Re: Linux and XyWrite

[Michael Norman michael.norman@xxxxxxxx]

At 8/23/2004 10:15 AM -0400, Patricia M Godfrey wrote:
> Our options seem to boil down to 1) Getting XyWrite working on Linux or
> Mac; 2) settling (and paying, again and again) for NB and hoping it gets
> fixed, or 3) stockpiling P III systems as they become available on the
> aftermarket.
I'm still trying to work with NB. Yes, it needs fixing, as Patricia puts
it. And yes its proprietors do seem to demand frequent refinancing, as it
were, but given the huge investment in time and (with work-arounds such as
VPC) money trying to get XYDOS to work well in XP, NB seems, for the
moment, worth at least some attention here. For me and several others here
the need is simple and straight-forward: we need a reliable writing tool
that works on various platforms and keeps pace with new hardware. Reliable,
is, in NB's case, relative: the program works when I need it to work. It
does not, can not, do everything XY does and I've had to change some
working behavior. And it's not as fast -- make that read, does not *seem*
as fast, as instantly responsive. And yes there are some maddening bugs --
remember how long it took them to resolve simple screen flicker. Now
there's a bug trying to use a simple block non-blinking cursor (tech
support promises to fix this in the next release). But at least the program
is moving forward. The listserv is very helpful and several XyWriters post
there. And their tech support is responsive. I confess: I nurse along my
W98SE machine, trying to finish a project in XyDos. But at least one day a
week now I work in NB on XP, cursing often, but working in it nonetheless.
I miss some vital U2 routines (NB's log and resume doesn't hold a candle to
SAVESESS) but... Finally, I keep asking, save jerry-rigging (jury-rigging,
as you prefer) to get XY to work on this platform or that, what are the
alternatives? Is there another WP that is, at least, XY-like?

Michael Norman