[texhax] complaints

[Aaron Corbet]

*GREETINGS!*


   I am a recent member, and I have no idea what my # or bonafieds may be.

   Generally, I'm quite impressed with your 2013 edition, and as I am in
the final stages of writing a journal article, I'm getting very thorough
use of your software. Mostly, very nice indeed. You offer a great font, in
"Avant Garde". Too bad it does not seem possible to implement under the
"article" document class. (I guess they are reactionary on uniformity.) And
I am most impressed, of course, by your ability to now stick color graphics
into the body of the text itself. (I have about nine.) But I have a problem
there3, as well.

    Also, for which there ought to be options, I can't find any *general
way* to turn off those bogus ornamental quote marks endogenous to that,
conformist, font. I have to go thorugh the entire manuscript, typing in
\texttt{"} , wherever I want these.

   I don't like the book by Voss. I did like the earlier books by Knuth,
and Lamport. Is there something along their lines for your updated
software? You know, there are people who are vary good at providing
understandable help. And there are people who are very good at providing
evidence of how much they know. And they are generally mutually exclusive.

    Now for my more serious complaints, exhortations of grief, etc.

   Most annoying at present, is that I cannot finish compiling anything
without getting the notice that there is a "required file" which cannot be
found:

tex\context\base\supp-pdf.mkii
 which puportedly resides in some folder named mptopdf. Fine. So I go find
this thing, --- there's a 154kB version, and a 5.19kB version, both in
CTAN. I send these  to "documents" in my C drive. But when I try to
"install" any of this, either from your disc itself, or my documents, I am
told variously MikTex CD/DVI "not found", or that my address is "*not a
local package depository*". So what kind of a catch-22 have you whopped up
here? I'm getting very tired of this notice popping up.
   Similarly annoying, there are three places in my manscript where I sould
like to box off, with a border, pieces of texct/equations. They are
especially important. I've read all of your informative instructions about
what commands to use in order to do this. The only thing I can accomplish
it to either 1) produce a one-line box of text, extending acroos both
columns, and then endlessly beyond, -or- if I put in all the correc [ ]
parameters, I can create a nervous breakdown, in which, apparently very
line of text in the ms. is in error, and it insults my mother, etc.
Suggestions?
   The third problem is in placement of graphics, about which the software
seems very rigid. No time for more on this now.

*                                     Sincerely,*

*- Dr. Aaron Corbet*
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