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Status of Executor V1.2 and ARDI in general + Word 4.00E announcement



Dear Folks,

			Status of V1.2

	I know you're eagerly awaiting release 1.2 of Executor.   
We're making progress, but it certainly seems like we take a step  
backward for every two or three that we make forward.  We sent out a  
few copies of Executor V1.1.1c a couple weeks ago, but that beta  
version was fatally flawed by not changing a symbolic link to the  
Word configration file; I have sent one copy of V1.1.1e out but it  
appears to have cache problems (Barlow wasn't exagerating in his  
mention that we're doing something that Apple can't, running Word 4.0  
with the cache on most of the time), so I'll hold off on sending that  
out to the rest of you.

	Here's how I see V1.2 shaping up:

	We have revamped the filesystem greatly.  You can now get at  
files anywhere on your system and you can run programs directly off  
the floppy (it's very slow, but it is necessary for the installation  
of some programs).  However, we didn't realize it, but since HFS_XFer  
doesn't use stdfile (where some of the trick mods were made), it  
can't go everywhere like Executor can; hence HFS_XFer is being  
rewritten by overworked and underpaid Bill Goldman.  He's up for it  
as long as no one distracts him with job offers that pay real  
money...  One person has also had problems with our filesystem code  
when he tried to go across mounted filesystems.  The code to make all  
of this work is pretty tricky, but it worked over here, so we were  
real frusterated to find out it was failing elsewhere.  Luckily we  
have found a way to make the bug appear over here, which means a fix  
is in sight (our biggest problem is when others have trouble that we  
can't repeat.  Emulating another machine, especially one with no  
formal spec, is a much tougher job than typical programming).

	Printing is much improved, but just like the filesystem,  
there's a mystery bug that has to be crushed.  Justification works  
and printed output is much nicer than before, with one major  
exception: any text that was scaled when it was printed on the screen  
will drift significantly around the page.  This one is very  
repeatable in house and is my top priority (after I get my wedding  
invitations done).  You can't yet use your NeXT fonts within Executor  
(unless they happen to already be in the System file that we supply),  
but we will be making a separate program that allows you to do this  
(kind of like Font/DA Mover).  I had wanted it to be more automatic,  
a la ATM, but there's no way we can get that into V1.2.

	Word 5 runs well, but hasn't had as much testing as we'd like  
(it's a big program).  Gone are the problems with saving files and  
printing (other than the printing problems already mentioned).  We  
still have more testing to do.  However, we haven't been able to get  
Equation Editor to work.  We will continue to work on this but will  
not be able to guarantee it will be ready by V1.2 time.

	Excel 3 is in the same state that Word 5 is, except we can't  
yet get it to print.  Bill has looked into it and is mystified.  I'll  
look at it this weekend.  Don't be too worried by the upcoming  
release of Excel 4.  Now that Apple's product line is more diverse  
and actually has an 040 product in it, we're finding the software  
that comes out now is much easier to qualify than software from a  
year ago.  Hooray!

	Some floating point bugs were fixed which means that some of  
the money managing programs work better.  There is still at least one  
known bug which Bill is looking into.

	Executor now claims that it is running "System 6.0.5"; it  
also supports the "Gestalt" call.  This should allow more programs to  
run.  We're working on a couple bits of short term financing that  
should allow us to have copies of many more programs to qualify.

	V1.2 will be packaged in a 3 ring binder that slips into a  
protective box.  I like the Stone Design packaging and asked Andrew  
whether he minded us copying it.  He's a good guy.  If you know what  
Create! and DataPhile documentation looks like, that's what we intend  
for V1.2.  However V1.2 will be ready before the documentation is, so  
we'll ship the software as soon as it's ready with a note that says  
you can go forward without documentation (which shouldn't be a chore;  
V1.2 should be that easy to use), or you can put the disk aside until  
the documentation is ready.

			Status of ARDI

	We are very happy with the letters and e-mail that we  
receive.  As you know, the task that we have chosen is much harder  
than typical application development and that difficulty has been  
compounded by our lack of capital.  We're still pursuing deals (in  
our copious free time) that could alleviate the capital crunch, but  
the good news is that even if we have to totally bootstrap ourselves,  
with our only source of funds being what we've already borrowed from  
friends and family and our now small but steady revenue stream, we  
will do it!

	I know that our small size can be frusterating, but in the  
future you may find yourselves chuckling at our humble beginnings,  
just as I do when I reflect on some of the documentation for the  
PDP-8 (DEC's machine before the Alpha, before the DECstation, before  
the VAX, before the PDP-11).  BTW, we now have another phone line, so  
it should be much easier to get us without getting a busy signal.   
We'll also be getting a ".com" address so within a couple of weeks  
our addresses should shorten considerably (e.g. ctm@ardi.com instead  
of iclone!ctm@unmvax.cs.unm.edu).

			Word 4.00E Announcement
	
	From "One to One", Microsoft's newsletter for Microsoft Mac  
products, May 1992 p.2 column 3:

	"If you're a registered MS Word user, we can send you the  
	Word 4.0e maintenance release, which is fully compatible with  
	the Quardra.  Version 4.0e is a one-disk release that makes  
	Word 4.0 compatible with the Quadra; no other changes have  
	been made.  To order the maintenance release, call Microsoft  
	Sales and Service toll free at (800) 426-9400.  This release  
	is available free of charge (plus freight) to any registered  
	user of MS Word for the Macintosh version 4.0"

We will be ordering this upgrade when the busy signal on the above  
number dies down.  We are hoping that this version can be run without  
requiring the "CacheProblems" section of the Configuration file.   
That would mean that Word would run faster.  It also might be worth  
pursuing if you have a copy of Word that is older than 4.00D, since  
4.00D is what we've used in house for all of our testing.  I'll post  
more about 4.00E when we receive our copy.

	Thanks for your support.

	Sincerely

	Cliff