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From: favorini-francis@cs.yale.edu (Francis Favorini)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Display Postscript ?!?
Message-ID: <28777@cs.yale.edu>
Date: 15 Feb 91 20:24:26 GMT
References: <5043@lure.latrobe.edu.au> <12824@ccncsu.ColoState.EDU>
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In article <12824@ccncsu.ColoState.EDU> klingspo@holst.tmc.edu (Steve Klingsporn) writes:
>TrueImage?
>I've never heard of such an Apple product, and I'm quite up on
>Apple products.

TrueImage is a Postscript interpreter clone due out any time now from
Microsoft.  (Bought up from Bauer, I believe.)  The hold up is
supposedly because Apple hasn't sent Microsoft the TrueType rasterizing
code, which will be incorporated into TrueImage thus allowing a printer
equipped with TrueImage to directly handle both Postscript and TrueType
fonts.  It doesn't (yet?) have the color and other enhancements found
in Adobe's Postscript Level 2.  I don't think it would be trivial
for Apple to incoporate a display version of TrueImage into the Mac OS.
I mean, if it were relatively easy, there would be talk of adding it
to Windows 3.5/4.0 or whatever, since they own the code.

It seems to me that it would make more sense for Apple and Adobe (and 
NeXT and your favorite computer companies [even Big Blue]) to jointly
develop a next generation display/printing standard.  Call it
TrueScript Level 3 or something.  Hey, maybe the specs could be
public domain, like a real standard.  Users win because WYSIWYG will
really be WYSIWYG.  The computer manufacturers win because they get
improved compatibility across platforms which makes buyers happy and
brings in more money.  What about Adobe?  Well, they could get screwed
if they're not careful.  What they have, however, is the best starting
point from which to build this standard -- lots of experience in coding
the stuff, both for printers and displays.  All that code is worth
something, and the amount they contribute to the final product could
certainly be reflected in license fees.

License fees!  That's what we hope to get rid of with TrueType, etc.
Well, the trouble is that Adobe is a software company not a hardware
company.  If hardware vendors get together and define a software standard,
they still each have there own hardware to sell.  If Adobe doesn't
get something for their software, they won't come to the party.  If 
they don't show, we don't have a unifying standard, because there
is too much PostScript already out there.

What's the answer?  I don't know.  But it probably lies in compromise,
the hobgoblin of standards committees.  Adobe should get something,
but not as much as they were getting before, and more than they
would get if they there are two or more competing standards.  I mean,
if you can get TrueType fonts for free, will you buy ATM?  Adobe
will definitely lose market share when TrueType really gets here.

Is it possible?  I hope so, because if it's done right, users win big
and the companies win, especially in the long run.  So, Apple, Adobe,
etc. don't be short-sighted.  Look beyond the quarterly reports into
the future of computing.  Sooner or later you'll have to make peace.

-Francis

Disclaimer:  These are my own ramblings.  Scoff intelligently.

-- 
______________________________________________________________________________
Francis Favorini					favorini@cs.yale.edu
							favorini@yalecs.bitnet
							...!yale!favorini