johnl@tw-rnd.SanDiego.NCR.COM (John Lindwall) (08/22/89)
Last week I posted questions about the new Amiga wordprocessor, PenPal.
I got two responses which are inserted below. I purchased the product on
a whim and my comments follow at the end. Note that the replies contained
the standard disclaimer (these opinions are mine...)
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FOLLOWING REPLY FROM:
(included standard disclaimer)
Ray 'StarSailer' Howard //
Bitnet: c136erh@utarlg \X/ #include <std.disclaimers>
Internet: c136erh@utarlg.arl.utexas.edu
UUCP: ...!{ames,sun,texbell,<vertebra>}!utarlg.arl.utexas.edu!c136erh
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John> I just spotted a copy of the wordprocessor "PenPal" for sale in a local
John> store for $109. I've been reading the ads for it and it sounds like an
John> exciting product. I have some questions for anyone out there using it
John> (or maybe the developer is out there?). The developer is SoftWood, and
John> the marketer/publisher is Brown-Wagh.
John>
John> 1. Does it use standard printer drivers or custom ones?
Standard AmigaDOS printer drivers from the devs: directory.
You can also change the printer driver from within the program,
if you have more than one printer (i.e. quick drafts and final
copy).
John> 2. Does it support the HP DeskJet Plus?
Not sure, if there is a printer device for it included with WB
1.3? There is a driver available, since I know people that use
it.
John> 3. If so, does it allow use of the printer's internal fonts (and cartridge
John> fonts) like courier, times-roman? [My fear is that is does dumps of
John> Amiga bitmap fonts which look crummy at 300 dpi]
It can do both graphic dumps(not bad) or use the printer's
fonts (great).
John> 4. I'd like any opinions on the product (documentation, power, ease of use
,
John> robustness, quality of output, etc)
I have only had the product for a week. So far not a single
GURU or lockup. It is a very user friendly program, and seems to
be extremely solid for a 1.0 version Amiga product (or any other
computer for that matter!). The manual is about 1 inch thick
spiral bound, very professional and readable. The indices are
great! You can find anything you need from them. Output quality is
extremely good for non-PostScript. For my money, it is
what WordPerfect on the Amiga should have been. No copyprotection
so installing on a HD is a snap!
John> Thanks!
ur welcome. Hope that dealer still has that copy for you. I got
the last copy in this area and it is now backordered from
Brown-Wagh. They apparently were not ready for such a great
demand.
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FOLLOWING REPLY FROM:
(included standard disclaimer)
/----------------------------------------------------------------------\
| /// Michael Sinz -- CATS/Amiga Software/Support Engineer |
| /// PHONE 215-431-9422 UUCP ( uunet | rutgers ) !cbmvax!mks |
| /// |
|\\\/// ...and then, just as all was in kaos, someone said: |
| \XX/ "Let there be ... what was that!? ... An Amiga? ... light!" |
\----------------------------------------------------------------------/
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In article <489@tw-rnd.SanDiego.NCR.COM> you write:
>I just spotted a copy of the wordprocessor "PenPal" for sale in a local
>store for $109. I've been reading the ads for it and it sounds like an
>exciting product. I have some questions for anyone out there using it
>(or maybe the developer is out there?). The developer is SoftWood, and
>the marketer/publisher is Brown-Wagh.
>
>1. Does it use standard printer drivers or custom ones?
Standard...
>2. Does it support the HP DeskJet Plus?
If you have the Amiga preferences driver for it...
>3. If so, does it allow use of the printer's internal fonts (and cartridge
> fonts) like courier, times-roman? [My fear is that is does dumps of
> Amiga bitmap fonts which look crummy at 300 dpi]
There is a mode to use the printer's fonts with the IFF pictures. If you
look at the box, all sample documents were done on an HP PaintJet...
>4. I'd like any opinions on the product (documentation, power, ease of use,
> robustness, quality of output, etc)
Docs are VERY good, easy to use. V1.0 was a bit unstable to do the Lattice
optimizer bug. It is now compiled without optimizer and works much better.
If you get an old version, just send in the registration card and you will get
a free update.
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MY (John Lindwall) opinions:
Capabilities of the product are impressive. It is a WordProcessor with
DataBase capabilities and limited DTP features. The WordProcessor is nice
with WYSIWYG display, menus, plenty of logical keyboard shortcuts, nice
requesters. I haven'r played with the database but it looks good for my
personal uses. The DTP features allow inclusion of IFF graphics in the
document, text wrapping around graphics, line and box drawing.
I like this program. It works like I expect it to. Screen colors
are nice; screen refresh is fast; help utility online.
This program is BIG: requires 1 meg and uses it too! A little too large
for my tastes but now that I have 2.5 megs...
I've only had it a few days so a complete review will have to wait.
Problems: (Note I called the author today and got his feedback on
these gripes. The main author is Woody Williams.)
1. The installation script does not work with ARP 1.3 commands.
The author is aware of this and has replaced the script with a program.
The error received is "Bad ARG .key"
2. The program crashed a lot in my experience. The author explained that
the final version was compiled with Lattice's global optimizer which
introduced bugs. An upgrade is being completed and will alleviate
all known bugs (needless to say it will be compiled without the
optimizer). He said the upgrade will be sent to all registered users
in a week or two probably. The upgrade is FREE.
3. Lack of macros. Arexx support is coming according to the author.
After talking with Woody I beleive that the upgrade will fix any complaints I
have at this time. He seems concscientious (sp) and helpful. He answered
my call to the user help line in only 3 rings. I hope this posting was useful
to some of you.
Pen Pal
SoftWood Inc
PO Box 50178
Phoenix, AZ 85076
Marketed by Brown-Wagh.
(I got it for $109, don't know list price)
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John Lindwall johnl@tw-rnd.SanDiego.NCR.COM
"Above opinions are my own, not my employer's"
Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
--
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John Lindwall johnl@tw-rnd.SanDiego.NCR.COM
"Above opinions are my own, not my employer's"
Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.