I know you must hate me by now as I keep buggin you but ...
On 19-Jan-99 Martin Vermeer wrote:
> Here is the next version of the LyX Public Relations document.
>
> Please comment on this before the weekend; I intend to work on it then and
> post what is then the pre-final version on Monday. I will finalize it then
> next week, in time for the 1 february deadline.
>
> So, all remarks welcome; but let's try to converge. No really large revisions
> any more, but rather reformulations. I am reluctant to add material; only if
> there is a really good reason.
>
indeed some remarks but nothing serious.
>
> As this is like a press release, it should have the essentials in the start
> and taper off, so it can be truncated with limited damage. Please consider
> this too.
>
I agree
> As a second document, I include my shortlist of email addresses to send this
> press release to. It is very incomplete. As there must be a mailing list from
> previous versions, could I have it please? Allan, do you have a list for
> merging with this one?
>
How about including a post to comp.text.tex.
Although if you can get through on slashdot you'll have a winner.
> And by the way, what about RPM and DEB packages? Should we say anything about
> them or even make them available/point to them?
>
It would be great to have a src.rpm that we know will build on libc5 and libc6
and libc6-egcs systems and also binaries for both platforms.
> Please remember, this is meant as a (short) press release. I will later try
> to write a kind of overview article for (at least) Linux Gazette, or whatever
> other ezine might be interested (Linux World?)
>
> Happy LyXing!
>
> Martin
>
>
Here my suggestions...
First - lets drop the "What is LyX?" heading. It doesnt cut it.
Then I propose to start the first three sentences with LyX to
get the sublimination message over. (LyX LyX LyX... :-)
Then I rearranged the second paragraph a little.
Then I swapped paragraph 3 and 4 because I think the philosphy of LyX
is, that it is not importatnt how something is done but what is done.
Then some other suggestions...
You will find the whole thing below...
Regards
Roland Krause
Visiting Research Associate - Center for Computational Mechanics
Washington University, Saint Louis
Roland Krause <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Public release of LyX version 1.0.0
===================================
LyX - a Document Processor
--------------------------
LyX is a free document processor providing a modern approach to
writing documents on your computer. LyX increases your
productivity by delegating the job of typesetting to your
computer. LyX enables authors to concentrate on contents and
structure of their publication without worrying about the layout.
Using LyX you will become immediately productive for writing
short notes or letters, but the program really shines when
preparing complex documents like movie scripts, technical
documentation, doctoral theses or conference proceedings.
Real-life examples are included!
LyX operates under a paradigm different from that of conventional word
processors. You set the "ground rules" for your document, but leave the
finer points of document layout to LyX's highly advanced, intelligent
rendering engine -- the LaTeX typesetting system. We call this WYSIWYM
-- What You See Is What You MEAN. All the common formatting intelligence
of LaTeX is presented to the user through visual controls, such as a
table-of-contents window acting as an outline browser, "live" reference
links to figures, tables and literature references, section and list
numbering, and more. This liberates the author from many of the
headaches associated with typical word processing. The price to pay
is a less easy access to changing many of the document layout rules
on-the-fly -- intentionally or otherwise.
Technically, this is done by combining the comfortable and familiar
interface of a WYSIWYG word processor with the high quality output
of a real typesetting system. LyX interfaces with LaTeX, the most
popular typesetting software available; however, no familiarity with
LaTeX is required -- unless you want to do advanced things. (If you're
one of those users, know that LyX offers full LaTeX transparency and
exports/imports well-formed LaTeX documents.)
Release 1.0 includes many standard formats and templates that will,
without effort by the author, produce documents of a particular format.
There is a growing library of formats and templates, allowing the user
to compose a wide range of documents.
LyX runs in standard Unix/X11 environments like Linux, Free-BSD , OS/2,
and proprietary Unix platforms, there is even a experimental Cygnus/WinNT
version. It has native support for postscript fonts
and figures. It contains a fantastic, fully integrated formula
editor, adding WYSIWYG convenience to LaTeX's legendary math typesetting
capabilities.
LyX has excellent and copious on-line help, including a beginner's
tutorial, a user's guide, and a manual for advanced users; its menu
system has been localized into a dozen different (Latin character set)
languages, each selectable at run time.
LyX's WYSIWIM principle can also be an ergonomic advantage.
When your eyes get tired at the end of the day or if your vision is not what
it used to be, you can blow up the scalable screen fonts to your convenience.
This will of course not affect the final layout of your document.
You can also work comfortably on small displays, and get it right with
just a couple of actual document previews.
One feature lacking from LyX is import of MS Word documents. The LyX
Team considers this not worth it, as word processors in general are
moving away from closed formats to the XML standard. So, as long as
you need continued access to legacy documents, you should also keep a
traditional word processor (like Corel's WordPerfect for Linux) on
your disk.
All in all, LyX is a complete environment for writing documents. For
scientific authoring and typesetting, there is simply nothing better
than LyX + LaTeX; but it is eminently usable for general word processing
by new users, Amirs mom and converts from the Microsoft platform as well.
Read more about LyX (including screen shots) at:
http://www.lyx.org/
What's new compared to LyX version 0.12.0?
------------------------------------------
Most importantly, import of existing LaTeX documents using the new
reLyX perl script. Better support for SGML/LinuxDoc, tables, and
indexing/bibliographies, etc. Summing up, it's just better looking,
better working, better documented, and lots of bugs have been fixed.
How stable is LyX?
------------------
This release is considered stable, but as with any software, you should
take appropriate back-up steps in a production environment.
What about KLyX?
----------------
KLyX is a port of LyX version 0.12.0 to KDE done primarily by Matthias
Ettrich and Kalle Dalheimer. It was done as a proof-of-principle, to
demo how good looking LyX could be made on this desktop environment,
and implement some advanced features which this environment facilitates.
There is an intention to re-integrate KLyX into the LyX code base; by
version 1.2, LyX should be GUI toolkit/desktop agnostic.
Where can I get it?
-------------------
LyX is distributed under the GNU General Public Lisense (GPL), which
means specifically that you can use it for free. See http://www.gnu.org/.
The main LyX site is
ftp://ftp.lyx.org/pub/lyx/
with mirrors at
ftp://alpha.tat.physik.uni-tuebingen.de/pub/lyx
ftp://lip6.fr/pub/lyx/
ftp://ftp.sdsc.edu/pub/other/lyx/
ftp://ftp.fciencias.unam.mx/pub/Lyx/
ftp://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/pub/LyX/
The source code package is available at:
ftp://ftp.lyx.org/pub/lyx/stable/lyx-1.0.0.tar.gz
ftp://ftp.devel.lyx.org/pub/lyx/lyx-1.0.0.tar.gz
and at the mirrors listed above.
You need to have XForms version 0.81, 0.86 or 0.88 to compile your own
version.
Version 0.88 is highly recommended.
Ready-to-run precompiled binaries for various platforms are available at:
ftp://ftp.lyx.org/pub/lyx/bin/1.0.0/
Binaries for i386-Linux are also available at your local metalab
/previously known as sunsite) mirror:
ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/apps/editors/lyx-1.0.0-bin.tar.gz
It is possible to run LyX in a temporary directory before you install it.
About the LyX Team
------------------
The LyX Team is a world wide consortium of volunteer contributors. Many,
many people have helped make the 1.0 release possible, including:
Lars Gullik Bjoennes, Alejandro Aguilar Sierra, Asger Alstrup,
Jean-Marc Lasgouttes, Juergen Vigna, John P. Weiss, Bernhard
Iselborn, Andre Spiegel, Allan Rae, Henner Zeller, Robert van der
Kamp, David L. Johnson, Amir Karger, Joacim Persson, Peter
Suetterlin, SMiyata, Alkis Polyzotis, ...
Special thanks should go to Matthias Ettrich who started it all.
Feedback
--------
Please direct any comments or questions to the appropriate mailing list as
described on the LyX homepage (http://www.lyx.org/).
Enjoy!
The LyX Team
---------------------------------------------
