Re: eHelp's "Mustang" FM ==> HTML conversion tool

[Goober Writer <gooberwriter -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

> Immediately prior to the Frame v.7 release, Adobe's
> CEO was interviewed and the interview was posted as
> streaming video on the web. In that interview, he
> stated that Frame's long doc functionality is to be
> folded into the InDesign code base, and that the
> Frame internal architecture is becoming simply too
> antiquated to be properly maintained and updated.
> (The marketing droids at Adobe went ballistic and
> quickly issued press releases saying their CEO was
> "mistaken"...go figure!) 

I remember that well. I think  the CEO was partially
mistaken, as I see a migration from FM to ID to be a
very rocky one with many users bailing out along the
way. 

The fact is, those doing structured authoring now
using FM use it as both a rudimentary CMS and a print
setup tool. Output is usually passed though,
structured, to either XML for other non-print
deliverables or to a tool like WWP (or M2G or
now/soon-to-be Mustang). But the structure is
maintained.

> Given that XML functionality is showing up there
> already, I think it could be a wonderful idea. With
> the one application, writers would be able to
> publish to all media--including the highest
> standards of type on paper presently available in a
> "DTP" product. 

Well, really that functionality and result has been in
place in FrameMaker for years. But, the +SGML version
was vastly undersold and undercredited for many years,
as it hasn't been until recently that people are
starting to not only recognize but utilize the
benefits inherent in structured authoring.

> InDesign 2--which I've just used to create a
> brochure--is so far superior to Quark or PageMaker
> that it is taking over the print design business
> quickly. It also seems to create very nice HTML,
> from what little I've tested so far. Give it the
> long doc features of Frame and they *may* have a
> winner! 

Well, the long doc functionality will be a difficult
integration into ID. Frankly, the tool wasn't designed
with that in mind. I think Adobe will benefit by
keeping FM in the market, but perhaps ditch the legacy
MIF format for pure XML. Then, FM would only require a
schema and xslt for any type of publishing.

I am looking forward to hearing what's been going on
lately with FM. As some of you know, FM dev has been
off-shored to India. My guess is that Adobe will not
only get cheaper resources for updates, but is also
working on a code/architecture migration away from
that created by Frame Technologies. This is, of
course, only speculation (but the off-shoring to India
part is true).

=====
Goober Writer
(because life is too short to be inept)

"As soon as you hear the phrase "studies show",
immediately put a hand on your wallet and cover your groin."
      -- Geoff Hart

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