Re: Nota Bene

[Bill Troop bill@xxxxxxxx]

> When I have previously mentioned this lack, the reply from NB has always
> been silence, which suggests that it does not yet even plan to face the
> music on this issue. Since Word and Win 98 support Unicode, Win2K supports
> input (with only one font), and XP is on the scene in beta, this is a
> matter of courting obsolescence.
Multi language support has in the past always been a dreadful hack, and
NB's support has been no worse a hack than anyone else's. Now, everyone
interested in multilingual support is being told by the unholy alliance of
MS and Adobe to embrace OpenType, while Apple is clinging to its own
proprietary technology which may be superior in some respects. Given how
very, very, very, very, very slowly the OpenType scene has been evolving,
I think the Nota Bene people may understandably be waiting to see what
ultimately happens before committing to any extensive development in this
regard. I have subscribed to the OpenType list since 1998 and see a
confused and contentious group. One thing is certain: MS multilingual
support is far from bulletproof at this point; the specs are still raw and
evolving; many bad hacks are still in place. I wonder, though, if the Nota
Bene people are on the OpenType list and keeping up to date with the latest
squabbles? Or do they have some other strategy? By and large, I must say I
fear this is yet another case where MS will prevail. And perhaps there will
even be some advantages to it? Remember CP/M and the 50 different diskette
formats?