Re: 2.5pre: Thot: Irrecoverable error.

On Mon, 13 Mar 2000 Irene.Vatton@inrialpes.fr wrote:

> > Corrupt JPEG data: premature end of data segment
> > *** Thot: Irrecoverable error ***
> 
> You're probably using a different jpeg library because I don't have
> this problem with that URL.
> I suspect you are working on a Unix platform, perhaps Linux?
> Could you tell me what tarfile are you using?

...LINUX-ELF-2.5.tgz from your announcement of 7 MAR 2000.
I run it on Linux-Mandrake 7.0.

Are we to surmise that you have not tested 2.5pre on Linux much?  Do you
need several of us who do use Linux to flood you with bug reports? Are
there others on this list who run different flavors of Linux who could
"test drive" 2.5pre, seeing if the bread and butter stuff works, like
navigation, rendering, scrolling, cut/copy/paste, etc.? Forget MathML. You
have to first pour the foundation and let it cure before putting up any
walls and roof.

I ask because I have noticed about 4 or more specific bugs, and only a
couple have I posted yet. I had hopes of finally having a bug free release
I could begin using extensively. Will I have to wait again? For 2.6?

This really bothers me, since I can't get my work done, since I know of No
Open Source/Free working Web site authoring/maintainance tool for Linux
that is easy to use for larger sites and produces good code. Yet your
team, by comments such as yours above, and others, seem to have little
understanding of the frustrations that exist with using your product,
including 2.5pre. 

2.4, for example, I tried as soon as you released it. I selected Structure
View, and pressed on the down arrow key. As soon as the text cursor
reached the bottom of the screen Amaya hung. Every time. Both
Linux-Mandrake 6.1 then, and Linux-Mandrake 7.0 now. So, I could never use
2.4. I couldn't imagine any others being able to, either, with it broken
like that. Surely you would notice.

When you came out with 2.5pre I tried it again. You fixed it!  But, now I
find all these other stupid little bugs that threaten to keep Amaya
broken. Doesn't _anyone_ at W3.org that uses Amaya run Linux, or at all
those sponsoring companies? Many of them have announced support for Linux
in other ways. Are any of their teams giving you feedback on using Amaya
with Linux, or helping to write bug fixing code (I can't)?

And all those Quality tricks the W3 sponsoring companies know about for
software, are they being applied to Amaya development? Or is the Open
Source approach seen as a substitute for those proven Quality methods? 

So, your comments above, together with similar remarks and observations,
really do scare me. That your team or sponsoring entities do not care, so
Amaya still won't work. So, yes, I have shed tears, waiting, waiting,
waiting.

Maybe, maybe Mozilla will be working soon.... 

Thank you. You do have a _promising_ product. Just get the bugs out,
please, Linux related bugs included, of course.
------------------
Eddie Maddox
eddie@mngovsci.com

Received on Monday, 13 March 2000 07:52:38 UTC