🚀 go-pugleaf

In <1992Oct3.4589.1378@dosgate> michael.livsey@canrem.com (michael livsey) writes:
>Openwindows V 3.0 uses News as its core; so does Solaris 2.0. I assume from
>this announcement that Sun is still committed to display postscript, but they
>plan to let Adobe develop the standard implementation.

NeWS is *not* Display PostScript.  NeWS is a window system based on an
implementation of PostScript whose output side is similar to, but not
exactly identical to, Adobe's implementation of PostScript for displays.

However, the PostScript langauge as implemented in NeWS has been extended
to provide an input model, complete with downloadable event handlers that
run entirely in the NeWS server, multiple lightweight threads, internal 
task switching, and a whole passel of other cool technological advances 
not found in the Display PostScript extension to X11.

Unfortunately, while NeWS was the *clear* technological winner over X11
and Display PostScript, Sun completely failed on the marketing end, and
when it was clear they were not going to "win" by fiat, lacked the vision
to simple place the NeWS sources in the public domain, or donate them to
the X11 Consortium, so that the technology could be more widely used.

>Regardless of the Adobe agreement, Sun has been sending out vibes to
>developers that people should be developing Openwindows applications using
>the OLIT package (MOTIF equivalent) not TNT or News. This may change with the
>Adobe announcement; I'm not sure which the way the wind currently blows at Sun.

NeWS is dead.  Sun has announced publicly that the next major release of
OpenWindows will be based on X11R6 and Display PostScript.  Gone are the
input extensions.  Gone are downloadable server extensions.  Gone is just
about everything that made NeWS better than vanilla X11 (a technology that
was obsolete almost before it was released).

The market has spoken, and the market has opted for wretched mediocrity.

Well, perhaps *NOW* Sun will get a corporate clue, and make the NeWS 
sources publicly available so that even as the product dies, the ideas
might live on.
--
 Matt Landau			Waiting for a flash of enlightenment
 matt@centerline.com			  in all this blood and thunder

In article <1992Oct3.4589.1378@dosgate> "michael livsey" <michael.livsey@canrem.com> writes:
>Openwindows V 3.0 uses News as its core; so does Solaris 2.0. I assume from

	OpenWindows 3.X uses Shapes as its core.  X *and* NeWS windows
	are at a higher layer.

>this announcement that Sun is still committed to display postscript, but they
                               ^^^^^

	Sun was never, ever committed to display postscript, the Adobe
	product.  Back in 1987(ish), Adobe and Sun just could not sit 
	down and hammer out an equitable agreement to fold NeWS and PS.
	Adobe wanted RIP-sized licensing, Sun balked.

>plan to let Adobe develop the standard implementation.

	This appears to be very true.  You don't have to be a genius
	to figure out that NeWSPrint will have to be renamed soon.

>Regardless of the Adobe agreement, Sun has been sending out vibes to
>developers that people should be developing Openwindows applications using
>the OLIT package (MOTIF equivalent) not TNT or News. This may change with the

	The windows marketing person told me this too.  But who the
	heck uses OLIT?  Perhaps 5% of the app pgmrs out there?  It's
	so darn ugly, unlike XView (programming models aside).  And
	why does Sun continue to develop their own products and internal
	software with XView?  Is it that XView is so darn easy to pgm
	with?

	btw, despite my tremendous admiration for TNT/NeWS/HyperLook, I
	wouldn't touch it with a 10 meter probe.  I'll still play with
	SimCity though; Don Hopkin's  phenomenal TNT work on SimCity
	(very, very impressive) just knocks me out.  How AnswerBook
	will be quickly engineered without the NeWS input mechanism is
	a mystery to me.

>Adobe announcement; I'm not sure which the way the wind currently blows at Sun.

	After following Sun's windowing directions for the past 6 or so
	years, I am convinced they don't know either.

	Sun wants you to believe that IBM, DEC and HP killed NeWS and
	TNT... don't believe it.  
	
	Sun killed NeWS.  I have the scars to prove it.

	Frank G.
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