------------------------------------------------------------------------------- America Online Apple II Art & Graphics Forum Date: 8/10/90 Conference moderated by: W. Scott Gentry Edited by: Bo Jordan Special guest: The gang from Vitesse, Inc. Location: Graphics Chat ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFL Scott Good evening! Welcome to the Apple II Art & Graphics Forum conference for Friday, August 10, 1990. Tonight is the fourth conference in the joint AGR/APR conference series for this month. Last night in APR, we discussed Thunderware's LightningScan GS. Tonight, we have John Pothier from Vitesse on hand to discuss the _first_ hand held scanner for the Apple II line, Quickie. If you frequent Vitesse's online support area here in AGR's Direct Connect area, you'll immediately notice that Vitesse cares. Their support of their products ranks as high or higher than Apple II notables, The Byte Works, and Roger Wagner Publishing. They are very, very attentive to their online support area and we at AGR are proud to have them online. Before we get started this week, I'd like to tell you what's online in AGR next week. Next Friday at this time, we're going to be talking about using HyperStudio and interactive video. Next Thursday at 9PM in the Apple II Productivity Forum, AFL Marty will be discussing using HyperStudio XCMD's. You won't want miss either conference! Before I start up entirely... I'd like a moment of silence for the servicemen in or on the way to Saudi Arabia. Thank you. Now, on with the show! Welcome to AGR, Vitesse!!!!:) AFC DaveS Welcome Vitesse! Vitesse Thank you, we're glad to be here. AFL Scott Wonderful! How about telling us a little something about what to expect when we get our hands on a Quickie, Hand held Scanner? :) AFC DaveS You'll be blown away! :) Vitesse First, I'd like to give a little background... Vitesse introduced Quickie, the FIRST hand scanner for the Apple IIgs in FEB 90. Our next goal, completed within 60 days, was adding software for the IIe, II+ and Laser 128. Our initial release is responsible for the development of InWords, OCR software from West Code. Recently, another company entered the Apple II hand scanner market. You can see the result of our FIRST release, and our aggressive approach to the Apple II market... MORE DEVELOPERS, MORE PRODUCTS and MORE CHOICES for the Apple II users. We hope that everyone is committed to the Apple II market and its future. AFL Scott Wow! It sure sounds like you guys are at the point!!!:) AFC DaveS Yeah! :) DougB5 Three cheers! JohnS374 What is the latest version of the Quickie software? Vitesse The latest version is 2.02. Carl01 GraphicWriter's best prints are with MacPaint graphics. Any chance for that format in the future? Shekar 1 That would be cool... MacPaint. Vitesse MacPaint will be difficult to support. It is under consideration though. Carl01 What other formats will be coming? Vitesse We have already covered all the majors, but we are open to new formats. SPEEDLIMIT How can I make a full scan for the screen, and can I use the scans with PublishIt2? Vitesse Make two scans to cover the entire page or landscape scan. Yes, it works with PublishIt2. SPEEDLIMIT Please... in which mode would I choose to make a Publish Graphic? Vitesse Scan in B&W or Pseudo Grey and save in DHR. SPEEDLIMIT Thanks again... :) WBBear John made a presentation at the OAC meeting and Mac users there said they could not do the things John did. It was almost awesome. AFL Scott That's great!:) Vitesse, care to add to the comment? :) Vitesse There are lots of things you can do on a GS you can't do on a Mac. Elie2 I have a problem with my Quickie and was wondering if you can help me? Vitesse What's the problem? Elie2 I have read the manual twice and still can't scan a picture totally together. The picture is just a bunch of unidentifiable lines. Vitesse Rather than take the time tonight, leave E-Mail with your phone # and John will call you Monday. AFL Scott Wow! That's support!!!!!:) Rob Morgan I just received 2.01 can you tell me the changes that made 2.02? Also, I just payed for 2.01. Will I have to pay for 2.02? Vitesse 2.02 does a better job printing larger images. No. Send your disk and we'll update you. Rob Morgan The update is the Best I've seen yet! Keep it up!! Vitesse Thanks. WBBear I had a printing problem with 2.01. I called and was told yesterday I'd get 2.02 mailed without question. Vitesse Sure, we pride ourselves on our "Customer _Support_". AFL Scott :) AFL Marty :) Coats Rep Would be nice if more companies could offer the same support as Vitesse. Vitesse Thanks. Topino John, what is the difference between Photo 1, 2 and 3 settings in hardware and software? Vitesse Small differences. It really depends on what your are scanning. Actual details are too "deep" to type in real time. Topino Hmm... please send me mail to let others ask away John... :) Vitesse (BTW, it's Jim Carson answering the questions... John P.) SPEEDLIMIT Conflicting info question... Is it possible to eventually get 32 greys on the GS and the scanner you have? Vitesse Our system handles 37 greys, but the GS can only show 16 as of now. AFL Scott Now, the GS could display 32 colors if one wanted to use multiple palettes, however convention dictates that with 16 grays possible (4bits), you'll only be able to get 16 shades of gray, ever. Vitesse Thanks Scott, well said. WBBear Vitesse, did you mention the OCR software coming? Vitesse WestCode is releasing Quickie compatible software the last week of September or the first week of October. The software started development on the Quickie back in March 90. AFC Tosh What happened to the Save in Icon Format option. Did it ever exist? Vitesse It did in version 1.0. But, many people wanted HR, DHR and Print Shop GS formats instead. You can used IconEd and Quickie NDA to do cut/paste directly. Mike Nuzzi's NDA works well, also. AFC Tosh Could it be returned? I like the full features of the regular program. (True about Nuzz's program!) Vitesse You really have to have an icon editor to use the icon anyway. AFC Tosh Thanks. SPEEDLIMIT I really want these guys to make a lot of money! The reason is that they are to me one of the best people that I have ever dealt with. I have several of their other programs and their support is equally as good and in fact if it weren't for them I would have had a hard time getting my HD working! AFL Scott Vitesse? ;) AFC DaveS Hallelujah! :) Vitesse :) AFC JohnC Is it possible to make the board for Quickie an invisible board rather than changing slots to your card? AFL Scott _Great Question!_ Vitesse In the GS you don't have to change the slot! It is invisible. AFL Scott _Great_ Answer!:) AFC DaveS Hallelujah! Amen! :) AFC JohnC When I talked directly to Vitesse they told me that I had to change the slot setting to your card, I wanted to use it in slot 5. Vitesse We apologize for the misunderstanding. You don't have to change the slot... even for slot 5 or any other slot.... AFC JohnC Thanks! Matt59 Back to Speed's comment... I've had many dealings with Vitesse and they aren't greedy. I do hope they make a lot of money because they'll just reinvest it into many more exciting products. We need more companies like them!!! AFC JohnC :) AFL Scott :) Coats Rep Applause! Vitesse Thanks. :) DavidS307 Well, to put in my two cents worth, John (Vitesse) came out and did an excellent demo of several of their products last Monday at my users group meeting. I must say that I was extremely impressed with the quality of their products and the professionalism and commitment of their staff. Topino What setting should we use when scanning text (for now and later use with OCR)? Vitesse The minimum recommended is 300 dpi Pseudo Grey. If you have LARGE TYPE you may be able to use a lower setting. The "true" 300 or 400 is really necessary for proper OCR recognition. That's why InWords is only compatible with Quickie and we will not market an inferior, obsolete, scanner design. Topino Thanks! Can't wait till OCR and full page scanner! :) SPEEDLIMIT Please don't throw stones... I love my GS... BUT... if you guys do really well, might you make a bridge to the Mac? I have both. Vitesse We are an Apple II developer... AFL Scott (Yeah!!!!!) Vitesse We have had many requests to make a Mac version of the Quickie. If we do it will be an expansion of the Apple II Quickie, not the opposite. It is difficult to get GS quality from a Mac. AFC DaveS Question on that funny glossy stuff they put on magazine pages... Glossy pages give everyone trouble with scanners, it seems. Suggested solutions are to use a matte fixative or hair spray to reduce the reflective stuff. What I'm curious about is whether it is possible to compensate for the effect in software. Does the dynamic range between relative grays change a great deal when the glossy film is present? Vitesse With version 2.0 or higher software (and the gloss suppression :)) we don't have any problem scanning glossy photos. If you have a problem with the greys you should cover the top viewer of the scanner. Sometimes direct overhead light will cause reflection or distortion. AFC DaveS Yeah, I've discovered that. I still have some problems, though, which are probably entirely my fault. Thanks. :) Coats Rep How well does OCR work when scanning at 200 dpi? Vitesse WestCode has informed us that the OCR software is designed to scan with 300 DPI or higher. If you don't have at least an actual 300 DPI capability you probably will not be compatible with OCR software as far as reliability goes. Coats Rep Does the difference between a red and green scanner affect scanning? Vitesse The older red LED have been replaced by the yellow green over a year ago. That old "red" technology lost many colors of the spectrum. The newer yellow-green LED will recognize all colors except the actual yellow-green color itself. This color is rare in photos and on the spectrum is actually nearly white. The red LED is a _low cost_, old technology, surplus. Matt59 Do you now how fast the OCR software will be yet?? Vitesse The OCR software calculated at 3000 characters per minute. SPEEDLIMIT I really love the scan of the Three Stooges and would love to make others like it. Could you post how you did this? Also, will OCR have problems with graphics that might position themselves in the scan? Vitesse We'll post a detail procedure this weekend. The OCR was designed by WestCode. If you download the chat with WestCode you find most of the questions answered by them. SPEEDLIMIT Thanks again. :) Vitesse We don't let John sleep. We're trying to Xerox him. GuS Grafix Sorry I came in late, but I just got back from a meeting. Has Vitesse announced an OCR device? When will it be available and will it use the same head as the Quickie or different hardware? (Just a very quick recap, if you don't mind... and again, sorry I was late.) Vitesse The OCR software is coming from WestCode and when released will work ONLY with the Quickie scanner. GuS Grafix Wow, wonderful... great! Thanks. AFL Scott I've noticed in the scans that I've seen that they lack contrast or don't appear as bright as one might desire. Is there a way to adjust contrast, and if not, will a way be available in the future? Vitesse Most of the scans that we have uploaded have been of printed color art which is low contrast to start with and is a big challenge for a scanner. We have done that to show that you don't have to use just glossy black and white photos (specially selected to make the scanner look good). We are constantly working to find ways to improve Quickie's performance. AFC DaveS Any plans to implement single pixel-width cut'n'paste editing? The software appears to write only to byte-boundaries. When scanning B&W line art, the alignment becomes pretty critical for me, so I'd like to see this. Vitesse That is one of the things on the list for possible improvements in the future. Coats Rep Who's going to be carrying the OCR software first, and when? :) Vitesse I've heard that WestCode software out of San Diego, CA has negotiated an introductory offer sale with a local mail order firm looking for a lost dog. AFL Scott ROTFL!!!! Coats Rep LOL! AFC DaveS :) Coats Rep We're hoping to have it in stock soon! Any comments Matt? Matt59 Nope. Look for a special bundle before Christmas. Sean (Coats Rep) and I both work for the lost dog company. :) GuS Grafix "Lost Dog"? Not sure how to take that comment... please clarify? (or am I just being unusually dense today?) Matt59 If you read inCider you would see that a certain company's dog mascot is missing. GuS Grafix Oh, okay... Gotcha. Phew... I thought that was a comment on the quality of the software! I AM being dense tonight! :( Sorry! AFL Scott I'd like to thank the gang at Vitesse for coming here tonight! Thanks guys! Your company is one in a million!!!!! Vitesse We always appreciate the opportunity to have a forum with folks like those subscribing to AOL. AFL Scott I look forward to a long and rewarding experience with Vitesse!!!! Everyone... GET YOUR WINGS!!!!! That program is OUTSTANDING!!!! AFC Tosh Thanks for a great product I use EVERY day! AFC DaveS Vitesse is great! I couldn't say that before because I was keeping the Q. The Quickie is one of the greatest hardware/software add-ons you can get for your Apple II! Vitesse If the whole world supported the Apple like you guys, the rest of the computer market would be nervous. Thanks. AFC BoJ <-- Wants a Quickie! :) AFC DaveS Well, get one! Sell your guitar! :) AFC BoJ LOL :) Then I could scan SWAT guns whenever I want. ;)) AFC DaveS Yeah! :) AFL Scott Seriously, Quickie, and the wonderful Salvation line? Who could want more!!! SPEEDLIMIT Vitesse... do you have a brochure about WINGS software? AFL Scott I know I use Wings now, instead the Finder! It's really outstanding! Vitesse Yes, its 102 pages long, retails for $79.95, and comes with a FREE disk management system. :) AFC DaveS BTW, was your logo inspired by the writings of Ted Nelson? What is Wings? LOL! :) Vitesse To Dave S. Visit Vitesse Direct. It is described there in considerable detail. AFC DaveS I must have mixed it up with Wingz. :) Vitesse The name is really Salvation: Wings an Apple II program. AFL Scott Well, I gotta tell you, Vitesse, it does everything and more for me! I know that I used to swear by the Finder, but no more! And heck, tonight's macros were written by the word processor in there! :) AFC DaveS What is the story behind the bicycle logo? Vitesse Vitesse is French for "Speed". Our products are fast, smooth and uncomplicated. The bicycle is an uncomplicated, fast, smooth form of transportation, and a national sport of France. AFC DaveS That's a great philosophy to have! :) AFL Scott Vitesse... a great company, a great name, a great Apple II company! GuS Grafix Roger that, Scott! Vitesse The biker's name is "Feelthy Pierre". :) AFL Scott ROTFL!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This transcript is copyright (c) 1990, NoseWorks, Inc. It may be uploaded to any information service/BBS, provided it is unedited. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------