RICHER@SUMEX-AIM.STANFORD.EDU (Mark Richer) (10/29/88)
> However, the fact is that Display PostScript lacks many of the > capabilites of NeWS that are essential. Therefore, I would like to > encourage Adobe and Sun to work with each other and merge the two > systems. This action would assure the advancement of the > state-of-the-art of display and user interface technology. FLAME ON: Who wouldn't like to see these companies and the other hardware and system software companies really work together for a change. As far as I can see the only reason is greed. Companies want to get on top of the heap with their proprietary hardware and/or software. We have wars between DOS and OS/2, wars over the next AT bus, wars over the Unix standard, so of course we are going to have wars over Postscript. Is there a true Postscript standard? No, unless you think that Adobe's Postscript is the standard --- the reason is because Adobe's font technology is proprietary. As a result we will have several standards for Postscript fonts. That is NOT A STANDARD. That hurts end-users and that hurts developers. But it brings in nice profits in the short term and keeps stock holders and Wall Street (talk about greed!) happy. So CEOs can keeping telling us how fulfilling it is to be changing the world, but it's hard to believe a word of it. Actions speak louder than words. Display Posctscript and NeWs are both here to stay --- exactly how mcuh success either will have will be determined over time. Yes, it would be very nice to have Adobe and Sun work together to agree on a common denominator with regard to displaying postscript on computer screens. Adobe should accept the fact that Sun has the right to develop their own postscript system software for display on screens and stop this nonsense about Sun adopting Display Postscript. That kind of talk seems designed to confuse consumers (call FUD, fear, uncertainty, and doubt), but most programmers are much too sophisticated for this nonsense. I just find it irritating --- like recent political ads. Are that many people that easily manipulated? Perhaps "1984" really happened and no one noticed! If Adobe doesn't want to get involved in establishing standards for building a windowing system out of Postscript that is fine. But it will be to everyone's benefit if they agree with Sun on the graphics layer so the developers can port their code easily. What's good for developers is good for end-users is what's good for the hardware/system software vendors. Don't kid yourself, this industry will suffer in a few years if it doesn't get its act together. We've seen prosperity come and go in the computer industry and I'm afraid we are headed for a downturn. The artificial memory shortage (artificially created at least) and battles over standards will likely accelerate a downward turn. Fighting is nonproductive. Even the Soviets, with their economic woes, have realized this. Wake up America. FLAME OFF Mark My opinions have resulted from the interference of alien beings and are not the responsibility of any earthling including myself, and they are not the responsibility of an earthling institution. -------