[OS X TeX] pdf font coding problems ???

Kuipers kprs kprs at calvin.edu
Tue Dec 20 23:47:34 CET 2005


On Dec 20, 2005, at 7:27 AM, Themis Matsoukas wrote:

> .........  Alas, new is not always good...
>
> Themis
> 		SO  VERY TRUE !   jbk
>
> On Dec 19, 2005, at 7:07 PM, Claus Gerhardt wrote:
>
>> A few years ago I discarded Illustrator for similar reasons and  
>> decided to create graphics with the help of metapost using mfpic  
>> as a convenient "frontend". This means of course that pdflatex is  
>> the underlying tex engine.
>>
>> In my opinion any mathematician will love the beauty and ease of  
>> metapost compared with the clumsy features of Illustrator.
>>

>> And to Claus --- I COULDN'T AGREE MORE about ILLUSTRATOR.
>>
Almost 10 years ago I worked hard (perhaps not hard enough, some  
might say, and I might agree) using Textures and Superpaint to do the  
text and graphics in my effort to write a book. Superpaint was (and  
still IS!) a great graphics program (for the Mac up to OS 9). I drew  
every illustration (over 100 illustrations) personally, in (what  
turned out to be) my Quaternion Book. I now want to do a revision  
although PUP did a subsequent paperback version which corrected many  
typos.

BUT THEN, Adobe bought Superpaint from ALDUS, and promptly put it on  
their shelf --- presumably to let it die. That was a sad day for me.  
Adobe chose instead to promote their Illustrator (in my view, a  
lessor program). WHY did they do that? --- I do not know. Anyway,  
later I even bought Illustrator thru a few versions. Really, gave it  
a 'college-try', but, finally GAVE UP.

Various times at AMS/MAA  meetings I challenged Illustrator people to  
do what I clearly was able to do with Superpaint with a certain  
amount of alacrity. Yet, In my view, they COULD NOT do an equivalent  
drawing using Illustrator!  Admittedly, a rather personal matter and  
judgement, and perhaps it was too time consuming for them ---  when  
their primary mission, of course is "trying to sell a graphics  
program called Illustrator to hapless folk."     Sorry, but why did  
they shelve-it?  Why not develop SuperPaint further? Dollars? Legal  
Matters?

I sure do wish I could, or someone could  resurrect SuperPaint ---  
even though there are other Mac OSX Graphics Programs out there (e.g.  
EazyDraw, to mention a great one) that are excellent alternatives  
that are (again, in my view) truly far more powerful than Illustrator.

I feel better now "having vented my spleen." Sorry for the RANT ---  
not really; I did need it.

With this comment, I really do intend to be constructive and  
instructive --- to users who want to do Graphics,  and also to Adobe.  
PLEASE DO NOT KILL IT.     BUT,
IF YOU MUST ----- Please, send it back to me with your blessing ---  
and/or admonishment.

Jack B. Kuipers   Office: 616-526-6404
Professor  emeritus
Mathematics & Computer Science
3201 Burton Street
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Calvin College   49546, USA


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