[OS X TeX] is i-Installer cool?

[Kannan Moudgalya]

I hope that my answers will be of some use.

I am a Prof. in Chemical Engineering/Systems and Control.  Have done
research and teaching for the last about 20 years in India and in North
America.  Used typesetting packages like script, scribe and exp in early
days.  But have been using latex since late eighties.  Have written all my
research papers, reports, class notes, slides for talks and books with
latex.
Have been using emacs for the past 20 years.  Have been a linux fan since
the early nineties.
Started using PowerBook and OS X 10.2 about two years ago.  Use Mac at
home and linux at office.

I don't like to play much with the OS and new installations of software
packages unless absolutely required.  There are two reasons for this: (1)
I am worried that I may mess up something (2) I may have to spend a lot of
time to fix things.  I like the red-carpet in redhat as I just have to
update things.  I have used fink and i-installer in Mac OS X.

I used the i-Installer about four months ago, don't remember the version,
but it was the latest one at that time.  It worked very well and an
average user like me could use it without any difficulty.  I know that I
will go back to it next time when I have to update things.  I am not
saying much, but for a person who does not like to change things often, it
is as good as it can get.

> I am thinking of entering i-Installer 2.63.0 in Apple's Design Awards.
> Given that my view on the matter is by definition parochial and not
> necessarly correct, I would like to ask you as my main user community
> for help in answering the questions. As a user, what is your view on
> the matter?
>
> The main question to answer on the contest form is:
>
> • Briefly state the outstanding design features of your contest entry.
> (For example: what's unique? what's super cool? what is particularly
> noteworthy?)
>
> Other questions of interest are:
>
> • Describe your contest entry's target users (i.e. who uses your
> product, what is their occupation, work environment, workflow, etc.)
> • Explain what you have done to make your contest entry better on Mac
> OS X when compared with it's counterparts or competition on other
> platforms.
>
> Gerben
>
>
> FYI:
>
> Entries in each category will be judged using the following criteria:
>
> 	 	 PLATFORM INNOVATION - This criterion is measured by asking
> questions such as: Does the entry make someone want to buy a Mac? Does
> the entry provide unique, groundbreaking features or functionality for
> Mac OS X combined with superior performance and ease of use when
> compared to competing products on Mac OS X or other platforms? Does the
> entry deliver a highly innovative solution by combining or taking
> advantage of existing Mac OS X technologies in a new way?
> 	 	 USER EXPERIENCE - This criterion is measured by asking questions
> such as: Is the entry characterized as being easy to use? Does the
> entry have an elegant and attractive design? Does the entry have a high
> level of reliability and stability? Does the entry follow the Mac OS X
> Human Interface Guidelines and deliver the polish and
> attention-to-detail that is characteristic of great Macintosh software?
> Does the entry look and feel as if it belongs on Mac OS X? Does the
> entry provide a high level of compatibility and interoperability with
> other applications? In the case of games, this criterion's evaluation
> emphasizes playability, internal consistency, and aesthetics over some
> of the Aqua focused emphasis listed above.
> 	 	 MAC OS X TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION - This criterion is all about making
> appropriate technology choices. It is measured by asking questions such
> as: Does the entry make significant use of Mac OS X technologies that
> make sense (are relevant) for what the entry does? Do the technologies
> being used enable the entry to do things it couldn't otherwise do? Are
> the Mac OS X technologies being used foundational and critical to the
> success of the entry or are they of minimal or ancillary importance?
> 	 	 PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION - This criterion is all about performance
> optimization tools, techniques, and best practices. It is measured by
> asking questions such as: Where applicable, is the entry based upon the
> mach-o binary format? How many bounces does the entry's Dock icon make
> before the entry is launched? Does the spinning cursor appear
> frequently during use? Is the entry consistently responsive to user
> input? Does the entry appropriately share the CPU with other
> applications running at the same time? Has drawing been optimized using
> QuartzDebug to ensure drawing efficiency? Where applicable, does the
> entry take full advantage of the Velocity Engine by using Apple's
> vecLib and/or vImage frameworks, for example?
> 	 	 USE OF OPEN SOURCE - This criterion is measured by asking questions
> such as: Does the entry leverage existing Open Source technology to
> deliver important functionality with higher quality, reduced effort,
> and/or greater interoperability?
>
>    
> -----------------------------------------------------
> Please see <http://www.esm.psu.edu/mac-tex/> for list
> guidelines, information, and LaTeX/TeX resources.
>
>
>
-----------------------------------------------------
Please see <http://www.esm.psu.edu/mac-tex/> for list
guidelines, information, and LaTeX/TeX resources.