PC-Online 1998 February/PCOnline_02_1998.iso/filesbbs/win3x/ripterm.arj/RTD21100.EXE/TESTDRIV.EXE/THANKYOU.DOC

Text File | 1995-09-08 | 14.5 KB | 270 lines

An Open Letter to Our Friends and Colleagues in Cyberspace

January 23, 1995

Dear TeleGrafix Customer:

Two years ago, TeleGrafix Communications stunned the computer industry with
RIPscrip(tm), the Remote Imaging Protocol(tm) script language.  Suddenly the
ANSI interface became a relic of the past, as on-line computer networks
worldwide came alive with colorful, easy-to-use graphical user interfaces.
After TeleGrafix openly published the RIPscrip specification, over 25 leading
vendors on the PC, Macintosh and Unix platforms rushed to support it.

That was just the beginning.

Now there's RIPscrip 2.0 - radically different from its predecessor.
Radically different code, radically different functionality, and radically
different performance for achieving the radically different mission of
on-line multimedia.

The first RIPscrip 2.0 product from our two years of research and development
is now in your hands - RIPterm Professional 2.0.  It is one of the most
powerful telecommunications programs in the world, and the first to use
advanced RIPscrip 2.0 technology.  The first version of RIPterm Professional
2.0 is a DOS program.  Macintosh and Windows versions of RIPterm Professional
2.0 will be released soon by TeleGrafix and our colleagues at ResNova
Software in Huntington Beach, CA.

RIPterm Professional 2.0 is far more than just a hot new computer program.
It shifts traffic on the information superhighway into warp speed.  It's a
powerful tool that fundamentally changes the way people use computer networks
to work, play, and communicate.  It's fast, fun and easy.  It provides an
inexpensive way for everyone to take part in the Information Revolution.

Unlike earlier versions of our product, RIPterm Professional 2.0 is not
freeware or shareware.  It is a commercial product.  Please don't pirate this
software.  We all quit good jobs to follow our dream and start this company.
Pirating the software is the same as robbing us of the dream. Would you want
someone else to ruin your dream?  Besides, you do want us to be able to
afford to keep producing even better RIPscrip products, don't you?

In just a few weeks, TeleGrafix will release RIPaint(tm) 2.0, software that
helps you create advanced online multimedia information products that can be
transmitted over ordinary residential telephone lines.  And soon, our
upcoming "Project Apache" products will apply RIPscrip solutions to the
Internet and World Wide Web.

RIPscrip 2.0 technology is a milestone technological advance that permits a
historical opportunity to create an entirely new media industry based on
global communications networks.  We're confident that visionary entrepreneurs
worldwide will embrace the challenge.  Once again, TeleGrafix Communications
is leading the computer industry into the future.

With our technology's power to uplift human potential, we believe RIPscrip
2.0 will convert the tones of modems into the bells of liberty for people
everywhere.

Following are just a few examples of how RIPscrip 2.0 technology can be used:

                    **********News and Information**********

RIPscrip 2.0 allows the drama of breaking news events to be transmitted to
computer users as never before.  Encyclopedias and educational databases
explode into an on-line multimedia kaleidoscope, awash with breathtaking
color images and vibrant sounds. Systems using RIPscrip 2.0 become easy and
fun to use.  Just point and click for pictures and sound, and your on-line
system is on its way to becoming an important media force in your community,
as integral as the local newspaper or television station.

Using RIPscrip 2.0's powerful drawing and formatting tools,  you can create a
single screen containing text, digitized sound and high-resolution JPEG
photographic images with up to 16.7 million colors.  The JPEGs are dazzling
- with scaling, color mapping, and image placement happening in real-time.
The selection of fonts  is virtually unlimited, because RIPscrip 2.0 can
import Adobe(tm) Type 1 and TrueType(tm) fonts.  RIPscrip 2.0 can dynamically
integrate graphics, photos, and text.  The new device-independent bitmap
(BMP/DIB) icon format gives sysops cross-platform compatibility for their
screens, so the screens will be virtually identical on both PC and Macintosh
computers.

On-line users thrill to see the JPEG photographic images appear on their
screens almost instantly, or as fast as their modem speed allows.  No more
time-consuming image downloads and conversions of GIF or TIFF images.  Sysops
and publishers are no longer locked into a particular system manufacturer's
look-and-feel, because this object-oriented program allows screens to look
any way they desire.

                   **********Advertising and Sales**********

RIPscrip 2.0 technology makes interactive on-line advertising both practical
and efficient, thus opening an enormous new revenue source for sysops.  The
powerful graphics and photo capability of RIPscrip 2.0 make advertisements
and databases come to life, and rapid transmission speeds make that
information usable.  The commercial applications of RIPscrip 2.0 are endless:
catalog sales, photographic databases for the real estate industry, on-line
classified ads, display advertising for retailers, etc.

Unlike proprietary imaging systems, RIPscrip 2.0 is fully compatible with the
Internet and other networks that use 7-bit ASCII text like Compuserve.
Because RIPscrip 2.0 graphics and photo imaging technology is an "open
standard", images can be transmitted to computer users anywhere over ordinary
copper wire.  If you have an Internet connection, your system delivers
photographic advertising to - and receives orders for products from - the 25
million computer users on the Internet.  Because users can print screen
images in Epson, HP Laserjet, and Postscript(tm) modes, on-line coupons
become a reality for advertisers.

To help you profit, we've opened a new division - TeleGrafix Cybermedia(tm) -
to attract advertising dollars for your system.  Acting as a national
advertising sales rep for sysops and publishers nationwide, our team of media
professionals will call on ad agencies and national sponsors to sell
advertising on your system.  You keep 80% of the net revenue generated, we
retain 20% sales commission.  No fuss, no muss, no hassle - just profits.

                       **********Communications**********

RIPscrip 2.0 technology allows you to communicate on-line with family and
friends in ways you never dreamed possible.  Just create on-line stationery
to send messages with formatting and typestyles from your desk to an on-line
system or over the Internet just as easily as on paper.  And don't stop
there.  Be sure to include JPEG images and sound with your "RIPmail" to give
your electronic documents and other on-line communications a unique personal
touch.

Our new RIPterm 2.0 communications software provides powerful universal
access to the Information Superhighway.   Never before has it been so easy,
simple, and inexpensive to use a full-featured communications package.
RIPterm 2.0 supports data transfer rates from 300 to 115,200 baud.  Major
file transfer protocols are supported, including ASCII text, QuickB, Kermit,
X-Modem, Y-Modem, and Z-Modem.  Terminal emulations include RIPscrip, ANSI,
Doorway, TTY, and VT100.  To make it easy, there are keystroke macros for
different emulations and different on-line systems.  Since the dialing
directory holds 1,000 phone numbers, that puts a lot of on-line action at
your fingertips.

In keeping with TeleGrafix's dedication to cross-platform compatibility, any
computer user will be able to  communicate with any computer system using
RIPscrip 2.0 and access images, sound and text.  The RIPscrip 2.0 software is
available now from TeleGrafix for DOS, and soon for Macintosh(tm),
Windows(tm), and PowerPC computing platforms.

                    **********Games and Entertainment**********

RIPscrip 2.0 technology is a game developer's delight.  It allows video
games and other computer entertainment to take on a sensational new
dimension.  Developers can expand the market for games that initially were
written for an individual local computer by converting them into remotely
playable versions that can be enjoyed over global telecommunications
networks.

Developers of on-line games that are currently in ANSI format can easily and
quickly upgrade their software into a mouse-driven interactive graphical user
interface with RIPscrip 2.0 tools.  Designers can take advantage of the
advanced graphical capabilities of the RIPscrip 2.0 environment to add
features that were never possible with the ANSI standard, such as digital
sound and animated video images.

Serial communications and multimedia effects are handled simultaneously so
that music can be played and graphics can be displayed without interrupting
incoming information.  Using features generally found only in expensive and
sophisticated graphics libraries, RIPscrip 2.0 has implemented many advanced
video capabilities including off-screen bitmaps, color masking, palette
manipulation, image scaling, color reduction, and global/local video
coordinate systems.  This means that RIPscrip 2.0 will always look great no
matter what computer you run it on, and you never have to make adjustments
for color or screen resolution.

We hope you will enjoy RIPscrip 2.0 technology.  Please let us know if you
have any complaints, compliments or questions concerning our products.
Comments can be sent to:

                    TeleGrafix Communications
                    16458 Bolsa Chica, Suite 15
                    Huntington Beach, CA  92629
                    United States of America

                       Phone: [phone]
                         Fax: [phone]
                         BBS: [phone]
                       Sales: [phone]

             Internet E-Mail:  [e-mail]
              World Wide Web:  www.telegrafix.com
                         FTP:  ftp.telegrafix.com

We regrettably have removed GIF imaging formats from our software.  The
December 28, 1994 announcement by CompuServe and Unisys to demand royalties
for using GIF, and to restrict its use to the CompuServe Information Service
as a proprietary file format, forced our decision.  We think it is outrageous
and morally wrong for these large corporations to make a demand for money,
threaten patent infringement lawsuits, and restrict GIF usage after allowing
GIF to be freely licensed on a non-royalty basis for seven years.

Please note that TeleGrafix has developed a method by which GIF images could
continue to be used on a royalty-free basis without infringing the Unisys LZW
algorithm patent through substitution of a different algorithm.  We have
asked CompuServe, which holds a copyright on the GIF file format, for
permission to distribute our software solution to the online community free
of charge as a public service.  CompuServe has ignored our repeated telephone
calls and Internet messages, although they have disparaged us in the news
media.  We encouraged you to protest directly to CompuServe President Maury
Cox about the GIF controversy.

It's taken more time that we expected to produce RIPscrip 2.0 technology, and
we're grateful for your patience during the long development process.  We
thank you for your business, and we appreciate your continued support.


Sincerely,


          TeleGrafix Communications, Inc.

          Pat Clawson, President & CEO
          Mark Hayton, Vice President/Chief Technology Officer
          Jeff Reeder, Chairman of the Board & CyberWizard


P.S.: Since we are based in California, the original home of the Big Money
      Whopper Lawsuit, this is a note for those sharp-eyed and fee-hungry
      legal beagles in Gucci shoes out there who call us to "get acquainted"
      every now and then.

RIPscrip, RIPaint, the RIPaint logo, RIPterm, the RIPterm logo, TeleGrafix
Cybermedia, and the TeleGrafix Communications logo are trademarks of
TeleGrafix Communications Inc.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.  Their use
in this document does not constitute an attempt by TeleGrafix to claim them
as our own, nor does TeleGrafix specifically endorse them.  We have no intent
or interest in pirating or infringing on anyone else's intellectual property.

No part of the software manual or the accompanying software may be reproduced
or transmitted by any means without the express written consent of TeleGrafix
Communications Inc.  Our software is licensed for use on a single computer.
Use of this software on multiple computers requires purchase of multple
copies or a site license. Duplication or translation of any part of the
software manual or the accompanying software for any use, other than a single
copy for backup purposes only, is a violation of United States copyright
law.  RIPterm Professional 2.0 is not licensed for electronic distribution in
any manner.

TeleGrafix offers a $1,000 reward for persons who provide conclusive evidence
that results in prosecution of illegal duplication or dissemination of our
software or manuals. Anyone knowing of software piracy who contacts
TeleGrafix will be guaranteed confidentiality to the limits permitted by
law.   To report software piracy and claim the $1,000 reward, call Pat
Clawson at [phone].

TeleGrafix Communications Inc. has made every reasonable effort to ensure the
accuracy of the contents of our manual.  However, TeleGrafix Communications
Inc. assumes no responsibility for damages do to errors or omissions, and
disclaims any implied warranty of mechantability or fitness for a particular
purpose.  The software is provided "as is", with no warranty of any kind,
express or implied.  Everything else is spelled out in the license
accompanying the software, so go read it.

We agree that an attorney's mind is a terrible thing to waste, and that few
sights are more heart-rendering than the sad look of a lawyer's Mercedes-Benz
that hasn't been fed in a week.  We already gave at the office.  Don't sue
me, sue that fellow behind the tree.  We agree that everyone should receive a
fair trial before they are shot.  We shall not fold, spindle or mutilate.  We
promise to close cover before striking.  This offer is void where prohibited
by law.  Boo. Hiss. Snort. Yawn.  Now go away and leave us alone so we can
get more productive things accomplished.

Copyright (c) 1995 by TeleGrafix Communications Inc.

                                     # # #