Re: Windows at 30

[Kari Eveli lexitec@xxxxxxxx]

Bill,

Many good points in what you wrote. The problem with fonts and symbol
sets was the not invented here syndrome. Each manufacturer had their own
idea of DOS extended ascii (IBM, HP), then MS adopted another character
set for Windows. TrueType and Type 1 had somewhat different goals and
audiences, and the firms behind them wanted to dominate the market with
their own system. Who owns the standard has a certain competitive
advantage, and it is difficult for companies to give this up.


The main problem with Windows is that certain characteristics are
embedded too deep into the operating system making it difficult to
produce a clean production-ready setup for, e.g., publishing. I cannot
discard TT font technology in Windows and build a clean PS-type
environment which would be far better for publishing. I could not adopt
IBM ASCII as the font system for Windows 3.1, which would have made more
sense. XyWin tried this, but it was not a great success.


A better solution would a modular system with loadable and discardable
font subsystems. The same goes for close links between the browser and
the operating system. This would need a new mindset and willingness to
open up Windows to third-party developers. That could be a smart move if
MS wants to take Windows to the next level. Untangling these deep
connections would constitute a leap towards better maintainability of
the core operating system and it certainly would create a buzz among
developers.


Best regards,

Kari Eveli
LEXITEC Book Publishing (Finland)
lexitec@xxxxxxxx

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7.3.2016, 16:21, Bill Troop wrote:
> we have chaos. But it very nearly was order.