CRONEJP@UREGINA1.BITNET (07/27/87)
In one word, garbage.
Actually its a real pity that this program gets a garbage
rating because I think I could have gotten to like it.
BUT there is such an obnoxous copy protection scheme on it
that its absurd...(PLEASE WE've been through CP arguements
already)
But anyways,
LPD writer comes on a single copy protected disk that cannot be
backed up by any of the latest versions of the copy programs
currently available.
It does not support any form of Keydisk system and
refuses to operate from the C Ltd hard drive.
The Amiga has to Ctrl Amiga Amiga'ed with the LPD writer
disk.
The program defaults to a system with two disk drives and the only
way the defaults can be adjusted is by saving to the Main disk.
and heres where the CP gets in the way, because at least
a quarter of the disk's tracks come up as non dos tracks.
and when you try to save the configuration information
back on the disk, the amiga trys to validate the disk...
it fails, and the machine gurus.
when you reboot, the amiga again trys to validate the diskette
and GURU city again...
Ad nausem...
I was at my local dealers, he and I were sitting playing with it
(note, he has an amiga and is an active supporter of the amiga users
group here in Regina, so quick plug for him,
Software Supermarket (an independent operation, nonaffiliated with any
one else) here in Regina, makes a GOOD effort to support the Amiga
(so if you're in Regina, drop by.)
anyways...
he and I managed to do this within 15 minutes of working with it
(and FROM the manual) so he and I could just imagine how many
brain damaged disks he was going to be getting back if
he sold the product...
needless to say, they are going back.
Its a real pity as well, because LPD writer was a notbad program.
It had real support for wysiwyg etc, and had a lot of options.
it supported both keyboard and the amiga interface for controls
But because of its brain damage in not supporting Hard drives
or keydisk type of operation.... I can't honestly say that
LPD writer is a program for anyone...
the company states that they will provide disk updates and replacements
(for a ""Small"" fee) namely 20 bucks canadian or 15 usa cash....
somehow I think that a LOT of ppl are going to be needing
that disk replacement if they are crazy enough to buy the program
Jonathan Crone
CRONEJP at UREGINA1.BITNET
Go ahead FLame Away...
john13@garfield.UUCP (08/01/87)
In article <5CRONEJP@UREGINA1>, CRONEJP@UREGINA1.BITNET writes some uncompli-
mentary remarks about the LPD writer copy protection scheme, and about how
it could very, very easily corrupt the system disk.
In case anyone has trouble believing this, the Pocket Writer programs for the
64 and 128 are the best word-processing programs on the market for those
computers, but are also the most irritating; literally dozens of them have
failed straight out of the box (just in my experience!) and many dozens more
have been formatted or written too because it wasn't laid out well enough in
the manual that you were supposed to use a *different* disk for such things.
And no write protect tabs on the disks. The ones that did run would often
fail on disk drives that were not in absolutely perfect alignment, so that
you could check it out at the store but it still wouldn't work once you took
it home.
"Boycott-the-copy-protectors" has seemed a little bit extreme to me, but in
this case of such a potentially useful product on the Amiga (and delayed so
many months for reasons that escape me: no fonts, no graphics), using a CP
scheme that killed upwards of 50 rugged 5.25" disks at ONE store on fragile 3.5"
disks is indeed so stupid as to be almost criminal. IMHO, of course.
John
--
"She's sort of a 'pit baby', with interlocking jaws. We feed her on chicken
parts."
"But baby-fighting has been outlawed, hasn't it?"
-- Tracy Ullman describing her infant daughter to David Letterman