ppd491@leah.Albany.Edu (Peter P. Donohue) (02/16/90)
I am looking in to getting Ventura (for MS-DOS), and was wondering if someone could answer a few questions I have on it? Basically, I am looking to find out what the basic system requirements are to run it. I am also looking to find out if it is compatable with some of the other software I use. Any help would be appreciated. -Pete What CPU is required? How much memory does it take to run it? How much hard drive space does it take to install it? What forms of files will it accept as input? In particular, I use Lotus 123 and Harvard Graphics; will it accept the various files that I can produce with these pacages? What forms of output can it produce? What devices can it print to? How easy is it to use? -- Peter P. Donohue ppd491@albny1vx.bitnet . "Education is a journey, ppd491@leah.albany.edu . not a destination..."
frank@adiron.UUCP (Corradino) (02/16/90)
In article <2552@leah.Albany.Edu>, ppd491@leah.Albany.Edu (Peter P. Donohue) asks questions about Ventura. We have been using Ventura 1.1 for 21 months in a corporate publishing environment. We develop our own text and graphics to produce approximately 6000 pages of user documentation and service manuals a year. We have no connection with Xerox beyond our customer/vendor status. We are satisfied users and are evaluating version 2.0 for possible upgrade (mainly because the boss said "NO!" again to our request for Suns and Interleaf). > What CPU is required? Quote from Xerox's manual: "IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or compatible computer" We have trouble creating indices on compatibles and PS/2; version 2.0 seems to fix that. > How much memory does it take to run it? About 64 kb more than you have. Seriously, it is a memory hog. Minimum requirement is 512 kb but you should have 640 kb if you're going to do any serious work. Even with 640 kb, we experience occasional lock ups (lost work and writer's tears, too) in large or complex chapters. Version 2.0 purports support of extended memory, but we haven't figured it out yet. > How much hard drive space does it take to install it? "1 to 3 megabytes depending on printers installed Xerox 4045, HP LaserJet Plus . . 3.0 M PostScript . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 M JLaser, Dot Matrix, Xerox 4020 . 2.0 M" > What forms of files will it accept as input? In particular, I use > Lotus 123 and Harvard Graphics; will it accept the various files that I > can produce with these pacages (sic)? You'll have no problem. The import features are quite robust. > What forms of output can it produce? What devices can it print to? Assuming you mean form size, all standard forms from half size (5.5" x 8.5") to broad sheet (18" x 24"). In addition to the devices listed above, the manual says "any Interpress or PostScript compatible, AST Turbo Laser, Cordata laser, Epson MX-80/RX-80, IBM Proprinter, and Tall Tree Systems Jlaser card." > How easy is it to use? Very easy. That is not to say that it is easy to learn. You should be prepared to invest some time in learning. Our best advice is to RTFM (read the FINE manual). The documentation Xerox provides is complete, well written and can answer most of your questions, but only if you use it. We wish you good luck in your venture. Frank Corradino email: uunet!adiron!frank PAR Technology Corp. phone: (315) 738-0600 Ext 338 New Hartford, NY 13413 disclaimer: you bet!
BL.JPL@forsythe.stanford.edu (Jonathan Lavigne) (02/18/90)
In article <431@adiron.UUCP>, frank@adiron.UUCP (Corradino) writes: > . . Version 2.0 [of Ventura Publisher] purports support of >extended memory, but we haven't figured it out yet. Actually, Ventura doesn't support EXTENDED memory at all, but only LIM 4.0 EXPANDED memory. A lot's been written about the differences between the two, but I've forgotten it all. All I know is that it took about 2 minutes to set up the extra memory on my AST 386 as expanded memory. The base version of Ventura 2.0, which I have, uses a relatively small amount of this memory for program code (a little over 100K, according to the documentation). The Professional Extension can use as much as you have, and can use it for your document. Jonathan Lavigne BL.JPL@RLG.STANFORD.EDU Research Libraries Group Stanford University