Been a long time...

General comments and questions. Technical support.
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billybob
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2001 3:41 pm

Been a long time...

Post by billybob »

Hello RSSOL,

It's been a very long time (approaching a year) since an update appeared. I've been very vocal about us all being patient since I have always been impressed by the stability of added features, but I think it's time registered users received some indication of the future and viability of Atlantis. Any chance of a rough, even tenative schedule of what's coming and when?
Robert
Posts: 1900
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2003 8:27 pm

Re: Been a long time...

Post by Robert »

Greetings--
The next version of Atlantis will have plenty of new features and improvements. It will be released some time in the next few months. We are hard working at it. Please bear with us. Here are a few of the features to expect:
* Creation of bulleted and numbered lists
* A Document Map mode (to visualize and reorder document structure with a few mouse clicks)
* Multiple selection of search results (all search results can be selected as a group and can be formatted or highlighted with a few mouse clicks too)
* Multiple selection of non-contiguous fragments (all selected items can be formatted or highlighted as a group)
* A new proprietary smarter spellcheck engine. New improved English and French spellchecking lexicons.
* A Power Type feature: The Atlantis Power Type collects words that you type for later use. Whenever appropriate, words and phrases that you often type are displayed in a pop-up list and can be inserted simply by pressing the Enter key. You will only have to type the first characters. Atlantis will take care of the rest.
* The Atlantis Address Books can now import addresses from third-party CSV Address Books (exported from Outlook Express for example)
* And plenty of improvements to the GUI, the document window, etc...
Cheers
Robert
skylit

Post by skylit »

And so... table support is still not coming?
I think something's wrong with Atlantis.
It's been too long since last release. And if the most requested feature (tables) is not implemented in the next release, many of us will forget it and get OpenOffice or whatever word processing application instead.
I don't believe it's that hard to implement.

Sorry if I sound rude, I wish you all the best anyway.
Robert
Posts: 1900
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2003 8:27 pm

Re: There is something wrong with Atlantis

Post by Robert »

Greetings–
People buying a shareware licence buy the product AS IS. There is no law, not even any unwritten rule, that says that shareware applications must release updates at regular or specific intervals.
People buying a license for Atlantis have plenty of opportunity to try our software before they register it. It is to be expected that they are happy with Atlantis AS IT IS when they do so.
This said, we are working hard to create a good user-friendly word processor. The next version of Atlantis will include many improvements over the current official release. We expect the vast majority of users who are happy with the current to be even happier with the next release of Atlantis.
Wishing you all the best,
Robert
billybob
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2001 3:41 pm

Post by billybob »

Robert wrote:
Greetings–
People buying a shareware licence buy the product AS IS. There is no law, not even any unwritten rule, that says that shareware applications must release updates at regular or specific intervals.
People buying a license for Atlantis have plenty of opportunity to try our software before they register it. It is to be expected that they are happy with Atlantis AS IT IS when they do so.
Robert:

While I agree that there is no "law" or "unwritten rule" regarding updates, I think this misses the point. Atlantis is NOT a simple, single-use shareware program. A word processor is a whole different animal. When a customer buys Atlantis they are doing so with the expectation that the product will mature and grow to include those features necessary to make the program a full-featured word processor. I don't think the expectation that a tables feature will be implemented is unrealistic, and RSSOL has certainly shown agreement with this by promising tables for a long, long time.

Atlantis is a great product, and AS IS it is a great product. And I can understand the frustration in having to deal with even registered users always harping for more. But I don't think telling customers to expect less, or to be satisfied with things as they are, is the right way to go.
Robert
Posts: 1900
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2003 8:27 pm

Re: Been a long time

Post by Robert »

Greetings–
Sorry, but we never "[told] customers to expect less". On the contrary, we always said that Atlantis will have the table feature. But we are a small team and intend to remain this way. Accordingly, work is not done as fast as some would like. Not as fast as WE would like for that matter! But building a word processor like we intend Atlantis to be is not done with a few mouse clicks, even if some people seem to think that this is how things are done. As already stated many times on this very Forum, there is hard dedicated work behind every click that you give in Atlantis.
We are also sorry to have to say this but, —AS IT IS—, —and at $35—, the current version of Atlantis is very good value for money. Any minimal utility is now priced at least $35. With Atlantis, you are getting much more. AS IT IS. And loyal Atlantis users will get a lot more with the next release, —AS IT WILL BE.
Cheers
Robert
mcleaver
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2004 9:51 am
Location: Amsterdam, NL

Re: Been a long time

Post by mcleaver »

Robert wrote:Not as fast as WE would like for that matter!
Indeed. I understand, but fear that Atlantis will start to lag behind. SO all strength to your elbows and wrists!
Keep programming!
Martin
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