Web publishers

[David Blyth <dblyth -at- QUALCOMM -dot- COM>]

>It may not be a tie-breaker today, but since Microsoft has announced
>that, as of next year, they are standardizing on HTML for help
>systems

The immediate problem is that there is no HTML upon which MS can
standardize.  The major HTML dialects being used are Netscape's
NHTML 2.0 and MS's MSHTML 3.0. Lots of lesser known dialects
are also in use.  In the meantime, hardly anyone uses the actual
HTML standards (2.0 and 3.0).

Thus, MS has to develop yet another version of HTML to support Winhelp.
Believe me, this is a Big Job (about the same as redeveloping RTF from
scratch).  And the Web is moving so quickly that by the time MS is done
that (pick one or all):

  o MS succeeds only in splintering HTML further

  o Everyone may have standardized on something else, ignoring MS

  o Everyone starts using browsers, so DTP itself is obsolete
    (probably not, but who knows?)

In other words, working on the Web (and the Web itself) is a big
roll of the dice.  No one really knows what's happening now, much
less what's going to happen next.  In the meantime, MS shows no
sign of being able to dominate the Web.  (Not that they're not trying.)

> I frequently bypass my Robo and work directly on the files.

This is a great idea.

David (The Man) Blyth
Technical Writer & Web Site Designer
Qualcomm

The usual disclaimers apply - I don't speak for QUALCOMM, they don't speak
for me....