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[Prof Brian D Ripley]

On Mon, 8 Feb 1999, Michael C. Grant wrote:

> He may not, but I do.
> 
> If the fpTeX users around here didn't have me, around they wouldn't be
> running fpTeX. Our IS department wouldn't know what to do with TeX, either,
> and they probably would refuse to support it. In fact I can guarantee they
> would.
> 
> And that's a shame, because if I wasn't around they should still use the
> best TeX around!
> 
> So let's not overestimate the abilities of the average fpTeX user---or
> rather, the abilities of the average _potential_ fpTeX user.

Yes (I am in the same position re, e.g. my secretary and lots of other
users).  BUT the issue here is about the abilities of the potential
installer (you or I or your IS dept). I think Fabrice is being extremely
public-spirited in making installation easier than it already is, and
I am happy to go along with whatever he manages to do: I just hope he will
still provide a few zip files for those of us for whom this is easier.
(In particular, for those of us whose main machines are not Windows: I use
Solaris except on my laptop.)

BTW, getting people to use LaTeX effectively on Unix is also not easy....

> > -----Original Message-----
Answers from SPQR I believe.

> > Erik Frambach writes:
> >  >But seriously, Windows users are
> >  > different.
> > you dont have any *evidence* for that, of course, other than hearsay
> >
> >  > > do you *really* think that TeX is going to be used by such
> > people anyway?
> >  > And do you *really* want to keep TeX a mysterious game for
> > insiders only?
> > yes, of course. what, let the great unwashed play with our toys?????
> 
> 

-- 
Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley@stats.ox.ac.uk
Professor of Applied Statistics,  http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/
University of Oxford,             Tel:  +44 1865 272861 (self)
1 South Parks Road,                     +44 1865 272860 (secr)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595