🚀 go-pugleaf

Comments:

- The stuff about how expensive the Mac seems compared to MS-DOS compatibles
  has been hashed over a lot already. I want to read about ATM. So can that
  discussion be moved somewhere more appropriate?

- The fella from GE seems to have a big problem with the definition of "font"
  and I suppose that's ok, except that before the Macintosh, anyone who used 
  the word font took it to mean the expression of a typeface in a specified
  style. The words "typeface" and "type family" are much more appropriate.
  There are scores of variations on Helvetica, including Helvetica Black, 
  Helvetica Condensed, Helvetica Light. Would you want these all to be called
  part of the Helvetica "font?" If you do, then you should ask Apple to expand
  the functionality of the "Style" menu to accomodate these rich variations.
  You can argue all you want about deception, but the original deciever was 
  Apple, when it decided to bastardize the word with a "font" menu.

- A lot of folks seem to have bought into the media hype over "competing
  font technologies." Hogwash. Adobe simply decided it liked the way it
  generated font outlines much better. And judging from the way other
  font companies have attempted to implement outlines, I have to agree. 
  Nothing compares with the quality of Adobe fonts. Nothing. I beleive 
  Adobe feels that in lieu of system-level support for PostScript, they'd
  either have to convert their whole library to Royal format (possibly
  at a loss of quality, or the need to have a Royal outline for the screen
  and a PostScript outline for the printer) or keep their high-quality
  format and give users the same functionality for Adobe fonts, somehow.
  ATM gives Adobe customers the peace of mind that they will not have to 
  "upgrade" their fonts. And if they use Adobe fonts exclusively, they will
  reap font-rendering benefits months before System 7.

- ImageWriters come in two flavors. The ImageWriter I has a maximum resoution 
  of 72 dpi. The screen fonts were printed directly, and were the highest
  quality possible for that machine. You cannot get better print quality, 
  even with double-sized bitmaps installed. The only benefit of System 7 or
  or ATM will be that you will be able to print in sizes not installed as
  explicit bitmaps (like 16-point, 11-point, or 48-point). ImageWriter II
  printers have a maximum resolution of 144 dpi. System 7 and ATM will let
  users of those printers print fonts at the highest resolution of their
  printer without installing double-sized bitmaps. Users of LQ printers
  should have similar benefits, and should users of the AppleFax modem and
  LaserWriter IISC.

- Having to buy the LaserWriter Plus font set is a drag, and in cases 
  where a fella has a single LaserWriter Plus or IINT/X connected to his
  personal machine, possibly unfair. But the license agreement was very 
  clear that you purchase a font description for use with one CPU at a time.
  Most LaserWriters are used by several people, with several Macs. With ATM, 
  you'll be using the font on several Macs (CPUs) at a time. I'd like to see 
  the Plus set of fonts available as a special bundle at the introduction of
  ATM, perhaps both for $250 list, which would bring it under $200 mail order.
  Because ATM will give non-Postscript printers the ability to print Adobe
  quality fonts, I see no reason why Adobe should give away their most popular
  fonts to users of DeskWriters, PaintJets, etc. 

Questions:

- How will ATM interface with Adobe Illustrator? Will Illustrator users
  (finally) be able to edit the outlines of the letters? Certain perspective
  effects are currently impossible with Illustrator when text is involved, 
  as are effects where the letterform is curved to match an arced path. I'd
  like to be able to have that kind of control without resorting to
  LetraStudio.

- For users who bought a hard disk full of font outlines for their LaserWriter
  IINT, the outline capabilities are both wondrous and distressing. Will ATM
  read the fonts from the disk drive on the IINT? Will I have to load those 
  same fonts onto my Mac's hard disk as well?It seems the only reasonable
  alternative is to move the NT Hard disk to my Mac, and loose all the 
  benefits of having the fonts directly available to my laser printer.

- Apple has said it will not support rotated text with its Royal scheme.
  Will ATM offer that?

You don't have to be a "type weenie" to appreciate the quality of Adobe's
fonts and the freedom afforded by having one scheme for describing both
display and printed matter. I can't say I've always loved Adobe for its 
slowness to open up Postscript and its font outlines to the public. I think
if it had made these moves earlier, Apple would have had less resistance to 
implementing some sort of display postscript in the Mac OS.

I intend to get ATM the instant it's available. I also intend to get System
7 when it becomes available. I doubt I'll be "locked" into choosing one or
the other; ATM will kick in when I try to print an Adobe font, and Royal will
go to work when I print in other fonts.

Now, if only we could persuade Adobe to have an option in Illustrator to 
"Save as editable PICT" we'd really be able to sleep at night!

                                             -Bill Marriott