30th Anniversary (1st June 2020)

From: Dr Christopher Mabb, Scientific Word Ltd.
To: Our Scientific Word/WorkPlace/Notebook Technical Typesetting list

1. 30th Anniversary:    It's hard to believe we're so old... but Scientific Word Ltd was incorporated on 1st June 1990! That was before the Windows program Scientific Word (named after us) was released in 1992: our focus and expertise in those early days was in respect of the DOS predecessor T3, aka T³. There aren't many former T3 users still on our database from 30 years ago although, interestingly, one such customer from the first 12 months just upgraded to Scientific WorkPlace v6.0 a few weeks ago.
   Why not indulge us for a moment and catch up on our story, starting with the opening paragraphs here and then going here. At the very least, you'll see why we have such an unparalleled hands-on knowledge of this family of software!
   
   We can't help noticing how things have changed since 1990! In those pre-Internet days (we were not online until May 1993):
   
   
   • Business was all done by telephone, fax and post
   • We used mailshot campaigns for people to find out about us
   • Telephone answering machines were mini-cassette recorders
   • Virtually all our users and contacts were in the UK & Ireland
   • Boxed systems had to be physically taken to the Post Office, weighed and posted
   • People paid us by cheque!
   
   And you try and tell the young people of today that... and they won't believe you.




2. TeXLive 2020:    You'll remember that our April 2020 mailing Item 1 alerted you to Scientific Word/WorkPlace installation problems caused by the release of TeXLive 2020. We're pleased to say that those issues are now resolved, and you can:
   
   
   1. Update Scientific Word/WorkPlace from an earlier version to obtain the current v6.0.30
   2. Re-install Scientific Word/WorkPlace in order to obtain TeXLive 2020
   3. Rebuild the TeX filename database, as documented in our April 2020 mailing Item 2, particularly 2 (2c).
   
   If you get any error messages when Updating or Re-installing Scientific Word/WorkPlace or Rebuilding the TeX filename database, please:
   
   
   • Delete the c:\texlive\2020 folder
   • Delete the c:\texlive\texmf-local folder
   • Delete the file c:\texlive\tlyear
   • Delete the c:\Users\<username>\.tex folder
   
   and install Scientific Word/WorkPlace again according to our installation instructions.
   If any of the files/folders above will not delete, please Email us for directions.




3. Troubleshooting checklist:    Solving Technical Support issues is what we love to do: we've built our reputation (for 30 years now!) on our Unbeatable Expert Tech Support. And the more information you can give us to work with, the quicker we'll be able to help you: see our December 2017 mailing Item 3.
   So here's a useful checklist of things to consider telling us, drawn from a real Tech Support situation 6 months ago. Initially we had replied:

   Does the problem happen on all the documents you try to compile, or just one/some of them?
   

   1. If all the documents: did you download the v6.0 installation instructions and follow them? Especially did you right-click the file and select Run as Administrator to begin the installation? Did you receive any error messages?
   2. If just one/some of the documents (while others compile OK): please let us have the .sci file (in \SW[P]Docs) of one of the documents that generates this error message.

   following it up with:

   Here are some further questions / things to try:
   

   1. Did you receive any error messages during installation?
   2. Did you accept the default settings for the installation, or did you change any of the settings (e.g. the location of files)?
   3. Have you rebooted the computer since installing? Does the problem persist?
   4. What operating system are you using?
   5. What's the make of your computer?
   6. Please let us have your licence file license.lic [Note: American spelling]. This will be in one of the locations detailed in our December 2015 mailing Item 5
   7. Please let us have the log file for a failure to compile [detailed instructions are in our December 2019 mailing Item 7].

   In fact, running through this checklist of things to tell us may lead you to discover the cause of the problem yourself! And if not, you'll have all the information to hand, so as to help us help you... Thank You!




4. Invalid security certificate:    You may see the Scientific Word/WorkPlace error message that:

   www.mackichan.com:443 uses an invalid security certificate

   but you don't need to be too alarmed. We documented this issue – the explanation and a solution – in our April 2019 mailing Item 6 (2).
   You can check the status of MacKichan's SSL certificate from an SSL checker (such as this) which will show you where any break in the security certificate chain is temporarily occurring.




5. Special offers!    You'll have realised by now: we're in business for the long term, so we don't make special offers and have sales.
   But it's been 30 years today (did we say that before?) and it's not every day of the week you have a 30th Anniversary! So here's something for everyone in celebration of our longevity – valid for all Commercial and Educational Orders placed during June 2020:
   
   
   1. For anybody on our mailing list: Buy Scientific Word/WorkPlace and you will also receive free access to our v5.5 Training Course videos (for your own use)
   2. For our existing Scientific Word/WorkPlace users: Buy a copy of Scientific Word/WorkPlace for a colleague and both of you will receive free access to our v5.5 Training Course videos, together with Section 2 of our v6.0 Training Course videos
   3. For sites with multiple-user licensing (Floating or Fixed) without Annual Maintenance: Upgrade to the Annual Maintenance scheme – obtaining all these Annual Maintenance benefits together with past copies of our Annual-Maintenance-only mailings – for a first year's payment of 10% (usually only available at the time of initial purchase or upgrade)... and also receive a complimentary Scientific Word/WorkPlace live Two-Day Training Course to be taken at any time in the 12 months following the end of lockdown
   4. For Annual Maintenance sites with multiple-user licensing (Floating or Fixed):
      • Add additional users to your licensing and receive the first year's Annual Maintenance on those additional users free of charge; or
      • Upgrade to Campus-wide licensing and receive the entire first year's Annual Maintenance free of charge... together with a complimentary Scientific Word/WorkPlace live Two-Day Training Course to be taken at any time in the 12 months following the end of lockdown
   5. For Annual Maintenance sites with Campus-wide licensing: Arrange for some Scientific Word/WorkPlace live Two-Day Training Course/s to be taken at any time in the 12 months following the end of lockdown and receive two-for-one (up to 6 courses for the price of 3)
   6. For Support Contracts: Enjoy unlimited two-for-one on our Scientific Word/WorkPlace live One-Day and Two-Day Training Courses to be taken at any time in the 12 months following the end of lockdown.
   
   Email us here to check details and pricing. Offers only valid during June 2020... although we'll probably be making a similar splash for our 50th Anniversary. Watch this space!




6. Mathematical problem:    What is the next number in the sequence:
   
   
   1. $\sqrt{900}$
   2. $3^{3} +2^{2} -1^{1}$
   3. $2020 \div 67. \dot{3}$
   4. $\sum \limits _{r = -3}^{8}r$
   
   Now aren't you glad you don't have to learn L^aT_eX in order to create beautifully-typeset mathematical documents? And if we've totally succeeded in protecting you from picking up any L^aT_eX along the way, click to see the HTML export or PDF.
   Just in case we hadn't mentioned it already...