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NewSense - > > v4 was released somewhere about 2002
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Andreas_Wolf wrote: I think it was in the (very) late 1990s.
It's a moot point really, as Deron doesn't have a release date for any of the v4 releases on the PageStream site, but even in the HHV help documentation for v4 there are still references that direct the user to refer to the v3 manual, that being ...
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To read about last minute changes in this version of PageStream3, choose View ReadMe.Now File from the Scripts menu. This requires ARexx.
These comments are in the General Tips section which are file dated as: 9-May-2000
Some of the documents used in the HHV (HTML Help Viewer) for PageStream are dated back to 1997, though some are dated to later than 2000, and as I bought the PageStream v4 CD, directly from SoftLogik, which I have long since had registered with PageStream, the ReadMe file on the CD states "PAGESTREAM 4.1 Release 2! January 23nd, 2002", the PageStream v4 file information on the CD is dated 28-Jan-2002, the majority of the later files are dated 5-February-2002 - which is as I quoted.
That is because I believe it was a new release when I bought it, though there was a PDF of a manual for v4 that was available, which I have a PDF copy of, file dated as 13-Nov-2001 - which is incomplete as there never was a completed index, and much of the program's features are not covered, which I have a printed copy of. The PDF file has had a 'broken link' on the PageStream website for about 10 years, and I don't think Deron supplies it to anyone anymore, so there is no printed/printable manual available, even though the last one was for v4, though there is extensive online help on the website.
Additionally the ordering system for new software appears to be "broken", which I have also reported to Deron, via the Forum, which you can check if you want to verify this, but just like other matters I have asked about, I have had no reply to.
Quote:Andreas_Wolf wrote: the OS3-68k releases are apparently deemed final releases, at least judging by the titles in the
list of PageStream releases.
I was on the PageStream AmigaBeta mailing list, and whether Deron marked the file as looking like a full, or Beta, or alpha version, I can tell you now that not a one of the releases was worth trying, as they just "fell flat on their face", locked-up, froze, failed to display the GUI elements correctly or they were blacked-out, or in the wrong places, were unable to be clicked on, didn't display an area to set out a document, the text and drawing tools elements didn't display correctly, menus didn't work, all reported to Deron, and that was as soon as you got past launching it, that's if you got that far. Deron, if I remember correctly, did most, if not all, of his testing via WinUAE. What's more is that even though he owned/owns an Amiga 4000 he did not seem to get it out of "mothballs" and actually use the hardware, that it was intended to be used on, to do any diagnostic work on before he made it available, and that was probably the major flaw in the process of software "development".
I know, because I asked him about that during "testing" it - not that I got very far "testing" v5.x.x.x.
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NewSense wrote: PageStream 5.0.5.8a Amiga-OS3-68k dated 2010-10-21 [...] is the last update - to current date for the 68k fork of PageStream v5.x.x.x and there is an "a" on the end of that to signify it is [...] an alpha state
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Andreas_Wolf wrote: You mean he released the v5.0.5.8 on 2010-10-11 and ten days later released the alpha of the same version? Doesn't make sense to me as this would be reversed order.
Do you think Deron was bothered about there not being a "b" to signify it was a Beta version either?
Would you consider it fair to release a program as a commercial offering that was never fit for purpose? That's what Deron did, and never completed the project. Call it an alpha, call it a beta if you like, they were all useless, and not fit for purpose, so what letter should that have after it's version number ?
So, with that in mind do you think he was bothered about putting an "a" at the end of a file or not? It's a moot-point !
The important words in the quote from the release notes I supplied was
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"Just trying to make it easier to test for those folks who can fire it up."
The important words there being "
to test" as in - it's not a complete version, just test it out, and "for those folks who can fire it up". My comments are the only comments on the Forum pages asking about any Amiga based version of PageStream in 2020, so is there any Amiga user with v5.x.x.x still able to "fire it up" out there?
.
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Andreas_Wolf wrote: Therefore, I don't think the suffixed 'a' means what you think it means. To my mind, the 'a' denotes a change that's deemed too small for even increasing the fourth digit '8' to a '9', which means v5.0.5.8 got a tiny update and was thus followed by v5.0.5.8a.
It's a very, very moot point, but pursue it if it brings you happiness, and so if you still want to believe that, then you might as well believe what you like, as you don't want to trust me, a PageStream user who, like may other Amiga users, was left "out-to-dry", up to that point (2010-ish) who were avid Amiga PageStream users, by the programmer of the software, who never completed the version. Deron has sadly never even updated it since 2010, and he rarely gives a timely reply to people/users of the PageStream Forum, that is owned by the author of the program. He used to withold certain questions asked regarding the delays in progress from me on the Yahoo Groups mailing list, that might show his (lack of) actions in a bad light, as he failed to reply to many questions I asked about, such as his lack of action, so he never posted them to the Group, he being the only moderator, as to why the program hadn't seen the light of day for weeks, then months, now years of inactivity, with no completed useable program for the buyers of that program in a timely manner or do you think I am making that up as well?
Deron has done quite a few updates on his PageStream site in 2020, on the Documentation> Recent Changes section, such as:
1. Projects updated:2020-05-28 08:23:05
2. Web & Email Forums updated:2020-05-28 08:15:35
3. References updated:2020-05-28 08:11:58
4. Work History updated:2020-05-28 07:51:03
5. Front Page updated:2020-05-28 07:47:01
6. Projects - Geographic Boundary Editor updated:2020-05-20 09:23:55
7. Projects - DoReMe Controller updated:2020-03-10 15:11:39
8. Projects - Razercut updated:2020-03-04 15:33:45
9. EquusHD updated:2020-03-03 11:58:12
10. Projects - Quad Beverage Antennae Modeling updated:2020-03-02 19:45:43
... etc. but no work shown for improving/fixing PageStream in 2020.
Do you see . . . PageStream amongst those "projects" for 2020, no, not even on subsequent pages for 2020, he changed the title of PageStream, and migrated the Yahoo Groups threads across, and that's all the update(s) for PageStream as far as I know, and that's after Frank and Christoph put all their effort in to encourage Deron to complete the MorphOS version of PageStream v5.x.x.x.
Let's see if PageStream v5 becomes available for MorphOS in the near future, or even for 68k, or OS4, or even any other OS platform that v5 is available more "recently" than the end of next year. Maybe the "penny will drop" for you then, and you might even accept what I have said as fair, and factual.
Quote:Andreas_Wolf wrote: I found a
news item where v5.0.5.8a is called a beta release. Going by that, it seems all 2010 and newer releases in the list of PageStream releases are beta releases, with some of them correctly denoted as beta in the title while others are missing the beta denotation.
It doesn't matter if they were called alpha or beta releases, they all behaved like early alphas, he just lured users, like me, with the hope and, at the time reasonable, expectation that he would complete the program, seeing as he had done versions for the Amiga since v2, through v3, and v4, and then onto v5, but those of us who paid him it seems were all drawn into his "dead-end road to nowhere" to pay for a product that he then never completed.
MacMini 1.5GHz,64MB VRAM, PowerBooks A1138/9 (Model 5,8/9),PowerMac G5 2.3GHz(DP), iMac A1145 2.1GHz 20", all with MorphOS v3.18+,Airport,Bluetooth,A1016 Keyboard,T-RB22 Mouse,DVD-RW-DL,MiniMax,Firewire/USB2 & MacOSX 10.4/5
