Let the music be your light.
GO 'STROS! | These opinions are mine. Any resemblence to other
GO RICE! | opinions, real or fictitious, is purely coincidence.mattd@Apple.COM (Matt Deatherage) (12/08/89)
In article <WOMBAT.89Dec6134119@claris.com> wombat@claris.com (Scott Lindsey) writes: >In article <1989Dec6.072954.22907@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu> rnf@shumv1.uucp (Rick Fincher) writes: > >> >No, byte range locking is not done (does anyone know if this capability is >> >even available through GS/OS?) DB is a memory-based database...it loads the > >> You can with the AppleShare FST. You have to make the AFP calls from the >> application to lock a range. > >In other words, no. If you have to make the AFP calls yourself, you're >not using the AppleShare FST (or GS/OS) but are talking directly to AppleTalk >yourself. > >Scott Lindsey |"Cold and misty morning. I heard a warning borne in the air You're both almost (but not quite) right. The capability is present in the FST, through the FST Specific ($2033) call. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matt Deatherage, Apple Computer, Inc. | "The opinions expressed in this tome Send PERSONAL mail ONLY (please) to: | should not be construed to imply that Amer. Online: Matt DTS | Apple Computer, Inc., or any of its ThisNet: mattd@apple.com | subsidiaries, in whole or in part, ThatNet: (stuff)!ames!apple!mattd | have any opinion on any subject." Other mail by request only, please. | "So there." -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
rnf@shumv1.uucp (Rick Fincher) (12/08/89)
In article <10724@claris.com> jazzman@claris.com (Sydney R. Polk) writes: >Before I start, I want to say that I have not seen an idea that we didn't >talk about at one time or another in development. > >Well, if we do a 2.0, we have some really, really cool ideas about how >to redo the driver to do really serious stuff (drop-in modules, backgroud >tasks (other than downlaods), modules hat don't have windows (spell-checking, >for instance), XTND capability, etc.). > Syd, I don't know if you can talk about this but how many copies of AWGS have been sold? How many of those were upgrades? I guess what I'm asking is if Claris is making enough money on the program to pay for a 2.0 version. Also, are you doing a Mac version? Rick Fincher rnf@shumv1.ncsu.edu
jazzman@claris.com (Sydney R. Polk) (12/09/89)
From article <1989Dec8.013631.24290@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu>, by rnf@shumv1.uucp (Rick Fincher): > Syd, I don't know if you can talk about this but how many copies of AWGS > have been sold? How many of those were upgrades? I guess what I'm asking > is if Claris is making enough money on the program to pay for a 2.0 > version. Also, are you doing a Mac version? Sorry, no comment. Sigh. -- Syd Polk | Wherever you go, there you are. jazzman@claris.com | Let the music be your light. GO 'STROS! | These opinions are mine. Any resemblence to other GO RICE! | opinions, real or fictitious, is purely coincidence.
pnakada@oracle.com (Paul Nakada) (12/09/89)
In article <10726@claris.com> jazzman@claris.com (Sydney R. Polk) writes: From article <1989Dec8.013631.24290@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu>, by rnf@shumv1.uucp (Rick Fincher): > Syd, I don't know if you can talk about this but how many copies of AWGS > have been sold? How many of those were upgrades? I guess what I'm asking > is if Claris is making enough money on the program to pay for a 2.0 > version. Also, are you doing a Mac version? Sorry, no comment. Sigh. I think that Microsoft Works has already more than adequately filled this niche in the Mac world. The sad thing is that even with a better product than Works, I think Claris would have a tough time breaking the Microsoft loyalties. Does anyone know of plans for a powerful wordprocessor for the GS? I'm referring to somethnig on par with Word 3.0. -Paul Nakada pnakada@oracle.com
wombat@claris.com (Scott Lindsey) (12/09/89)
In article <PNAKADA.89Dec8131039@pnakada.oracle.com> pnakada@oracle.com (Paul Nakada) writes: > I think that Microsoft Works has already more than adequately filled > this niche in the Mac world. The sad thing is that even with a better > product than Works, I think Claris would have a tough time breaking > the Microsoft loyalties. "more than adequately"? Sorry, but have you ever tried to use MS-Works to really accomplish anything? My choice of words would have been "barely." It's all there is, though, and has been for so long that your statement about loyalties is true. Sure, you can call me biased (working for Claris), but I've deplored MS-Works since long before I joined Claris. Admittedly, it's improved vastly in later revisions, but not nearly at the same rate as the rest of software in general. Scott Lindsey |"Cold and misty morning. I heard a warning borne in the air Claris Corp. | About an age of power when no one had an hour to spare" ames!claris!wombat| DISCLAIMER: These are not the opinions of Claris, Apple, wombat@claris.com | StyleWare, the author, or anyone else living or Dead.
rnf@shumv1.uucp (Rick Fincher) (12/09/89)
8 In article <WOMBAT.89Dec8170304@claris.com> wombat@claris.com (Scott Lindsey) writes: >In article <PNAKADA.89Dec8131039@pnakada.oracle.com> pnakada@oracle.com (Paul Nakada) writes: > >> I think that Microsoft Works has already more than adequately filled >> this niche in the Mac world. The sad thing is that even with a better > >"more than adequately"? Sorry, but have you ever tried to use MS-Works to >really accomplish anything? My choice of words would have been "barely." I agree with Scott (but everyones needs are different). I think a Mac version of AppleWorks would do well. It would also help the IIgs if it is file compatible by allowing the IIgs and Mac to coexist in the business environment. This would allow the IIgs to challenge the MS-DOS machines for a share of the low end market. I think the effects of this could be synergistic. I know of many companies that would like to get Macs but they need a mix of low end machines and high end systems. Although there is a lot of conversion software for DOS machines and a few programs that run on both the Mac and DOS and are at least partly file compatible, the mixed DOS-Mac office is less than ideal. The Mac Plus and SE are not even all that "low end", and are ruled out by many because of the small screen and lack of a cheap color option. The IIgs would be ideal in this environment. Its interface is the same as the Mac's and AppleWorks running on both systems would make integration very smooth. Let's face it, you don't need a $5000 plus Mac II to write letters. Maybe you do need one for CAD, sophisticated data bases, or high end page layout, but computers in offices are used 80% of the time for word processing. AWGS does 95% of what businesses use micros for, they can get a Mac II for the other 5%. Instead they buy model 30's (yeeech) for word processing and 50's 60's, 80's and clones for the high end stuff with VGA graphics, and end up with a lot of headaches on the high end systems trying to use more than 640K and on the low end systems trying to train clerical staff to use arcane MS-DOS commands. Secretaries end up using few of the features in their word processors because they are too hard to learn and remember. Rick Fincher rnf@shumv1.ncsu.edu
davep@pro-graphics.cts.com (David Pirmann) (12/10/89)
In-Reply-To: message from rnf@shumv1.uucp
Another thing, could the Communications package possibly emulate ANSI? Or, on
a side note, does any program emulate ANSI on the GS?
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Internet: davep@pro-graphics.cts.comdavep@pro-graphics.cts.com (David Pirmann) (12/10/89)
In-Reply-To: message from rnf@shumv1.uucp
Although not Claris, a similar product to AWGS on the MAC is Microsoft Works.
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