Re: Any news about SmartWords

[Paul Williams paulwilliams5@xxxxxxxx]

Er .. excuse me, but what is Smart Words? A new name for XyWrite?

I recently sent The Technology Group the following Email. Got no reply, of
course:

George,

Thank you for your replies, which I appreciated. However there seems to be an
issue here that I do not understand, and I would be extremely grateful if you
could pass this on for an answer from your chief executive or whatever.

If you read stuff on the Internet you will know two things:

The Technology Group has a very bad reputation when it comes to support for
XyWrite. (Rude, brusque are adjectives that occur and which certainly do not
apply to you...) The implication is clear: TTG are really no longer interested in
XyWrite and while you do support it this is somewhat reluctant.

You CAN use foreign language dictionaries in XyWrite for Windows. You just choose
to say you do not and actively discourage users from doing so. Extraordinary! Why
bother to have XyWrite for windows if you do not actively support it (where are
all the bug fixes?) and if XYWRITE for Dos works just as well. I don't understand
the issues here.

The overall impression I get is that faced with the overwhelming superiority (in
numbers, not quality) of Microsoft Word etc you have given up. What a huge, great
shame!!!! A world ruled by Microsoft would be a grey place indeed. Independents
are vital. You have a loyal band of supporters 'out there' and they deserve
better.

XyWrite always was, and still is, and should continue to be, a great product. DO
NOT GIVE UP!!!

Paul Williams

Peter Evans wrote:

> Paul Breeze:
>
> >I've been offline for some time, so can anybody tell we if there is any new
> >intelligence about SmartWords, over say the last six months?
>
> Oh yes, it came out in January--
>
> >Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 11:35:39 -0500
> >Reply-To: xywrite@xxxxxxxx
> >Sender: owner-xywrite@xxxxxxxx
> >From: "Frank Kenneth B." 
> >To: "'xywrite@xxxxxxxx'" 
> >Subject: RE: R: xy windows [again]
> >X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN
>
>  [snip snip]
>
> >As to SmartWords, I am embarrassed that it has taken this long to get the
> >material together for distribution, but unfortunately the people who are
> >responsible for the installs and related materials have been preoccupied
> >with some major revenue-producing deliverables. I am pressing to get this
> >released, however, and in the meantime have also arranged with our vendor to
> >offer a full set of new import-export filters as part of the package. Since
> >the holidays are upon us, we will commit to making this beta version
> >available in January.
> >
> >K.
>
> --but strangely its release seems to have gone unnoticed.
>
> The other day, I was in the word-processing software section of a local
> store. There were a few dozen of this and that indigenous Japanese
> package, a ton of Microsloth Office/Word, nothing from Lotus, a single,
> dusty package of WordPerfect, two boxes of WordStar, and, amazingly, not a
> single copy of XyWrite, Smart Words, or Nota Bene. Indeed most people I
> meet think that "word processor" just a quaint old term for "Word" (cf
> "violoncello", "taxicabriolet", "luncheon").
>
> Wow, I wonder what those "major revenue-producing deliverables" could have
> been. (*Titanic* videos? Furby dolls? Plutonium? Coke?)
> :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
> Peter Evans