Re: [hylafax-users] Hylafax FSP DLL for Windows 2000/XP

[Pedro Rocadas <procadas@yahoo.com>]

I really, really, tought if I shoulded reply to your
post so, take this as not-offensive or similar. Just
my personal oppinion.

--- Dmitry Bely <dbely@mail.ru> wrote:
> Hello everyone,
> 
> I need your advice.
> 
> I decided to create my own Hylafax client for
> Windows 2000/XP, because none
> of existing one fit my needs; the main problems
> were:
> 

Strange, usually WHFC fits the basic needs and is
open-source now. You are allowed to improve it.
 
> - Unacceptable fax image quality due to using
> Postscript printer driver and
> Ghostscript rasterizer (the latest Cypheus has TIFF
> printer driver, but I
> did not tested it).

Or you use special fax machines or I'm lost here.
Faxing always present quality problems. Think noisy
lines and you are in troubles...

> - Deep fax knowledge is required to configure and
> use them, that average
> corporate user does not have.

Uh? My users only needed to put the fax number and
voilá! But, if they needed to configure anything, a
document with print screens explaining how to do it
solve the issue. Lusers are lusers but they have a
brain after all :-)).
 
> - They require a lot of additional libraries,
> non-standard phonebooks etc.,
> being themselves multimegabyte monsters.

You really tested WHFC?

> - They cannot be easily distributed in the corporate
> network. 

Uh? I'm not an windows expert but, you can make a
script to automate the installation right?

> - They are not reliable enough (those versions that
> I've tested)

Wich are?

> - They provide no cover page support.

Do you really tested WHFC?

> - They do not show the fax call in progress and
> generate heavy Hylafax
> server load due to the constant polling.

Do you really tested WHFC?

> - The best existing Windows fax client (Cypheus) is
> expensive enough: $30
> pear seat in the medium or large corporate network
> is probably not the very
> low price.

Try different comercial software and you will think
different :-).

> 
> So I ported Hylafax client classes to Win32 (and
> also sendfax utility),
> took my own TIFF library that I wrote 5 years ago
> for another project,
> added the necessary code and created Hylafax virtual
> fax service provider
> DLL for Windows NT fax service (see
>
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/fax/faxusing_7stv.asp
> for more
> information).

Seem remarcable work for me.

> Now I have 
> 
> - All capabilities of the native Windows NT fax
> service: TIFF printer,
> providing the excellent image quality even in draft
> (204x98dpi) mode,
> cover pages, LDAP address books etc.
> - Ease of use: no special fax knowledge is required.
> - No polling of Hylafax server - thanks to Hylafax
> triggers the fax job is
> shown in progress using the Windows fax monitor.
> - The client is extremely lightweight: only 200Kb
> DLL and some registry
> settings.
> - Easy network distribution via Windows 2000/XP
> Group Policy (everything is
> packaged into .MSI file)
> 
> Currently only sending is implemented, because my
> network users do not need
> fax receiving at their desktops.
> 
> Yes, Windows 95/98/Me/NT is not supported, but I
> does not have such
> workstations here.
> 

> Now I am thinking what to do with this work. Is
> there any interest to such
> software? Probably I will not release it under open
> source license (for
> my TIFF library and some other issues). But closed
> sources mean a lot of
> user support, for which I simply does not have
> enough time. Should this
> software cost some money?

You are not obligued to release any of your code, but
think, you are using HylaFAX. Imagine the original
author of HylaFAx not releasing the code...probably
you will be using EXPENSIVE commercial fax software,
unreliable and worse, with the felling that you trough
away alot of money...As I said, you are free to do
whatever you want.

> 
> So I would like to know your opinion.

you have the last word ;-). Best regards.

> 
> - Dmitry Bely


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