RE: FrameMaker's next release -- longish explanation

[lsmalley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Lester C. Smalley)]

First, the responses to my message of 4 October 1999:

Jeanette Feldhousen <jeanette_feldhousen@mentorg.com> wrote:

| Well, you can try the solution we've come up with (YMMV, of course), but
| you've gotta have at least one PC available.
| 
| Set up your PC so that you can map UNIX directories to a drive (I use 
| Exceed, but you can probably use other things). Run distiller on your
| PC, and set up a watched folder in distiller, using a directory on a
| UNIX workstation. Then you just have to move the PS file on UNIX into
| your watched folder, and move the PDF file to wherever you want it after
| distiller runs on the PC.
| 
| I know that this is not going to work in all environments, but it's
| working pretty well for me. Obviously, you have to have a Windows PC
| and you have to keep distiller running on it at all times.
| 
| --Jeanette

And Ezra Steinberg <ezra@Resonate.com> added:
 
| Unfortunately, at the Adobe Developer Conference in August folks were
| told that the only UNIX-based Acrobat (other than the Readers) being
| considered was a Distiller server for Solaris only.
| 
| I wrote David Baskerville, Product Manager for Acrobat for an update,
| but haven't heard back yet.
| 
| Lester's e-mail has also jogged me to ask Mark Hilton about FM+SGML
| (even though  I don't use it -- yet! ;-) and its place on the roadmap
| beside FM (and the specific UNIX platforms and versions it will run
| on, too).

While Ken Bowen <ken@als.com> provided a technical solution specifically:
 
| On Mon, 4 Oct 1999, Jeanette Feldhousen wrote:

 << SNIPPED >>
  
| That approach works here too.  We use Samba to mount parts of Unix
| drives on the Windows box.  It's free and solid.

Thank you all for the input.  We in fact have Samba in use to do this, but
there are a few concerns, about fonts and parameter settings that make it
not necessarily a seamless task.

However, that is NOT the point that I was trying to make.  Rereading my
message, I still believe that I was clear that I CAN do this, but that it
is NOT the 'one stop shopping' approach that Adobe expouses in all of its
marketing and advertising for Acrobat as "the essential tool for universal
document exchange...". Quote extracted from Adobe's official advertising
copy for Acrobat 4.0, in the 50-, 100-, and 150-word versions; the 25-word
version calls it "the essential tool for reliable, universal document
communication...".

While the information provided by Jeanette, Ezra and Ken is quite pertinent,
(and you are correct, Ezra, that this multi-system approach can include a
Macintosh instead of a WinTel system), the point still is that Adobe does
address the Unix (and let's not forget Linux) marketplace adequately.

Question to all: When was the last time you saw FrameMaker/FrameMaker+SGML
for ANY platform advertised in any form by Adobe?  Does it seem in any
way rational that a company would completely "non-support" a product that
has an important role in its marketing and development strategy?

Adobe has one of the premier documentation tools (clearly arguable about 
what is 'best' for any given task, but let's agree that FM is in the top 
couple of places for the sake of this discussion) but seems to ignore it
totally, as if hoping by neglect that it will disappear;

Despite the announcement that 'Adobe is committed to FrameMaker and are
        actively working on a new verison' (originally posted on this
        forum by Dina Davidson from email by Judi Webster of Adobe in
        November 1998);

Despite the reports of FM being John Warnock's favorite tool; and that
        the InDesign/PageMaker/FrameMaker marketing focus is that ID is
        for very high-end publishing, PM is for highly-styled short pieces
        (brochures, marketing collateral...) and FM is for technical
        and long document publishing needs;

Despite the fact that FM is the only truly multi-platform tool; and
        really the only one capable of very long document production;

Despite the fact that FM is one of the only tools available for the
        unix platform (I know Interleaf is still out there).

I work for a reseller of Adobe products.  And I am a big fan of both Frame
and Acrobat.  But I intend to highlight what I see as an obvious omission
in the fabric of the product umbrella.  A hole that should, in my opinion,
be repaired. 

This is solely my own opinion and in no way reflects either the views of
my employer nor anyone else associated with the company (or anyone else)
except by sheer coincidence.  Furthermore, this may be completely biased
and unfair to the competition or even Adobe.  That's life--live with it.

- Lester
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  Lester C. Smalley                   | email:  LSmalley@Infocon.com
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