Macintosh Potentials
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb045020 |
| Pages | 440-444 |
| Date | 01 June 1990 |
| Published date | 01 June 1990 |
| Author | Erwin K. Welsch |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Macintosh Potentials
Erwin K. Welsch
Memorial
Library,
University
of
Wisconsin-Madison,
726 State
Street,
Madison,
Wl
53706,
USA
System 7.0
In an announcement, Apple conceded that System 7.0, whose
delay was suggested as likely in the previous column, would
not appear until sometime during the first half of
1991.
The
delay was attributed
to
the need for quality assurance and high
standards
(MacWeek,
25 Sept.
1990,
p.
1).
Since many devel-
opers,
commercial firms and users are waiting to use the new
system's power and see how it will compare with the im-
plementation of Windows and other graphic user interfaces,
the continued delay was a disappointment.
Desktop publishing
The Macintosh is a natural environment for desktop publish-
ing.
Its
WYSIWYG display characteristics make
it
possible to
see changes in font size or type as they are implemented.
Coupling those capabilities to any of
the
Apple laser printers
or
to
one of the new printers from other manufacturers that are
becoming available, makes it a powerful tool. MacWorld's
special issue on DTP ('Publishing: Out with the Old, In with
the New,' October 1990) clarifies the issues. It describes color
printing, the use of Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
programs, monochrome printers, clip-art collections for the
Macintosh, and techniques in producing high-quality grey-
scale images. It is an excellent source of current information
on the state of the DTP art.
Currently, Aldus PageMaker
(411
First
Ave.
S.
Seattle,
WA
98
104,
USA), is the dominant package for the Macintosh and
in all likelihood will continue to be pre-eminent. It earns the
highest rating of
all
of the DTP programs currently available
and is the first one to consider if contemplating serious DTP
efforts.
It
provides an enormous amount of freedom over page
layout, including such important features as font size, and is,
despite its reputation for
power,
relatively easy to use.
Another DTP program, the new version of QuarkXPress
(Quark, 300 S. Jackson St., Suite 100, Denver, CO 80209,
USA),
which won several awards as one of the most innova-
tive DTP programs of 1989, is becoming a viable alternative
if one is seeking a high-end publishing and page-design pro-
gram. It is sufficiently sophisticated to handle the needs of
color printing and has precision layout capabilities
to
meet the
most exacting embryo publisher. But its page layout features
may be difficult to master; it is also the most expensive of the
generally
used programs.
A more modest alternative, which MacUser has recom-
mended, is Publish It! (Timeworks, 444 Lake Cook Road,
Deerfield, IL 60015, USA). Although it does not have the
power to use color as effectively as the high-end packages, it
is about half their price and will do a satisfactory job of page
layout and composition.
Another choice for many is to try and use wordprocessors
for desktop publishing. That has the synergistic effect of en-
abling the user
to
have
a
full-featured word processor together
with capabilities for modest desktop publishing efforts. A
book that suggests the impressive results that can he achieved
using just a wordprocessor instead of a dedicated DTP is
Desktop Publishing with Microsoft Word (Sybex, 1989) by
Tim Erikson and William Finzer.
For librarians specifically, Peter Stubley's Desktop Pub-
lishing for Librarians on the Apple Macintosh (Gower, 1989)
which I reviewed in the June 1990 issue of The Electronic
Library is adequate but not
outstanding.
Forthcoming in 1990
is Walt Crawford's Desktop Publishing for Librarians (G.K.
Hall, 1990) which I have not yet seen but which should in-
clude the Macintosh
as
one of
the
available
technologies.
Also
useful is the October 1990 issue of Publish, which includes
the 1991 buyer's guide and products for both Macintosh and
DOS DTP environments.
Macintosh multimedia
When I was at MacWorld in San Francisco in March 1990, I
was astonished by the power and flexibility of the Macintosh
multimedia products that were displayed. The booths of
vendors demonstrating multimedia products were justifiably
crowded with pleased, sometimes amazed, spectators.
Sounding the multimedia theme of the convention, John
Scully, Apple's President, showed and talked about high-
quality videos that were developed on the Mac. There were
other booths on creating three-dimensional models, on revi-
sions of standard software and on image manipulation. The
combination of CD-quality sound with animated programs
could be both deafening for the ear and overwhelming for the
eye.
The Apple booth was showing the speedy IIfx and dem-
onstrating its speed and ability to manipulate multi-colored
images quickly.
I recently had the opportunity to see
a
product under devel-
opment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison by Randall
Dunham. He has been focusing on utilizing HyperCard in a
multimedia environment for
use
in general training situations.
His procedure was to first record images with a video camera,
then have those images transferred to a videodisc, and then
use HyperCard as a front end so that it is possible to move
among segments readily. Someone using the product would
be offered a series of alternative choices as to which were the
best solutions to various situations. Although the setting was
a doctor's office, this type of multimedia presentation has
forceful implications for library use in orientation for library
instruction. The Macintosh's graphically oriented operating
system makes it a natural for such efforts. The ability to treat
sound and images as resources comparable to printed text and
to move and edit them
to
meet individual needs offers
a
robust
440_ The Electronic Library,
Vol.
8,
No.
6, December 1990
To continue reading
Request your trial