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From: brown@ftms.UUCP (Vidiot)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.open-look,comp.lang.postscript
Subject: Update on SPARCprinter/NeWSprint resolution problem
Message-ID: <41@ftms.UUCP>
Date: 5 Apr 91 22:35:23 GMT
Reply-To: brown@ftms.UUCP (Vidiot)
Organization: Vidiot's Other Hangout
Lines: 78


I was probably a little harsh on Sun for what I saw the other day, but I tend
to over-react.  The person who contacted me from Sun (I won't say who because
he didn't say that I could) agreed that if he had seen what I had seen he
wouldn't have been pleased either (paraphrasing).

The net result is that the screen coding has been changed internally and is
still being checked out.  Now, since the Openwindows code is also used with
NeWSprint, I don't know at this point if it take a new OpenWindows or just
a new NeWSprint to cure the problem.  He didn't say and I have asked.  I
managed to hit the right combinations of screening and shading to make the
poor parts stand out.  A great test program in scrntst.ps, using the three
compare wheel portion of the code.  It really shows up the bad parts.

The end result is that what I am working with now will not be how it ends up
in the future.  Complaints like mine will hopefully get the software group
the take another look at what is going on with the code and it seems to me
that the software group was already doing that before I moaned out loud.  I
have heard from a couple of other users about printing problems as well, but
I seem to be the first to voice an opinion.  I'm not sure why I seem to find
programs that bring out the best in other people's code, but the PostScript
stuff that I have, either mine or someone else's, seems to show up the bad
things.  The Sun NeWSprint group is not sitting around doing nothing, they
are very concerned about what I had to say.  If you are looking into the
getting the product, or already have the product, it will be changing, as
all software improves with age.

Having a SPARCprinter verses a PostScript printer engine will allow for
improvements without having to change the hardware.  I do like the idea
of having the PostScript being software driven instead of hardware driven
and look forward to the improvements.  Don't get me wrong on this point.
Don't think that I am going to have Sun take this stuff back, if anyone got
that impression.  No way.  We like the technology and will work with Sun in
improving the software.  Obviously what I may think of as an improvement may
not be thought of as one by Sun, but at least we talked about it.

What I find interesting is that Sun is willing to talk via e-mail.  Try that
with Lotus, MicroSoft, IBM, etc., and you won't get anywhere.  I am impressed.

Another problem is with the NeWSprint enscript replacement.  He didn't know
of the problems and will be passing on bug reports on it.  Just to let you
know what I have found wrong so that when you try it you won't think that 
you did something wrong.

	1) First off there isn't a man page.  You have to look at the shell
	   script to see what enscript is really going to do.
	2) It isn't 100% compatible.  The -G (gaudy) option is missing.  It
	   is one of a few, but I like using -G.
	3) The -2r options do not work.  With old TranScript you are supposed
	   to get a landscape printout with two pages to a page, with each
	   half being smaller text than the normal single portrait page.  The
	   idea here is to save paper by printing out one sheet of paper instead
	   of two sheets.  The NeWSprint version of enscript actually calls
	   up pr and does two column mode.  Ah, that means two columns in
	   portrait mode with the normal sized font.  Not exactly the same.
	   The two columns even tend to run together.  The whole thing is very
	   difficult to read.  So if you see this, it ain't you.

	   To Sun's credit, they did incorporate mpage, which will give rotated
	   two pages/page printout, but it doesn't label the page with the
	   little header line that enscript does.  Mpage also doesn't allow
	   for use of the bold font, while enscript does.  Our programmers
	   like printing source code using 2-up bold text.  Neither the new
	   enscript nor mpage will allow for this.

Stay tuned for further details.  This is an exciting product that WILL improve
with age.

Maybe they should have asked me to beta-site this product before it was
released :-)  But, I know that at that time I wouldn't have had the PostScript
programs that I do now that would have made what I see now, seen then.  With
PostScript the combinations for testing are unreal, but I manage to always
find something. :-(
-- 
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