Re: Development and platforms (Win, NT, OS/2) and DOS

[Daniel Say say@xxxxxxxx]

"  ----- quote of Describe, re: their development of Multiplatform word processors

" >The cost of Win crossplatform compatibility was paid long ago. It costs
" >nothing
" >
" >now to contiune that compatability. Source code is submitted to the OS/2,
" >Win32 and Win16 compilers without intervening modification. Only MAKE
" >swiths are changed.
" >
" >In retrospect, perhaps we should have packaged and marketed the APIs.
" >   _________________________________________________________________
" >
" >	------- end quote ---------
" >
" >	So it could be done
" >
" >						Daniel Say
" >						say@xxxxxxxx
"
" Thanks Daniel, for explaining at further length what I was attempting to
" suggest to TTG. It might behoove TTG to contact Jim Lenanane (DeScribes's
" CEO) to see what they might want for their custom APIs. The idea of
" porting XyWrite to OS/2 comes from my belief that:
"   1) OS/2 is a very powerful and useful platform
"   2) Xy's customer base is, IMO, much more likely to be running OS/2
"    than the "average" computer user.
" Peter Feldmann		*	IC Consultants
" P.O. Box 902		*	Santa Barbara CA 93102
" feldmann@xxxxxxxx
" -------------------------------------------------------------
"
==========
	But it's too late for the development of FranklyWrite.
	Still they might investigate the possibility.

	Yes, OS/2 is powerful, and if you read Information Week,
	it is a product of the year and all that. But OS/2 is
	compatible with the greater Win3.1 market, DOS market,
	so why bother.
	TTG does want to sell their expensive product, not
	develop it for 'fun'.  Law offices, a significant
	target, can write off the cost and have no loyalty to
	any platform, as you may have.
	Soliciters' offices have slaves, clerks and assistants
	to do the learning and dirty work for them. There is
	little incentive to go to OS/2 if they are in Win and
	it works for them.

	The XY base would rather stay in DOS thank you, and run
	fast, faster, fastest--with none of the K. Frank predicted
	delays in XY5.  I don't see the XY base going to OS/2 though
	much of this list has.
	For that DOS, they would switch to the NotaBene form as
	of next month and version NB 4.5

	However, since software comes on CDRom these days, and
	there is a lot of space (640 Mbytes) TTG could market
	it all at the same time.

	See what the lamented Describe did (and Tyson wrote
	much of this book as he did The Book ("Xywrite Revealed"))
	as they put WIN, NT, Win95, OS/2 version on the disk,
	with both full English and German versions, and 4 language
	dictionaries, 4 different thesauri, 15 different language
	spell-checkers etc. on the same disk.
	 Having followed Describe for some time, I don't see them
	being very cooperative, as they express the same desire
	to run with IBM, and getting the shove from Big Blue as
	Xyquest did.

	[Signature! The Horror! the horror! ]

	I can see TTG putting out more utility, and you can run
	it under OS/2, but they know their present dull customers
	and these grey customers are sticking with Win3.1
, ,               
				....  D. Say
					say@xxxxxxxx