Yes, my "long!" caveat certainly failed to extend attention spans. The lead
was a mistake. Instead of being glued inextricably to the substance, it
offered an excuse for unrelated testimonials.
I'll follow your example and respond selectively. When I suggested that when
XyQuest read the ur-"lightning-fast-but-steep-learning-curve" it should have
hired an expert to improve the default keyboard, I had in mind specifically
the Leading Edge Word Processor. LEWP, a dog under the hood, was in such
disrepute in the trade press no wonder XyQuest never would have considered it
as a model.
Pity. LEWP lived years longer than it deserved because users and Consumer
Reports loved its intuitive interface, designed by ex-Wang programmers who'd
given each detail and how all details meshed *lots* of careful thought. To
LEWP vets, long file names are no recent innovation. Early '80s LEWP allowed
32-char names. (Thanks, no. The crucial layer long names necessitate between
files and FAT made me appreciate the discipline of 11-char file names.)
My first xyWrite file of any kind was a lewp.kbd. Then I wrote xpl macros
that made my xyWrite a LEWP interface work-alike over the astounding xyWrite
engine--the best of all possible worlds. I'd used several text entry systems,
some well-considered, before LEWP, so my assessment is based on comparison
with a variety of interfaces before and since.
Isn't it a bit of a stretch to infer, as James Besser does--and you seem to
concur--that because TTG may make the supplementary language TTG programmers
use accessible to customers, TTG henceforth will focus "exclusively on the
needs of" atypical "computer jocks"? The brief respite from the winWP/Warp
drone is exhilarating to anyone fascinated by what makes xyWrite tick and
uninterested in winWP and Warp apps. (For succinct recent comment on winWP's
notorious bugs, see 13 June PCMag, p 85. IBM's Lotus buy should put the
xyWarp pleas to eternal rest; see Laurence Zuckerman's piece on
Notes-as-os/2-alternative, sent by the NYTimes News Service 95-06-11.)
--Annie
PS: Good grief! When I wrote the preceding, AO had delivered only Marv Katz's
first postings to my mailbox. When I signed on to send it, the gefilte fish
explosion and much else that I haven't read yet was waiting. AO mail delivery
(to me, at any rate) goes bonkers when xylist traffic gets heavy; delivery
four days after email is posted is routine, continuity is lost totally. Hope
it's not starting.
A quick scan shows one more Marv Katz comment I'll remark on: "It just seems
to me that people here keep wanting TTG to turn XyWrite into a Swiss Army
knife, when all it ever has been described as is `a versatile, powerful word
processing tool.*' *--XyWrite 4.0 Installation and Learning Guide"
Nobody needs to turn xyWrite into a Swiss army knife. It is and always has
been; in fact, that's the icon I've always used for it in Windows. If you
only use it as a word processor, that's your loss. a.
========================== annie fisher <okAnnie@aol.com> nyc