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Conference hydra::amiga_v1

Title:	AMIGA NOTES
Notice:	Join us in the NEW conference - HYDRA::AMIGA_V2
Moderator:	HYDRA::MOORE

Created:	Sat Apr 26 1986
Last Modified:	Wed Feb 05 1992
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	5378
Total number of notes:	38326

447.0. "ProWrite is here..." by LEDS::ACCIARDI () Wed Apr 08 1987 09:21

    I picked up a copy of ProWrite on Saturday, 4/4 from the Software
    Shop in Worcester.  The price was $89.00 (list=$129.00).
    
    For those who don't know, ProWrite has been hyped as the long-awaited
    ultimate WP for the Amiga.  It features the ability to merge text
    and color graphics, multiple fonts and colors on the same sheet.
    It is a WYSIWYG type WP, where there are no imbedded printer or
    formatting commands to contend with.
    
    It largely does what it is advertised to do, but they really blew
    it in a few regards.
    
    1.  The only operational mode for the program is 640 x 400 interlaced.
    	This in itself is not so bad, but the fools selected the worst
    	possible color combinations for a hi-res screen:  Black text
    	on a paper white background.  This combination flickers like mad
        even on a Sony with a Jitter-Rid filter over the screen.  What
    	is even more unforgivable than this color scheme is that they
    	haven't provided any way to change the colors.  If they had
    	allowed for amber or light blue text on a dark background, it
    	could work fairly well.  They do allow you to lower the intensity
    	of the colors by typing shift-help, but this still looks pathetic.
    
    2.  The program makes incredibly poor use of memory.  I have expansion
        RAM, and the program does indeed load into the fast memory.
    	So, you'd think that I'd have enough chip memory for at least
    	two 640 x 400 16-color screens, right?  Wrong!  If you open
        a document, then open another window to import an IFF graphics
    	file, you get a 'not-enough-memory' message.  Then, try to close
    	the window... 'not-enough-memory'...try to quit the
    	program..'not-enough-memory'... the only escape route is CTRL-
    	Amiga-Amiga.
    
    3.  The program looks like it was written for a Mac.  The file
    	requestor boxes are totally non-standard, and a little wristwatch
    	even comes up during disk access.. 
    
    4.  To it's credit, the default font used look pretty good, and
        they've installed a prettly good print driver for a text/graphics
    	printout.
    
    I called New Horizons and complained about all the program's
    deficiencies.  The woman on the other end acknowledged that the
    program was buggy, and that they were working on an upgrade that
    works in non-interlaced mode, and dealt with memory better.  What
    I can't understand is how on earth such stuff ever made it out of
    Beta test.  I mean, an upgrade after three days on the market?!?
    
    I have heard from some beta testers of VizaWrite (a similar offering
    from Progressive Peripherals) that Viza if far superior and works
    like a charm.  Looks like I got burned by my impulsiveness...

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
447.1	Frustration	HYSTER::DEARBORN	Trouvez Mieux	`Wed Apr 08 1987 11:02`	18
	How can anyone release such a buggy product, you ask? What about Aegis Animator 1.0? What about Flight Simulator (has anyone received an upgrade yet?) Aegis seems to get the booby prize from me for a lot of the crap they have pulled. The best one should go to Aegis Draw (1.0). After you buy the software they tell you that you should buy a plotter because it really doesn't support printer output (even though the ads and packaging says it does.) and as for running out of memory...I have some really big problems with the way that DPaintII uses memory. I have 1.5m and am still being told by the program that I don't have enough memory! software....ugh!
447.2	Aegis Ain't So Bad...	LEDS::ACCIARDI		`Wed Apr 08 1987 13:30`	18
	Randy, I never used Aegis Draw 1.0, but I did buy Draw Plus, and I think the program is fantastic. It seems to be totally bullet-proof, and gives you plenty of warning if an operation might not be feasible due to memory limitations. I have no trouble opening multiple windows (all 640 x 400 x 16 colors) with Draw Plus. The screen repaints faster than my $45,000 MegaTEK terminal running UNIGraphics! And the improved printer drivers make a fair plot on an Okimate 20. As for Flight Simulator, sure, there are bugs, but the program runs, and never crashes (although I do every few minutes). What I am bitching about is sleazy companies that release software that is totally unusable. I am sure thet the know damn well that their products don't work, but they release them to get an influx of cash so that they can produce a workable version. To me, that is theft of my money. From now on, I am waiting for a magazine review of a product before I buy on faith, even if it means waiting a few more months.
447.3		HYSTER::DEARBORN	Trouvez Mieux	`Wed Apr 08 1987 13:49`	33
	On the other hand...to continue this conversation that has little to do with ProWrite anymore... Draw Plus is quite good. It is what Draw 1.0 should have been. (There is a bug tho: saving a screen as a bitmap creates a corrupted IFF file. Also, printing isn't very well documented. By trial and error, I learned that the best printing mode is B+W. Don't change the default screen colors, or your printout will be blank. Color printing doesn't seem to work in the hi-res mode, other than a screen dump.) What I am complaining about is that it Draw 1.0 was several months late. Then it took almost 1 year before they turned it into a useful product. As for waiting for reviews, the brand new issue of AmigaWorld has a review of DeluxeVideo. They say nothing about it's problems with 1.2 and memory expansion. They just rave about what a great product it is. Of course, AmigaWorld isn't the best place to go for reviews... As for Flight Simulator, what about the green clouds? What about all the missing features? Again, AmigaWorld never even mentioned some of these very obvious errors. They just raved about what a neat piece of software it is. They never even discussed the fact that it is identical to the Atari ST version...that no attempt was made to make use of the Amiga's additional display capabilities (other than sampled sounds.) As I remember, they raved about Animator too...even though it crashes everytime you move an object off the top of the screen. (It still does sometimes, even in the 'fixed' version.) But back to ProWrite...sounds pretty bad.
447.4	PROWRITE	AUTHOR::MACDONALD	WA1OMM Listening 224.28	`Fri Apr 10 1987 16:50`	3
	The PROWrite product has been recalled by the manufacturer for the out of memory bug. As a matter of fact, Memory Location removed it from the shelf this week and will not selll what they have.
447.5	...	LEDS::ACCIARDI		`Fri Apr 10 1987 17:30`	10
	I'm glad to hear that... my earlier words may have been rather harsh, because the program DOES have potential for greatness, but I'm sick of shelling out money for stuff that flat-out doesn't work properly. This bad experience comes right on the heels of the Silent Service fiasco, where thge disk self-destructs after 5 runs. On the bright side, I guess that the market perceives the Amiga to be pretty hot, since people are rushing their products out too soon...
447.6	don't be too bright...	SAUTER::SAUTER	John Sauter	`Fri Apr 10 1987 17:52`	4
	re: .5--On the other hand, maybe people are rushing their products out too soon because they're afraid the Amiga will die, and they'll have no sales at all. John Sauter
447.7		BAGELS::BRANNON	Dave Brannon	`Fri Apr 10 1987 20:09`	4
	re: .6 more likely its the traditional field testing with real customers :-) fastest way to find out if bug is serious or not -dave
447.8	New Version Available	AMULET::HALVERSON	GARFIELD	`Thu Jun 04 1987 14:03`	3
	I just talked to Memory Location and they have the new updated version of ProWrite avail. for $124.
447.9	Update Received.	LEDS::ACCIARDI		`Thu Jun 04 1987 15:24`	9
	The Software Shop in Worcester, MA has ProWrite for $89.00. BTW, I've received my updated version, and most of the bugs do seem to be gone. They now include two versions of the program, a new 640 x 200 8 color version, plus the original 640 x 400 8 color version. They are functionally identical.