Re: Most Important Programs to Learn

[Tim Pera <uusr656!tim -at- UU2 -dot- PSI -dot- COM>]

Stefan:

>  I think we all agree that FrameMaker is over-priced. Do what I
>  did. Go out and buy and ancient version for $50. Then buy the
>  upgrade from Frame Technology to the latest version. You'll save
>  a ton of money and you won't feel guilty at night.. :->


Check that, Stefan. We don't all agree.

We're a PC shop and put together some large software manuals using
FrameMaker. We ported these over because we wouldn't have dreamed
of trying to get down to the nitty-gritty of qualitatively upgrading
them (by heavily cross-referencing them, say) using PageMaker (or
Ventura, or Quark). Briefly, FrameMaker allows us to incorporate enhanced
features that are unbearably difficult to achieve using some other publishing
software.

The question is, how much is that worth? In the smaller world of simply laying
out pages, I'm not prepared to argue. We all have preferences, and we land on a
product that delivers what we need. But in the larger world of selling to our
clients, if they get the message that we're willing to invest in technology
 that'll
transform our operations/services (including documentation) the payoff will be
 large.
FrameMaker is part of the reason we're having success in this regard.

Tim Pera
Publishing Business Systems, Inc.
2833 Fairview Ave. N.
St. Paul, MN 55113 USA
tel: [001] (612) 639-0662
fax: [001] (612) 639-0306
e-mail: tim -at- pbs -dot- com
===================================================
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 Civilization ends at the waterline.
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