Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!adobe!heaven!glenn
From: glenn@heaven.woodside.ca.us (Glenn Reid)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: BAD NEWS FOR MAC -> NEXT PEOPLE
Message-ID: <345@heaven.woodside.ca.us>
Date: 3 Dec 90 22:25:46 GMT
References: <1040@toaster.SFSU.EDU>
Reply-To: glenn@heaven.woodside.ca.us (Glenn Reid)
Organization: RightBrain Software, Woodside, CA
Lines: 47

In article <1040@toaster.SFSU.EDU> hodges@toaster.SFSU.EDU (John Hodges) writes:
>Hello NeXT-Land. Regarding my posting last night I have not-so-good news
>
>I just spoke with everyone at Adobe and MediaLogic regarding importing editable
>graphics created on a Macintosh to the NeXT. I have been told, by both of these
>companies, and by Frame Technologies, that there is NO support for graphics
>generated on the Macintosh as editable files for ANY application on the NeXT.

Too strong.  Transportation of editable files is not, and has never been, a
system-wide feature.  It is cooperation between applications on the two
platforms.  I'll make a brief concession to PICT as an editable form, but
it also indicates what is wrong with this scheme, since most serious
graphics applications have abandoned it in favor of the full expressive
power of PostScript.

At the application level, The Adobe Illustrator file format can be
opened by Adobe Illustrator on the NeXT platform.  This also means it
can open Aldus Freehand and Adobe Streamline files and edit them, and
there are quite a few other apps on the Mac that support this format.

Furthermore, Adobe Illustrator for the Mac ships with an application called
DrawOver that can convert MacDraw files (PICT) to Adobe Illustrator format,
which can then be opened and edited on the NeXT.

Also, as more and more Mac applications are ported to NeXT, the file
format issue will be reduced.

As a final (and admittedly editorial) point, if you really have
megabytes of graphics in PICT format, the best thing that could happen
to you would be to be forced to recreate them as real artwork, with
line thicknesses less than 1/72 inch, Bezier curves instead of arcs of
circles, real grayscale and halftoning, etc., etc.

>Those of you reading from Redwood City, PLEASE decide on a graphic interchange
>standard NOW. It is going to hurt you, because there are many Apple lovers who
>would like to jump boat, given a good home for their text and graphics.

Deciding on a graphic interchange format would help.  Adobe is working
on doing this with their Illustrator file format, and now that they have
shipped Illustrator 3.0 maybe they'll document the file format so we
can use it as an editable format.

But you're painting a black-and-white picture in which NeXT owners are
unable to open any files from the Mac.  In truth, the NeXT is already
far ahead of *any* non-Mac platform at supporting Macintosh documents,
due to its full support of PostScript.  A possible exception might be
DOS/Windows, about which I steadfastly refuse to learn anything.