WTVN Radio • Columbus, Ohio • Sunday morning from 8 until 9

Is this information useful? If so, consider
making a contribution, please.

Random thought:

Adobe InDesign: Quark Killer?

Quark XPress is the "program to beat" when it comes to desktop publishing. Designers like XPress. You'll find it in ad agencies and publishers' offices all over the world. What I don't understand about this is that the Quark XPress feature set is weak.

Corel's Ventura Publisher, for example. Can do just about everything that XPress can do and a lot of things XPress can't do without $10,000 to $14,000 worth of "plug-ins". But Ventura isn't available for the Mac and XPress is. Some graphic designers won't even consider the PC, so Ventura is out of the question for some publishers. That leaves Adobe.

Adobe has PageMaker, a program that's currently being repositioned to compete with Microsoft Publisher. It's not a program you'd want to consider for a newspaper or a book. Adobe also has FrameMaker (the old Frame program). Frame's interface is old fashioned, but it's a powerful program that competes well with Ventura on the PC and it's also available for Mac and Unix/Linux systems.

But there's also Adobe InDesign 2.0. Adobe considers InDesign to be the "Quark killer". Is it?

To be fair to Quark, I need to tell you that a new version of XPress is out. I haven't yet asked for a review copy because the last time I did, I received a terse note from Quark telling me that they had no interest whatsoever in having their program be reviewed on the radio. So what about the new version of XPress? Based on a look at the ads and the Quark website, it appears that the new XPress doesn't have many more features than the previous version. Except that the base product might be able to create a table now.

Should you want to do any of the following, you can't do it in Quark unless you buy an "extension", an application probably written by someone other than Quark:

Connect to a database to produce a catalog Save a page as an EPS file Create a table Number pages consecutively across multiple documents Generate an index

For $900, I would expect these functions to be "in the box".

Make way for Adobe

Adobe InDesign is priced at $700 and, illustrating how much Adobe want's Quark's customers, you can get the "upgrade" price ($300) if you own Quark XPress. Owners of earlier versions of InDesign can upgrade for just $150.

It's difficult to convince people to try a new product, particularly in a business like advertising or design, where the client always wants the work yesterday and there's no time to learn how to do the job with a new piece of software.

Adobe is trying, though.

The first thing I noticed about InDesign is the way it handles type. You would expect a layout/design program to handle type well. I don't know what all is involved behind the scenes, but I do know that what InDesign does is the best I've seen from any product hands down.

There are two components involved in setting type on a line: Tracking measures the overall distance between characters. Kerning deals with how individual letter pairs fit together.

• Tracking is "loose" or "tight". Some programs apply numbers and offer a variety of settings. InDesign allows settings from -100 (extremely tight) to 0 (normal) to +100 (extremely loose).
• Kerning is more important, though, particularly in headlines. As an example, consider the words "To" and "The". The lowercase "o" can fit underneath the uppercase "T", but the lowercase "h" cannot. Kerning is defined by "kerning pairs" -- descriptive information within the font file that explains how much space must be between individual character pairs.

InDesign takes this a step forward by offering "optical kerning". The result of using optical kerning (instead of the font metric) varies from invisible to just barely noticeable, but it's one of the subtleties that differentiates professional typesetting from the rest of the world. It's gorgeous.

InDesign also allows for hanging punctuation or (as Adobe calls it) "optical margin alignment". This allows punctuation at the beginning of a line (quotation marks, for example) to be set partially or completely outside the left margin. The result is a more even looking left margin.

Some programs, such as Corel Ventura, place both parts of a left open quote outside the margin. InDesign splits the difference. If the open quotation is a single, it goes outside the margin. If the open quotation is a double, half of it goes outside the margin -- but InDesign allows additional tinkering with the settings. I like the InDesign approach to this seemingly obscure setting.

The way InDesign handles type is exactly what I would have hoped for from the Postscript people. Swashes, glyphs, and alternate characters have not been available to desktop typesetters because all of the typeface information has been stored in typeface files that can store only 256 characters (and 30+ characters aren't available for use). New typeface standards and programs such as InDesign return professional controls.

You're right: I don't get out enough, but these kinds of features are exciting to some folks and I'm one of them.

Another feature that I like a lot is the instant preview option. A quick mouse click (or pressing "W" depending on the mode InDesign is in) removes guidelines, grid markings, and all the other displays that are helpful in designing a document so that you can see what the page you're working on will look like when it's printed. Most other applications on the market require a print preview to do this.

While I'm still holding out hope that the new version of Corel Ventura will update the program to compete with the look and feel of Adobe's InDesign without losing its ability to be a document management system without rival, I have to admit that I'm worried by Corel's extreme secrecy. As of today, there is no question in my mind that Adobe has the best solution for publishers who need both Mac and PC versions. The functionality and capabilities of InDesign are clearly equal to and often superior to what Quark has provided. Whether Corel will be able to produce viable competition on the PC side is an open question.

My conclusion

If you're a user of Adobe InDesign version 1 and you like the way it works, buy version 2 now. If you're a Quark XPress user who's looking for a more capable program and you won't even consider a non-Mac program, check out Adobe InDesign.

I may have Corel Ventura in my veins, but I have to say that the latest version of InDesign 2 impresses even me.

Details

When a review copy landed on my doorstep, I installed it. More accurately, I tried to install it. Results:

• Process started. Went to 80% completion in about 2 minutes. Stopped. I canceled after 15 minutes.

• Started again after closing everything I could think of to close. Process went to 80% in about 2 minutes and stopped. After 45 minutes, I canceled the process and called Adobe.

• Guy had me restart the system in Safe Mode after copying all the installation files to the hard drive. Same thing -- 0 to 80 in 2 minutes and nothing.

• Guy had me delete a bunch of common files and stay in Safe Mode. The process went from 0 to 80 in 2 minutes and stopped.

• "Is this drive compressed?" He asked. I said it is. "Oh, we have an 'issue' with compressed drives. The knowledgebase file is called "InDesign installation stops at 80%."

• I removed compression from program files\common\adobe and from documents and settings\bblinn\local settings and then tried the installation again. Success.

This seems like good information to put in the readme file (I read it) or to mention in the manual (I read it, too). Or at least to mention on a scrap of paper that's included with the manual. I recall an incident in the early history of personal computers. I was having trouble loading one component of a program and, after following the instructions several times, I called tech support. When I explained the problem, the technician said, "Oh, yes. We know about that."

Is there some rule that says "Known problems cannot be divulged to the customer unless the customer calls you (long distance on the customer's quarter) to discuss a problem"? I used my cell phone to make the long distance call, so it was "free", but still I wasted more than an hour trying to install the program and a simple note in the readme file would have saved most of that wasted time.

Among the new features ...

• Direct export of Adobe PDF files in Adobe Acrobat 4 or Acrobat 5 format.
• Structure view and Tag palette for creating XML to repurpose legacy documents, build XML templates, and more.
• A Glyph palette for browsing, selecting, and inserting any glyph associated with a font. (This is a cool feature!)
• Much improved support for OpenType typefaces. (OpenType should eventually replace both TrueType and Type 1 faces and will support Unicode. Many of today's font management problems will disappear with OpenType.)
• For Mac users, native support for OS X.
• An outstanding "print preview" option. (Yes, I mentioned this already, but I'm really impressed by how well it works.)

For more information, see Adobe's InDesign site.

TechX NY is nearly here

There's still time to register for TechX NY (with PC Expo) and several other programs. The trade show is probably smaller this year than it has been in a decade or more. During the dot-com craziness, it wasn't unusual to find nearly 1000 exhibitors, many of which had no business being in business. The trade show filled the entire main exhibition hall at Javits Convention Center, all of the (slightly) smaller ground floor exhibition hall, and even a small exhibition space up on the third level by the press room.

In the wake of the dot-com implosion, last fall's terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, and a recession, the trade show is smaller. Not "small". Just not as big as it used to be.

This year's show is limited to the main exhibition hall. In many ways, that's a good thing because my meeting schedule often took me from the far northwest corner of the lower level to the far southwest corner of the upper level -- about a 10-minute walk. This year everything but the press center will be on the same floor.

And instead of trying to see and make sense of offerings from 1000 companies, there are fewer than 400. In addition to the "PC Expo" trade show, there are also other specialized events such as "Digital Video Expo", "Mobile Connections", and a conference on "Technology, Continuity, and Security". Outside TechX NY there are "invitation only" events such as Digital Focus, Mobile Focus, ShowStoppers, and a variety of briefings and receptions. So you don't have to worry about me being bored.

I spoke with show manager Christina Condos about this year's lineup ...
REAL AUDIO 3:37 q-web services event

TechX NY conferences occur throughout the week of June 24. The PC Expo trade show is open
Tuesday, June 25, 10:00am - 5:00pm
Wednesday, June 26, 10:00am - 5:00pm
Thursday, June 27, 10:00am - 4:00pm

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is located on 11th Avenue between 34th and 39th Streets in New York City. For more information, see http://www.techxny.com/.

Nerdly News

Give and take

At least some AT&T Broadband customers have received billing notices telling them that they'll start saving $7 per month on modem rental. The modem rental decreases from $10 to $3. But what AT&T giveth, AT&T can taketh away. Without losing a beat, the company advises that the monthly service fee for broadband service will be increased by (no surprise here) $7.

Why? $10 per month seems like a lot of money for something that you can buy for around $100. When enough of your customers do that and start deducting $10 per month, you notice it. So you do what AT&T does -- keep the price the same but juggle the components. Since the modem is now only $3 per month, fewer subscribers will opt out of modem rental.

Clever, those AT&T bean counters.

Forward to the past with IBM

IBM scientists have published an article that describes a new method of storing data. It involves punching holes into a plastic film. If you're old enough, you remember IBM punch cards. Each card held 80 characters of data. Programmers used them to store programs (a large program could take thousands of cards). Stores sent bills on them. Some of the earliest gas station "credit cards" consisted of a book of IBM cards -- the station personnel filled in the amount and mailed the card to the home office. The card was coded with your account number.

And, yes, that sounds a lot like what IBM's scientists are describing. Except that these are minuscule punch cards. They can store about 1,000,000,000,000 (that's 1 trillion) bits of data per square inch. Current hard disk technology is about 5% as efficient as that.

This technology, while it has moving parts, could be tougher than current hard disk technology -- more stable and less prone to being damaged by heat or vibration. Don't look for the new kinds of storage devices for a while, but consider what you might do with the ability to store roughly 125 GB in a space not much larger than a postage stamp.

Latest bad news for Kazaa users

You already know that Kazaa plants a lot of unwanted software on users' computers. Now there's news that the popular file-sharing service has partnered with a company that will turn your computer into a zombie.

Kazaa abides by the letter of the law. In the agreement you must approve before installing the peer-to-peer networking software, Kazaa tells you what it will do. But this is equivalent to a car dealer selling you a car for a payment of $27 per month and not mentioning a balloon payment of $36,512.

Here's the deal: Brilliant Digital Entertainment's "3D" ad technology comes along with Kazaa and has since last fall. This week Brilliant filed a federal report that indicates it has the ability make computers with its software nodes in a new network.

Brilliant wants to use the millions of computers that have the software installed to distribute -- get this -- ads or music for other companies. Brilliant says it has the permission of the computer owners to do this, but one has to wonder just how many owners have a clue the software is even on their computers, much less what Brilliant plans to do.

Brilliant claims this will be an "opt-in program". Most file-swapping programs include "adware" or "spyware" but Brilliant's is apparently the first to attempt to use these millions of computers as zombies.

Let us know what you think about this program! Write to:
Bill Blinn --
(wtvn@blinn.com still works)
Joe Bradley --

Joe
(Photo by Sally)

Bill
(Photo by Scampi)

Privacy Guarantee:

I HATE SPAM and will not sell, rent, loan, auction, trade, or do anything else with your e-mail address. Period.

This is the only ad you'll ever see on this site. It's for my website host, BlueHost in Orem, Utah. Over the past several years, they have proven to be honest, reliable, and progressive. If you need to host a website, please click the banner below to see what BlueHost has to offer.

TechByter Worldwide receives a small advertising payment for each new client that signs up with BlueHost but I would make the same recommendation even if the affiliate program didn't exist. (If you don't see a banner ad above and you would like to know more, this link takes you to BlueHost.)

As if you didn't already get enough weather on the radio!

If you do not see a Weather Underground banner above and you use ad-blocking software, please set your application to allow images from "www.wunderground.com" to appear.

Annoying legal disclaimer
My attorney says I really need to say this: The Technology Corner website is for informational purposes only. Neither Joe nor I assume any responsibility for its accuracy, although we do our best. The information is subject to change without notice. Any actions you take based on information from the radio program or from this website are entirely at your own risk. Products and services are mentioned for informational purposes only and their various trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. Technology Corner cannot provide technical support for products or services mentioned on the air or on the website.