Future of FrameMaker

[Hedley_S_Finger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Framers:

Adobe's is an invidious situation.  We have seen what premature
announcements, leaks, and rumors did for Apple before Jobs zipped
everybody's lips. And releasing information can play into the hands of
competitors, a number of whom will be running very scared just from what we
know of InDesign.

Consider the installed FrameMaker base.  Is Adobe going to turn its back on
it?  No.  (What would its own technical writers say?)  Is FrameMaker going
to be developed further?  We don't know.  But at least we can be sure that
it will be kept in maintenance release for many years.

We can certainly guess which way the wind is blowing from some straws in
the wind.

@    The promotion of FrameMaker has been downplayed on Adobe's Web
     site, in its publications, at roadshows and industry
     exhibitions, and in computer and software retail outlets.

@    The 5.1, 5.5, and 5.5.6 releases were essentially maintenance
     releases with no quantum leaps in functionality.  (FM+SGML is
     a notable exception since the handling of DTDs, etc. was
     considerably upgraded.)  These releases probably represent the
     completion of developments already in train when Adobe took
     FM over.

     From this we can surmise that Adobe doesn't want to build up
     additional users of the current FM who will need to be supported
     for some indefinite amount of time.

@    The developers of PageMaker and FrameMaker represent a very large
body of expertise.  Couple this with expertise in print
     production from Adobe's other products and you have the basis for
     bringing FrameMaker's output capabilities into synchronization
     with other DTP and graphic arts products, areas where FM is
     noticeably lacking.

     PageMaker has no equivalent of MIF or MML, so it is reasonable
     that InDesign will preserve this form of output to satisfy the
     many users that massage MIF with Perl, etc. or use MIF as a
     bridge for database and other automated publishing.

     We can assume that InDesign will be cross-platform, including
     UNIX (and Linux), areas where FM has particular dominance and
     where competing products are non-existent or weak.

     But developers of third-party products such as IXgen and
     FrameScript may find themselves out on a limb.  We can expect
     some sort of cross-platform scripting, possibly a Java API or
     a scripting language with an underlying Java interpreter,
     that will allow scripts to be developed on any platform to run
     on any other platform.  This would allow plug-in developers to
     to expand their markets painlessly and allow all FM/InDesign
     users to benefit.

Or perhaps Jack and Chuck will post the entire source code of everything on
the Web with a c.c. to Bill, and retire to Florida to mud-wrestle
alligators every Saturday night.

Regards,
Hedley

====================================================================

Hedley Finger
   User documentation and publishing consultant
   Adobe(R) Certified Expert, FrameMaker 5.5

Hand Holding Projects Pty Ltd   ACN 007 418 153
   28 Regent Street   Burwood VIC 3125   Australia
   Tel +61 3 9809 1229   Fax +61 3 9809 1326   Mobile +61 412 461 558
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