Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!usc!rutgers!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!watserv1!pdbeam From: pdbeam@watserv1.waterloo.edu (T.C.) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Call for Device Independant Output, file format and user-interface standards on the Amiga Keywords: standards user-interface output graphics Call for Device-Independent Output and User-Interface Message-ID: <1990May26.065525.1415@watserv1.waterloo.edu> Date: 26 May 90 06:55:25 GMT Organization: University of Waterloo Lines: 119 Standards ------------------------------------------------------- I've recently purchased an Amiga 2000 and I've owned an Atari ST for four years. I am still blown away by Amiga hardware (wow! you mean some machines have more than ONE expansion slot?) and Amiga graphics (except for interlace mode which really sucks) but there are still some things I had on my Atari that I miss on my Amiga: device-independent output, standardized (and IBM compatible) file formats, and a consistent user-interface across programs. I believe these things are what have given the ST what success it has had (God knows Atari wouldn't DREAM of actually advertising it) and the addition of these things to the Amiga would make it even more successful. I'm not going to describe these things to say "look how much better the Atari ST is" but rather to suggest that we Amiga owners demand them (or better) for ourselves and refuse to settle for anything less. I want high-quality hardcopy from my Amiga and I don't want to have to pay through the nose to get it (I did THAT to buy my A2000 in the first place). Desktop video is nice, but I can't drag my professors or customers to my home to see the nice Deluxe Paint III presentation I did on my screen and I can't give them my Amiga (or always a VHS video-tape) to take home with them. I need high-quality hardcopy. I know Gold Disk offers a nice, comprehensive family of DTP products, but I hate trusting one company. If Gold Disk is motivated to publish a good package, think how much more motivated they'd be with competition. PageStream is a nice package, too, but it is not a complete system (no dedicated draw program). Furthermore, high-quality output should be a given that we don't even have to worry about--NOT a feature that makes us decide buy one product over another. This is one of the Atari ST's strengths and there is no reason why it cannot be an Amiga strength, too. All we need is device independent output and standard file formats (established by Commodore and not some third party). While I'm at it, user- interface standards would be nice, too. Device independent output means that whatever image I create on the screen will print out in the MAXIMUM resolution of my printer. Compare the output of any non-postscript Amiga DTP to the output of any non-postscript Atari GEM DTP on the same device and you'll see what I mean. (Come on, not all of us can afford laser printers!). It also means that the object graphics I create in Easy Draw or Calamus Draw or CAD3D or Word-Up or WordFlair or VIP (spreadsheet) or Touch- Up will print out in maximum resolution. What's more, all of these programs use EXACTLY THE SAME PRINTER DRIVERS, meaning you don't have to worry whether the software is compatible with your XYZ printer or not because you always use the same XYZ driver for each package. This also makes programs that produce high-quality output easier to write on the ST. For example, I have a high-res graphing program written in 200 lines of ST GFA Basic 3.0 that will run with any printer (and driver) I care to hook up. The printer-output part of the program took an less than half-an-hour to write and debug (and it even does PostScript). The ST also has standard file formats for raster and object images and fonts. This means that virtually any image (even a full 8x11 page of text) can be created in one program and loaded into another. Because these formats also exist on the IBM I can do stuff at home and take it in for use on the PCs at work. I can have line-art in my word-processor files or load high-quality word-processing fonts into my graphics programs. Notice this also means that I have one set of high-quality fonts I use in ALL my ST applications. Sure, you'll tell me to go buy the Gold Disk family of software for my Amiga, but then I want these features in Can Do, Word Writer, and my own Amiga Basic programs, too. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect something from the Amiga that all of the other "big-four" systems have. Lastly, most ST GEM applications look the same on the surface. If you have mastered the interface of one, you can pick up any of the others almost without thinking about it. Not so on the Amiga (sure you gurus think its easy but I'm a new user). I'm not just talking about all programs having all the standard gadgets, I'm talking about all programs having similar screen-layouts and having those gadgets look similar and have a similar function in each application. I'm talking about hitting ctrl-x, or selecting an icon of a pair of scissors, in any application (even one I've not seen before) and almost being certain of what it will do. Believe me, you might think that consistency is boring but if it makes programs easier to use perhaps more people will want to use them (more users=more support=more products). I've heard stuff in the rumours columns of magazine and on this news file that Commodore is considering establishing standards in DVI output and user-interface. If you like any of the benefits these standards bring then help PUSH Commodore into establishing these standards as soon as possible rather than in their own sweet time. Desktop video is nice, but adding high-quality hard-copy will let more of us (not all of us are in marketing, you know) do more practical things with our machines. If Commodore goes for standards compatible with those on other machines, then we'll probably see lots of good stuff (like Easy-Draw and Publish It!) being ported more quickly and we'll be able to share more with people using other systems (which can't hurt). Otherwise I guess I'll just have to buy a Bridge Card like everyone else and get the IBM GEM programs (what a bass- ackwards way to do things!). Comments and challenges are welcome. Travis Capener c/o PDBEAM.watserv1 (University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) --