[OS X TeX] TeX is not for the faint of heart

[Chris Skeels]

On 07/05/2004, at 12:23 PM, Joseph C. Slater wrote:

> [snip]
>
> Gee, and I thought that since I was running a site open to all tools  
> that I should keep it balanced. Silly me.
>
> [snip]

Further, in support of Joe's hope of balance, installation of OzTeX  
requires only that one copy a folder to your hard disk.  Sure it needs  
an editor (a la  i-installer  *and* TeXShop or iTeXmac) but the  
installation of (say) AlphaX consists of copying one folder to your  
hard drive and running one installer.  It is a while since I installed  
CMacTeX but I have no recollection of that being all that tedious a  
task either.  If one wanted to you could happily get by with AlphaX,  
i-installer and Acrobat Reader, perhaps using TeXShell as well if one  
likes a central contoller.

It is great that so many people are happy with TeXShop but that neither  
makes it the only option nor necessarily the best (even for those who  
want something easy).  This is in no way a criticism of TexShop!  I am  
not advocating that anybody should change what they do but I can see no  
harm in letting newcomers know about the choices available to them, it  
in no way forces them to try all of the available options.  (I wonder  
how anybody intimidated by the knowledge of such choice would cope with  
mundane human activities like shopping or watching TV, but I wonder  
this to myself starting a flame war is not my intent :-)  As it is, for  
all its helpfulness, this list is becoming increasingly Microsoft-like  
in its fanatical devotion to one product and I think that is a change  
for the worse, a diminution of the list from what it once was.

Regards,

Chris.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
-----------------------
Dr CL Skeels                                  Email:  
Chris.Skeels at unimelb.edu.au
Department of Economics           Tel:      +61-3-8344 3783
The University of Melbourne       Fax:    +61-3-8344 6899
VIC 3010
Australia

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