impex & TTG

[OkAnnie@xxxxxxxx]

The filters TTG and many other developers include with their
software are licensed from MasterSoft, which packages them in the
stand-alone product Word for Word. I don't know how MasterSoft
arrangements with other developers work, but I'd guess TTG's
statement to Myron Gochnauer (GOCH@xxxxxxxx) that it's giving
graphics conversion a low priority means that TTG hasn't
contracted with MasterSoft to write new or revise old filters. My
only complaint with MasterSoft xyW text filters is that they're
tab-happy--zillions of extraneous ≪TSn,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n≫s.
Not my only complaint, however.

I had to import to xyW, for editing and export to QuarkXPress, a
book written with Q&A (by someone who'd read too much Jerry
Pournelle, perhaps). One reason I accepted the job was that my
documentation says xyDos 4 has a Q&A filter. When I found none on
my hdd or any v4 floppy I called TTG. I was on deadline and the
message I left with the voicemail-from-hell was never returned,
so to continue I made a quick run to the software store for w4w.
Hardly my first such or worst experience with TTG. I remember
them all every time I open a TTG mailing. Sorry, Tech Group, I
spent my xyWin budget on w4w.


When I posed a thorny question, even if it had no remedy Xyquest
*always* gave me an answer. At first I was grateful to TTG for
keeping xyWrite alive, but Jeff Ramsay is the only one there
whose attitude suggests to me that TTG gives a damn about the
fragile user base. I didn't even register xyDos 4. Why bother?
Sales and tech support in early v4 days persuaded me that for
practical purposes xyWrite is already an orphaned app.   --Annie
Fisher

======================= annie fisher | nyc | okAnnie@xxxxxxxx