Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!GARNET.BERKELEY.EDU!rusty
From: rusty@GARNET.BERKELEY.EDU
Newsgroups: comp.unix.ultrix
Subject: Ultrix Support
Message-ID: <8906202050.AA12684@garnet.berkeley.edu>
Date: 20 Jun 89 20:50:58 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Lines: 22

Apparently /usr/bin/troff has been modified to use ascii character
width tables.

Problem 1: I can't find where this has been documented.

Problem 2: If one tries to use the Adobe Transcript software (this is
Unix software so you can use a PostScript printer) it assumes that
/usr/bin/troff is "normal" (i.e., unmodified) and expects its font
width tables to be binary.  In other words, this all works on a Sun
workstation, works on systems with a standard /usr/bin/troff, and (I
assume) used to work on Ultrix.

Problem 3: This is the worst.  I called DEC's 800 support number and
they don't know anything about it, and also said that they can't do
anything about it because /usr/bin/troff is an "unsupported product".
I posted a message to the ultrix usenet newsgroup and someone within
DEC acknowledged that the Ultrix people have modified /usr/bin/troff
to use ascii width tables.

I don't understand how they can have modified it, and not documented
their changes, and then claim that they don't support it.  What a
crock!