Re: Red-lining software

["David S. Kaufer" <kaufer+ -at- ANDREW -dot- CMU -dot- EDU>]

The prep-editor, a joint NSF sponsored project at Carnegie Mellon
between computer science and our writing programs, does automatic
merging and diffing of text columns. It's an experimental prototype that
gets better each week and is available to anyone (who will give
feedback) over anonymous FTP (instructions below). The version we are
releasing now has limited (network) merge capabilities but by the fall
we hope to have a fully networked version. For research (not commercial)
purposes, we also plan, by fall, to have installed the Houghton Mifflin
reference tools (spelling and grammar checker). Since we are not
releasing source code and are a research group, HM is allowing us to
disseminate versions of prep that contain the HM reference tools for
feedback and evluation. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of
prep (which now runs only on macs), read further. -- david kaufer;
kaufer -at- andrew -dot- cmu -dot- edu -dot- 

This is an archive of the PREP Editor, a collaborative writing environment.
PREP is a Macintosh application, compatible with System 6.0 and higher,
including System 7.  PREP provides a column-based interface where
related information is linked across columns.  One use for PREP
is as a word processor that provides more than print margins--it
provides an  unlimited number of "virtual margins" that collaborators
can write in.

PREP supports text, drawings and voice within the document as content
or annotation.  The latest versions of PREP use the Claris XTND technology
(minimally provided) to make it easy to import documents for annotation in
PREP (and export them afterwards with the annotations stored as footnotes).

The PREP project is funded by the National Science Foundation, Apple
Computer (ATG/ER) and the Information Networking Institute (CMU-Bellcore).
Our goal is to develop a system that encourages and facilitates
collaboration in writing.

PREP is available via anonymous ftp (and via gopher) on the internet (those
instructions follow). If you cannot use ftp or gopher, please send mail to
<prep-project -at- andrew -dot- cmu -dot- edu> and we will forward instructions on how you
can get a physical copy in the mail (for a small fee to cover our expenses).

Please try PREP, and let us know what you think!  You can request to join
our prep-users mailing list by sending mail to

<prep-users-request -at- cs -dot- cmu -dot- edu>

* Anonymous ftp instructions ***********************************************

The archives are stored as a "binhex'd self-extracting archive".  It
is available for anonymous ftp via gnome.cs.cmu.edu, and the EXACT
instructions for getting the release package follows:

1) open an anonymous ftp connection to prepftp.prep.cs.cmu.edu.
  That is, do a "ftp prepftp.prep.cs.cmu.edu", and login as "anonymous",
  a password of your userid.

2) If you are ftp'ing to a Mac, and are using an intelligent ftp client
  (like Fetch) you can directly "get" the latest version of Prep.  If you need
  a binhex'd version, see (3 & 4).

3) Next, issue the following command (in ascii mode, BTW), and substitute
  the version number for the ??.  The latest version is 1.0a12.

  get prepv??.sea.hqx

4) On your macintosh, use binhex or Stuffit to un-binhex the file.
  You will end up with an application, which, when double clicked,
  will unpack itself as (at least) two files:

  * The Prep Application
  * The documentation in PREP format

  The unpacking may result in a release folder containing all the files,
  depending on what version you are retrieving.

Please send bugs and comments to prep-project+ -at- andrew -dot- cmu -dot- edu

We will only allow for anonymous ftp access to this application if we get
feedback from people, otherwise it is not worth it to us.  See the About Box
of the application for more information.

The PREP Editor is Copyright (c) 1990-1993
by the PREP Editor Group of Carnegie Mellon University.
All rights reserved.  Do not distribute without permission.

All trademarks are property of their respective owners.