Re: Kenny Frank and TTG

[Harry Binswanger hb@xxxxxxxx]

From a site by Annie Fisher:

This page, dated 23 October 1999, remains here as an artifact. The CD
never materialized. No explanation ever was offered. NotaBene
subsequently released a SmartWords-based word processor. XyQuest and The
Technology Group are out of business. Unless your interest is historical,
you have no reason to read further.

xyWrite's second-generation developer, The Technology Group, will
begin shipping the SmartWords editor beta "in approximately 2-3
weeks," CEO Kenneth Frank announced to xylist subscribers on St.
Patrick's Day (1999). Didn't happen. With Halloween costumes now in store
windows, Frank has advised mailing list subscribers that TTG's
"current plan is to have the SmartWords beta disk available for
shipment the week of November 8. Sometime in the next week or so we'll
put an order form on our web page. [...] The cost will be $15 with 1 word
processing filter, and $49 with the whole package. [...] We also would
hope to enable downloading of the install from our Web site later in the
month, and that will be free for the $15 CD product. The full filter
version will still be $49." Frank first announced on 23 April 1998
that TTG was "getting ready to press some CD's with the SmartWords
beta," so take "November 8" for what it's worth.
While this release is 16 bit, TTG has converted many of the internal
structures to 32 bit, Frank said. He said that a native 32 bit editor is
under development. XyWrite exists in 1999 as the text editor/word
processor module of TTG's SmartWords product line, an integrated
development and deployment platform for "intelligent
knowledge-based" Windows and Web applications that manage and
analyze information and dynamically assemble text (whatever that may
mean). "Several large legal publishers" have licensed SW,
according to TTG.

Frank said that the SW text editor/word processor "in my judgment is
far superior to XyWrite for Windows" and cited these improvements:
"it is more stable, can handle larger files, draft/expanded fonts
are user definable, true collapsible outline mode, improved interface, up
to 36 open windows, better printer and envelope interfaces, adjustable
ruler bar and unlimited undo/redo." But he pointed out that
"this is not positioned as a competitor to Word or WordPerfect as an
all-around office word processor."

He reassured xyWrite vets: "We have of course preserved the command
line interface, and while we have added many new commands, the old ones
work just as they always did." xyWin users who have complained of
unacceptable tables performance learned that TTG has "not yet spent
time improving things like column tables, frames, borders, graphics,
etc., and for the most part you will not see them on the menus. The
commands work as well as they did previously in XyWrite for Windows, but
no better."

But the new product has "a much more readible default font for
draft, page-line and expanded view, which can be changed by the
user," Frank told subscribers, many of whom also have complained
about xyWin 4 screen fonts, in April 1998. He said that instead of
Bitstream fonts, SW uses TrueType for all modes and offers a choice of
font and size even for draft and expanded view.

Frank said that "overall this version of SmartWords should be
compatible with previous versions of XyWrite in most important
respects." That probably means it is highly compatible with xyWin 4,
a win3 port of xyDos 4, a souped-up upgrade of Signature. While the most
voluble xylist subscribers are xyDos 4 users, many if not most xyWrite 3
users rejected the IBM-compromised Signature for incompatibility as well
as sluggish performance, and even xyDos 4 xpl performance is flaky in
xyWin. Frank said that "most macros that worked in XyWrite for
Windows should continue to work in SmartWords" and later added that
TTG has not enabled _vbscript_ as a macro language, but "the
interface is in fact built in VB--we have a command layer between VB and
the composition engine that allows VB code to pass
commands."

"Ultimately we would hope to support XML but there is no timeframe
for that," Frank said. "SmartWords is not an HTML editor,"
Frank noted in August 1998 and said that "no HTML editor is included
with SmartWords. Of course you can edit any HTML file, but SmartWords
doesn't understand the tags any more than XyWrite did."

TTG plans to offer the SmartWords editor/word processor to all takers (no
xyWrite required) on CD ROM. Included will be support files, command
reference and interface help files, and a set of filters to and from one
word processor of the buyer's choice. And--oh, yes--the license for
personal use only (copying and sharing are no-nos) also gets you
installation instructions plus an email address for bug reports. The
price is $14.95 plus $5 shipping (410-576-2040, option 2). For an extra
$35 (total price $49.95 plus $5 shipping), TTG will throw in import and
export filters for "all industry standard word processors,"
"vastly superior" to xyWrite 4 filters.

The only systematic support will be phone support at TTG's standard $1
per minute, Frank said. TTG is "interested in" bug reports,
suggestions, and questions, but may or may not respond directly. The
developer will try to provide additional information, bug fixes, etc. at
its Web site and/or via the XyWrite list, but makes "no guarantees
that we will do any of that. Basically this is `as is.'" TTG
promises over time to put portions of a user manual and frequently asked
questions on its Web site which was designed by some Macairhead with no
concept of the difference between Web authoring and dtp, so if your ISP
won't upgrade lynx the site is inaccessible).

Installation also offers the option to install a sample computer law
application intended to demonstate SmartWords' ability to store and
retrieve information from databases and assist in attendant
decision-making. TTG sells commercial licenses for both the editor and
the intelligent modules.
_________________________________________________________________

FYI,
--Harry



> We haven't tried buying the
> source from TTG. Has anyone here had friendly communication with Kenny
> Frank however long ago, so that he might recognize the name if he or she
> emailed him?