Xref: utzoo comp.windows.open-look:1135 comp.lang.postscript:8222 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!apple!fernwood!uupsi!rodan.acs.syr.edu!amichiel From: amichiel@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Allen J Michielsen) Newsgroups: comp.windows.open-look,comp.lang.postscript Subject: Re: Update on SPARCprinter/NeWSprint resolution problem Message-ID: <1991Apr7.020109.11882@rodan.acs.syr.edu> Date: 7 Apr 91 02:01:09 GMT References: <41@ftms.UUCP> Sender: amichiel@sunrise.acs.syr.edu Organization: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY Lines: 49 In article <41@ftms.UUCP> brown@ftms.UUCP (Vidiot) writes: >I was probably a little harsh on Sun for what I saw the other day, .... >The net result is that the screen coding has been changed internally.... >The end result is that what I am working with now will not be how it (be)... >in the future. Complaints like mine will hopefully get the software group... >The Sun NeWSprint group is not sitting around doing nothing,... >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. >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. I disagree on both points. The more postscript code is 'handled' the more problems there will always be with it. There are several risc postscript processing cards for different print engines (most noteably is the HP's). The increase in performance is intense. SUN, COULD have done the same thing, either with the sparc generator or any other chip (the work has been done by others for the i960). However, for whatever reason, sun felt that the SPARCprinter was their 'solution'. They totally wrote off postscript and wne their own way. My thought is that they did it to save the cost of adobe licensing. SUN's solution has it's strong points, and it's weak points as well. In my mind, the weak points overpower the strong points. In spite of it's (own) weakpoints, postscript has the very nice ability for me to see a 300 DPI DRAFT before shipping the final output off to a high resolution printer (like a linotype 1,000 tp 30,000 DPI) for final output. Now, with a Sparcprinter, I don't know that what comes out will be exactly the same (minus the dpi difference). Postscript hardware upgrades to new postscript version or features / capabilities doesn't HAVE to be the way they were (are) because of apple. SUN/apple could easily make supply provide firmware upgrades IF THEY CHOOSE to. The upgrade price for firmware upgrades has been ridiculous because it's been a virtual monopoly. The same will be true for software versions, just mark my word. SUN and others love it because now they can 'sell' upgrades on tape and the hardware costs in the field are nill. It also seems so much easier to keep selling upgrades and people stand in line to buy new tapes to fix the defects of the last tapes. The % of people that are willing to wait out for bigger upgrades or other sources drops vastly, making more profits for sun (or whom ever...). There is nothing special about SUN having a email address, and replying/ taking messages/bug reports. MOST larger computer companies (hard/soft-ware) have the same thing. DEC, Wordperfect, Borland, INtel, are only a few... al -- Al. Michielsen, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Syracuse University InterNet: amichiel@rodan.acs.syr.edu amichiel@sunrise.acs.syr.edu Bitnet: AMICHIEL@SUNRISE