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RE: Frame - The Future

Dan Emory wrote: 
 
> A PDF (official Adobe document) outlining the content of the FP36 
> conference described by Jan is available at:
> 
> http://www.tceurope.org/pdf/EIDC_2003_mon.pdf
> 
> FrameMaker is not mentioned anywhere in that document. However, the 
> presentations, all touting InDesign as the ultimate solution 
> for technical 
> documentation, extol precisely those features of InDesign 
> where FrameMaker 
> is weakest, particularly Unicode, XML support, 
> single-sourcing, translation 
> capabilities, etc.
> 
> In other words, the presentation matches what a FrameMaker 
> competitor would 
> emphasize in a marketing strategy designed to promote migration from 
> FrameMaker to the competitor's product. <snip>

He goes on to draw some plausible conclusions about "Adobe's plan ... to
wean customers away from FrameMaker and into InDesign..." He may be
right. 

But allow me to suggest another explanation. The session was entitled
"Adobe InDesign for technical documentation." The presenter, Albrecht
Fischer, presumably has detailed knowledge of this topic. I'd guess,
therefore, that he's in some way part of the "InDesign team" (or "CS
team"). He's an advocate, not (just) of Adobe in general, but of a
specific Adobe product, suite, or marketing group. 

It's a mistake to assume that Adobe is a monolithic organization with a
single, Borg-like, hive mind. Maybe the presentation "matches what a
FrameMaker competitor would emphasize" because the InDesign folks see
themselves as FrameMaker competitors. Competition takes place _within_
organizations, too, you know. 

The people at Adobe responsible for marketing (or engineering) InDesign
probably _do_ want to "wean customers away from FrameMaker and into
InDesign"; their counterparts on the FrameMaker side undoubtedly have
different plans. 

How this plays out is unclear. Don't read too much into "evidence" like
this. 

And, BTW, the linked PDF isn't an "official Adobe document" -- it's an
"official" TCeurope document. 

Richard


------
Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Voyant Technologies, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT voyanttechDOTcom
303-223-5111
------
rgcombs AT freeDASHmarketDOTnet
303-777-0436
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