When Aria Prima Novianto wrote, I replied: > > Did anybody else see this news item today? Thought it might be of > interest.
Boy, Am I glad that it's April 1 !!! > -- > *) Aria > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > ============================================================================== > > MICROSOFT BUYS TEX, PLANS NEW PRODUCTS > > STANFORD PROFESSOR REAPS WINDFALL > > PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, USA (CNEWS/MSNBC) --- In a major move into the > scientific publishing market, Microsoft Corporation announced today that it > has purchased all rights to the computer language and document compiler known > as TeX (pronounced, "tech"), and plans a major new product line based on the > 20-year-old software. > > Stanford Professor Donald Knuth (pronounced, "kah-nooth"), the author of the > widely-used TeX software, in a joint press conference at the university campus > with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, acknowledged that the two had been > negotiating for some months. "I felt that two decades of TeX in the public > domain was enough. I am reasserting the copyright to my original work in TeX. > Microsoft will carry the ball now, and I can get back to my computer science > research." Knuth acknowledged he was paid a "seven-figure sum" from > Microsoft, which he will use to finance his work on a project he has > code-named "Volume 4". > > At the press conference, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said the acquisition > was "the kind of cooperation between academia and industry that builds > prosperity for both." He added that TeX would "finally give Microsoft a > foothold in mathematical desktop publishing" that has eluded the software > giant since its founding. Drawing gasps of surprise from the college > audience, Gates asserted that "TeX will soon be biggest jewel in the Microsoft > crown." > > Apparently the jewel metaphor will include a hefty, unavoidable price tag for > future TeX users. Gates outlined plans whereby all existing TeX compilers > would be phased out, to be replaced by a new Microsoft master implementation > written in C++. Beta versions for public testing on Windows 95 and NT > platforms are expected in late 1998, issuing from a new 205-programmer project > laboratory at Microsoft's Redmond campus. Microsoft TeX for other platforms, > such as Unix workstations, will follow at an as-yet unspecified date. > According to Gates, "the master TeX from Microsoft will ensure that the > incompatibilities across platforms are once and for all eliminated." TeX > software is widely used due its portability, although variations among > operating systems have been troublesome due to uncoordinated development. > > Unlike the technical aspects of the project, Gates explained that pricing for > Microsoft TeX has already been firmly set. The single-user retail product is > expected to have a street price of about $600 and consist of three CDs. When > heckled by an graduate student complaining about a high price for a formerly > free product, Gates seemed startled, explaining that a "student edition at > $299 is likely" and that "Microsoft will use the revenue to make TeX better." > > Most current users of TeX have paid nothing for their implementations, derived > from Professor Knuth's formerly-free work. Before leaving the podium, Gates > made a final comment that "TeX hasn't changed in years. What kind of a > product can that be?", and then handed the microphone to an assistant, > introduced only as the project leader for Microsoft TeX. > > The assistant displayed an overhead presentation using the current test > version of Microsoft TeX. Equations and tables could be seen dissolving into > each other in a morphing action between frames. "No one has ever done that > with TeX," Gates announced from an audience seat at one point. "It's the kind > of sizzle that can really enliven a dull paper at an academic conference." > Some onlookers were not convinced, especially when the program crashed midway > through the demonstration, resulting in a five-minute delay while Windows 95 > was restarted. Microsoft technicians later blamed a third-party display > driver. > > The impact on the large base of existing TeX users was unclear. During a > question-and-answer period, Gates said that the "TeX" trademark would be > registered as the exclusive property of Microsoft, and could not appear in any > competitive or free software. "We are granting of our own good will until the > 3rd quarter of 1998, free use to any existing TeX vendors or public-domain > authors. That's plenty of time for an orderly phase-out and change-over to > Microsoft TeX, or no TeX at all. After that, our legal department will be > contacting them." > > A Microsoft attorney added that some of the project personnel would be > dedicated to searching the Internet to find non-Microsoft TeX software. > "Archives and collections of TeX-related programs will not be permitted. The > standards must be enforced, or they become meaningless. We are rescuing a > fine piece of work from being diluted into worthlessness. You would not > believe the number of programs that have been based on TeX without any > central, controlling authority. We will stop this infringement." > > Some large organizations dependent on TeX were stunned by the announcment > and had not yet formed plans for dealing with the change. At the American > Mathematical Society, whose publications largely depend on TeX for > typesetting, editor Barbara Beeton was incensed. "I can't believe Don > [Professor Donald Knuth] sold us out like this. We should have never > based a publishing enterprise of this scope on so-called public-domain > software. What were we thinking?" Publication schedules for the rest of > 1998 were on hold, and journal editors scrambled to reassure their authors > that deadlines would not slip more than a few months. > > Certain small businesses are also expected to feel the impact of the Microsoft > ownership of TeX. Palo Alto restaurant owner Wu Chen appeared unhappy at the > news, stating that "for ten year I print new menu every day with TeX, now I > will pay big time." He displayed a crumpled, grease-spotted take-out flyer, > and with tears in his eyes explained how multiple columns, exotic typefaces, > and daily price changes could all be printed by TeX in a multi-lingual format. > "In Wordperfect this would be a long journey." > > Commercial vendors of TeX software stand to lose everything in the face of the > new Microsoft monopoly. While most derivatives of TeX were freely published, > several companies had made a business of publishing proprietary versions. One > anonymous source from a leading TeX firm said that "publishing TeX was a gold > mine while it lasted, and the Internet let us mine it deeper and deeper. Now > this is a cave-in right on our heads. TeX was a monumental work of beauty > and utility, freely given to the world by one of the finest and most generous > minds of the 20th century. Now it belongs to a lucky dropout. We're finished." > > Date of Publication 04/01/98 > For further information see http://idt.net/~truetex > > -- > To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- ----------------------------------------- Ralph Winslow [EMAIL PROTECTED] The IQ of the group is that of the member whose IQ is lowest divided by the number of members. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? 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