From: crystal@glia.biostr.washington.edu (Crystal)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.applications
Subject: Re: Pagestream impressions sought
Date: 4 Jan 93 22:33:52 GMT
Article-I.D.: glia.crystal.726186832
Organization: University of Washington
NNTP-Posting-Host: glia.biostr.washington.edu

In <1993Jan03.122746.17571@src4src.linet.org> frostbit@src4src.linet.org (Rajesh Goel) writes:

>In article <4532@winnie.fit.edu> wood@kepler.pss.fit.edu (Matt A. Wood) writes:
>>To users of Pagestream:  Could you please take a minute to tell me
>>your impressions of the program?  I'm thinking of buying it for my
>>wife, who's an 8th grade school teacher and who currently is using
>>Wordperfect.  She'd be using the program for generating tests,
>>quizzes, flyers, and banners (this last feature is really why we're
>>considering it).  She's not a computer jock and doesn't much like
>>reading user manuals, so ease of use and on-line help are very
>>important.  Some questions that come to mind:

User manuals are there to be read.  It's the only way to get the feel for
the full power of a program.  Being a teacher, I'm sure she knows the value
of reading.  User manuals are not fun to read, but then there's lots of stuff
in life we have to do that we don't like.

>>    * Is the program easy to learn or is the learning curve
>>        steep?

Well, it's a pretty heavy-duty program for just quizzes and flyers, as most
desktop publishing/pagelayout programs will be.  It's much better than Ventura
Publisher, which I got stuck having to learn WITHOUT A MANUAL (someone had
ripped it off from the office I was working in at the time), and within a week
I was pretty proficient in it.  PageStream was simply a "skills transfer".

>>    * Does the program have a good "feel", or are refreshes
>>          and such too slow?  (we have a stock A500 w/ 3Mb Ram
>>        and 20 Mb A590 HD)

I have a 2000 with  1mg Agnus/2mg Fast and it seems to do ok, but it is a bit
slow with graphics.  Extra RAM is *high* on my priority list, but if you aren't
doing a lot of graphics intensive work, I can see no real problems with your
set up. (although I must admit I am completely unfamiliar wiht the 500)

>>    * How good is the output?  We have an Epson LQ800 24-pin
>>        printer.  Will the program use the printer's fonts
>>        for 10 and 12 point for NLQ printing?  Can it mix
>>        NLQ printing and the slower 'graphics-mode'
>>        character printing in the same document and on the
>>        same page?

The output is only as good as the printer you print it on.  NO DTP is going to 
give you laser quality output if you are using a dot matrix.

>>    * Are extra fonts a must-buy, or are they really only needed
>>        for those doing extensive newsletters and such?

There's quite a few fonts already avaiable with PageStream...and the ability to
stretch them and play with them makes them quite enough.  Though if you are
insatiable and *love* collecting fonts, then, by all means buy some to add toi
the collection. :>

>>    * Any problems with the program crashing the system?

Only when I run out of memory loading graphics....*sigh*

>>    * Is the clipboard supported?  AREXX?

Don't know about AREXX, I have no clues what it is,, but Hotlinks will help
you with that clipboard support (and give you a NICE editor - PageLiner).  I've
never tried to use the clipboard outside of PageStream.  But then I 've never
figured out how to cut and paste on the workbench yet :<)
>>
>>Plus, if you have any other comments -- especially warnings -- please
>>pass them on to me.  Thanks *very* much for your time!

Yes, I've heard that 2mgs Fast ram isn't enough to be able to run Pagestream,
Hotlinks, BME and Pageliner all at the same time and still work with graphics 
or large text files.  (Yet another reason I want more RAM - the Hotlinks set
looks like a MARVELOUS addition!)
>>Matt A. Wood                            Physics and Space Sciences
>>wood@phy.fit.edu                        Florida Institute of Technology
>>(407) 768-8000 (x7207)                  150 West University Boulevard
>>(407) 984-8461 (FAX)                    Melbourne, FL  32901-6988


>    Pagestream sounds like OVERKILL for your needs.  And you cannot do banners
>in it (least I can't with my laser) and it would be TOO slow on a 7.14 Mhz 500.

Yes, you CAN do banners!  There is provision for vertical fonts...and it would
probably work best with tractor-feed paper (unless you like to tape a lot of
pages together... ;> )

>    You should check out FinalCopy II.  It's a great wordprocessor with some
>built-in graphical tools (lines, curves, boxes, etc.) comes with some VERY
>USEABLE fonts and is cheap (under $ 100).

PageStream likewise has the built-in graphical tools, but is more compatible
with the output of other text/graphic/paint programs, as well as using fonts
that are not proprietary (I seem to recall some dismay that a new Soft-Logik
Font conversion program won't work with FinalCopy II fonts.)

Besides, once one gets a taste for DTP, they will likely kick themselves for
not getting PageStream in the first place... :>  Well, that's MY opinion. I
LOVE IT!!  And the support we get online from Kevin is great!  :>

>------------------------------------------------------
>   frostbit@src4src.linet.org
>     A4000 -- Workstation performance that's AFFORDABLE
>-------------------

>P.S. I do NOT have any links with SoftWood except as a satisfied (ab)user.

Same here...I've no connection with Soft-Logik, other than as a satisfied user.
(I don't abuse my programs, but they sure have been known to abuse ME ;> )

Crystal
  ;>
From: gael@hpgnd149.grenoble.hp.com (Gael_Marziou)
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 09:44:19 GMT
Subject: ABackup 2.0 can work under 3.0
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, GND