Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!sun!pepper!cmcmanis
From: cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Stupid Wishes
Keywords: Wish list
Message-ID: <108759@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>
Date: 8 Jun 89 01:13:06 GMT
References: <17161@swrinde.nde.swri.edu>
Sender: news@sun.Eng.Sun.COM
Reply-To: cmcmanis@sun.UUCP (Chuck McManis)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View
Lines: 61

In article <17161@swrinde.nde.swri.edu> (Kent D. Polk) writes:
>Ramblings About My Second Biggest Amiga Gripe: Printer support.
>(First Biggest - No 640*400 non-interlaced video - should have been in 1.3)

First point, the current chip set can't support non-interlaced video, no matter
what the software did. Sorry, you just can't do it. New chips, new video modes,
and with 1.4, system support for those modes. 

>Proposition : Make prt: able to decode IFF text and graphic info.

Is that what you really want, how about just a IFFPrint program that does
this instead? Putting it into the device driver would make the device driver
huge and difficult to load into memory when all you wanted to do was to 
copy "Hello World" to the printer. 

>Proposition : Extend GraphicDump to support dumping a portion of the
>	screen to the printer or a file. 

An excellent idea. Doable too. 

>Question : Why is the info about writing printer drivers a closely
>	guarded secret? Ok, so Jim mentioned about the $20 Developer
>	Package.  My understanding was that this is essentially the
>	same info available in the Libraries & Devices Manual. Sorry,
>	but unless there is substantially more direction, the package
>	would be useless - I don't need to write for an Epson
>	look-alike.  (Prowriter, Mitubishi g500?)

It isn't, it just hasn't made it into easily accessible print yet.
There was a talk on it at DevCon last year, a copy of which is available
from CATS in the DevCon notes. Plus there are a couple of examples on
various disks, and generally most things get answered here on the net and
BIX. Not exactly a deep dark secret no?

>Please, no flames, I'm trying for constructive criticism and real
>information . 

Great, how about meeting them halfway. 

>The question is: how does one try to convince Commodore management to
>direct funds towards needed, purposeful & consistent development?

As far as I can tell this isn't possible.

>Towards this end, what do others see as needed goals that we can
>request (in unison)? I wish CATS personnel could give us a look at what
>they would like to develop, but can't due to budget/time constraints.

This is where you get a lot of bang for the buck at the Developers Conference,
you can talk to them directly and make suggestions at the Beyond 1.4 talk
or even over lunch or dinner. I know, it isn't cheap and not everyone can
afford to go to San Francisco for a week. But hey, I'm going and have many
of the same concerns that you and Ron Minnich brought up about printing
on the Amiga so I will definitely be lobbying for improvements in that area.
So even if you can't go, it isn't like you aren't heard :-). 


--Chuck McManis
uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis   BIX: cmcmanis  ARPAnet: cmcmanis@sun.com
These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.
"A most excellent barbarian ... Genghis Kahn!"