[tex-live] Re: URGENT!!

[Apostolos Syropoulos]

On Wed, 15 May 2002, Sebastian Rahtz wrote:

> > But that's what we are actually trying to do: to make people aware of
> > Omega and its capabilities.
>
> yes, its a worthy aim. but does it help or hinder its
> takeup if you encourage people to use in production what is
> really an alpha-state bit of research software?

Not really but they should use it for a number of ordinary tasks

> > And of course people that use English or
> > any other language that uses the  Latin alphabet are quite happy with
> > TeX
> I'm not :-}
>
> > but we  (the majority?) who do not use the Latin alphabet
> > we are not so happy with TeX. Try to type Cherokee, Greek and Russian
> > with TeX and you will see what I mean.
>
> I am tempted to say "so use Microsoft Word like all the rest of the
> Greeks and Russians" :-}

Well, I never use Microcraps:-) But it is true that many Greeks to
use them and I am actually struggling to convince them to learn to
use TeX and Omega. But it is a rather encouraging fact that after
I published my first book on LaTeX in Greek a substantial number of
books have been typeset with LaTeX and even the Bulletin of the Greek
Mathematical Society is being typeset with LaTeX.

> > So we want to encourage the
> > non-english speaking people to adopt a real solution to their
> > multilingual typesetting business.
>
> Omega isn't a real solution yet, is it?

Well, it is a solution. At least two books here in Greece have been typeset
with Omega. That Omega needs improvement is another fact and indeed
Yannis in his foreword to our book writes about such improvements.

> > But if they don't try it or don't learn its features, how on earth it will
> > ever succeed?
>
> It will succeed when someone picks it up and "sells" it; maybe your
> book will be the catalyst. TeX Live 7 won't be, I know that much.
> What you need to do is a put a reliable version on the CD in the back
> of your book. Is that possible? Can we make a special TL for your book?

One reviewer of our book actually suggested this idea and the publisher
was in favor of it. So we can really go on with the idea once I will
get the okay from the publisher.
A.S.

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*Apostolos Syropoulos                                          *
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