From: jfr@redbrick.com (Jon Rosen)
Subject: Re: PasteUp released?
Organization: Red Brick Systems, Los Gatos, CA
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 04:51:14 GMT

In article <1992Jul21.184839.3353@digifix!uunet.ca> sanguish@digifix.com writes:
>James Grinter writes
>> 
>> Basically what I would like to know is, has PasteUp been released in
>> the US yet? A dealer here in the UK says July 30th, but before they
>> told us June 30th, so what could be happening?
>> 
>> Secondly, if it has been released in the UK, what is it like? Can it
>> do all that Glenn Reid (thanks for some early info Glenn) assured me
>> it it would be able to?
>> 
>
>	I just called RightBrain and was told they hope to be shipping by  
>Friday...
>
>	The most unfortunate thing is that capabilities of PasteUp have been
>kept in the dark for the most part. I guess that protects RightBrain from  
>having other companies steal their ideas before they get a chance to ship.   
>Unfortunately, in my case, it meant that I had to make a decision today about  
>whether I would purchase FrameMaker or PasteUp.  Do to the fact I have used  
>Frame before, and I have not used PasteUp, I went with Frame.  :-(
>
>	Hopefully, come mid-september, october time frame PasteUp will be out,  
>widely reviewed, and I will upgrade/sidegrade to it.
>

  At the BANG user group meeting in June, there was a demo of PasteUp.  The
  demo was quite exciting and holds much promise for the future.  At that
  time, we were told the product would be shipping by the end of June (which
  was less than 20 days away).  At the end of the demo, I asked if I could
  "pilot" for a while.  I brought the system down four consecutive times
  doing relatively trivial operations (trying to rotate a text frame, 
  enlarge a font size, etc).  

  I mention this, NOT to slur RightBrain or Glenn, but rather to point out
  that small software companies (as well as larger ones) can get too
  aggressive in trying to get to market with a product that simply isn't
  ready.  I asked about the obvious serious errors that my simply "touch-
  tests" had uncovered and I was told that, yes, there were a few bugs
  left to get out, but that they were sure they would still make their
  ship date.  Well, I don't know about RightBrain, but fixing these bugs
  (which were NOT minor or cosmetic but effected major functions in the
  product) was probably not simple, and more importantly, fixing them 
  would leave insufficient time in my books for testing of the fixed code.
  
  I sympathize with RightBrain's plight.  I was there myself back in the
  70s and early 80s, trying to keep my company financially solvent while
  fixing the last major bugs in a new piece of software.  But it is 
  important, nee CRITICAL, for the first release of a major new product
  to at least do 99% of the things beginning users will ask of it without
  any bugs.  You don't generally get a second chance.  

  I look forward to PasteUp.  But I hope when it is released, its FINAL
  source code version (the one with the final bug fixes that will make
  the release) will be tested for at least a month.  That will insure
  a stable product.

  Jon Rosen
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.software