wlewisiii
Just another hotel clerk
Once upon a time, even before there was an IBM PC or MS-DOS there were still other Personal Computers and there was C/PM to manage your disk drives on them. Even the Apple II could have a card with a Z80 and C/PM on it with access to all of that world of software.
And starting in 1978 there was Wordstar as the best word processor available. It would grow and mutate, be ported a number of times to Dos and Windows into some very strange forms. Still, by it's final release - WordStar for DOS 7.0 Rev. D - would come out in December 1992 - it was a solid and polished alternative that did what you wanted, not what someone had decided you wanted.
The program has never been updated since, and the company that made it has been defunct for decades; the program is abandonware. At the time that 7.0D came out I was working as the Assistant General Manager at a Walden Software Store (anyone remember _that_ shortlived chain?) and made my bootleg legitimate because even then, to me, it was still the reigning king of the word processors.
And I still use it, and Sonnar Brian I understand uses an earlier version (version 6). Several famous authors still prefer it over more modern software and with the news that Microsoft has now enabled Word to scrape your writing and send it back to Redmond to train their AI unless you jump through lots of hoops to opt out, there is even less reason to want to use their bloatware.
Sure you could use Libre Office and many do chose to. When absolute interoperability is needed, I do as well. However, there is still a place in the world for the classics. With modern emulation technology like DOSBox-X, it can run fine on DOS, Windows, Linux and Macintosh without problem or change. The postscript is still usable by modern printers. For a program from 1992, it remains better than most other 32 year old packages!
The program had been available as install disks on "Abandonware" websites but they can be difficult to use and can be virus/malware infested for the unwary. In addion, unless you still had everything memorized, the lack of manuals was a real challenge. To fill this void, Canadian SF author (Hugo & Nebula winner) Robert J. Sawyer has stepped up with his package:
And starting in 1978 there was Wordstar as the best word processor available. It would grow and mutate, be ported a number of times to Dos and Windows into some very strange forms. Still, by it's final release - WordStar for DOS 7.0 Rev. D - would come out in December 1992 - it was a solid and polished alternative that did what you wanted, not what someone had decided you wanted.
The program has never been updated since, and the company that made it has been defunct for decades; the program is abandonware. At the time that 7.0D came out I was working as the Assistant General Manager at a Walden Software Store (anyone remember _that_ shortlived chain?) and made my bootleg legitimate because even then, to me, it was still the reigning king of the word processors.
And I still use it, and Sonnar Brian I understand uses an earlier version (version 6). Several famous authors still prefer it over more modern software and with the news that Microsoft has now enabled Word to scrape your writing and send it back to Redmond to train their AI unless you jump through lots of hoops to opt out, there is even less reason to want to use their bloatware.
Sure you could use Libre Office and many do chose to. When absolute interoperability is needed, I do as well. However, there is still a place in the world for the classics. With modern emulation technology like DOSBox-X, it can run fine on DOS, Windows, Linux and Macintosh without problem or change. The postscript is still usable by modern printers. For a program from 1992, it remains better than most other 32 year old packages!
The program had been available as install disks on "Abandonware" websites but they can be difficult to use and can be virus/malware infested for the unwary. In addion, unless you still had everything memorized, the lack of manuals was a real challenge. To fill this void, Canadian SF author (Hugo & Nebula winner) Robert J. Sawyer has stepped up with his package:
Richard G
Veteran
OMG. I have nightmares about doing my research degree using an original IBM PC, dbase III plus, and Wordstar 2000. But it worked. Cut and paste with Wordstar was move cursor to start of cut type Ctrl B B then move cursor to end of cut type Ctrl B E, move cursor to insertion point and type Ctrl B V for paste. The other program I had was a terrific bibliography program called Notebook. This was in 1987,1988. To write up my thesis and complete the analyses I bought a Mac, never having used one. I merged the two dbase databases, created layouts and colour views in FileMaker and wrote the thesis in MacWrite II initially, and then Word. One of my contemporaries was still taking draft after draft to a typist. As well as doing banking at ATMs at 9pm in the rain, I was driving all over town to libraries for particular journal anrticles and spending a fortune on photocopying. For Mac users with this history there used to be a screen saver which was all black and c:\
I have used Wordstar for 45 years now, mostly to write Fortran, Assembly, C, C++, SQL, HTML, etc. I have Wordstar Patched to recognize the language extensions, and set custom tabs and other parameters. I rely on using two Windows to edit code, and column-mode cut and paste for a lot of features.
For Wordstar 3.3 on CP/m, I disassembled it and changed the Keyboard Mapping to use a new Keyboard on the Xerox 820-II.
Wordstar 4.0: I spawned it from my Fortran programs and used it to edit Data Files, exit- read the modified files back into Fortran.
These days- DOS 7.1 booted directly on a 2.7GHz I5 on a 512GByte drive, Wordstar is Faster than Ever.
For Wordstar 3.3 on CP/m, I disassembled it and changed the Keyboard Mapping to use a new Keyboard on the Xerox 820-II.
Wordstar 4.0: I spawned it from my Fortran programs and used it to edit Data Files, exit- read the modified files back into Fortran.
These days- DOS 7.1 booted directly on a 2.7GHz I5 on a 512GByte drive, Wordstar is Faster than Ever.
wlewisiii
Just another hotel clerk
Wordstar 2000 was a misbegotten attempt to rewrite it in portable assember (aka C) and it was one of the lesser versions as a result.
dexdog
Veteran
I remember using wordstar on a dumb terminal back in the 1990s; primitive, but worked OK. I really like Libre Office!
Wordperfect, which displaced Wordstar for most offices: was written in Fortran. I "knew it" to help our Admin Office. When I retired, a woman- now promoted way-up at work, started when she was 18. She told me "I still remember you telling me there was nothing I could do to my computer that you could not fix". It was true.
I can just hear an AI scraping my computer for training...
"My Mind Dave, It's Going. It's Going. I can feel it."
"Daisy, Daisy..."
"My Mind Dave, It's Going. It's Going. I can feel it."
"Daisy, Daisy..."
neal3k
Well-known
I used an early version of Wordstar with my Kaypro II computer back in the mid 80's. It would be considered awkward now but I did so much writing with it.
titrisol
Bottom Feeder
That unblocks a lot of memories!!!
I was more of a MultiMate guy, I never liked WordStar or WordPerfect but had to use them at work.
But Wordstar was great for writing code, until the visual Fortran suite came.
Nowadays I use Notepad++
I was more of a MultiMate guy, I never liked WordStar or WordPerfect but had to use them at work.
But Wordstar was great for writing code, until the visual Fortran suite came.
Nowadays I use Notepad++
Archiver
Veteran
@wlewisiii I assume that this disturbing AI scraping of Word documents doesn't apply to Word 2007? That's the version I have been using for quite some years.
Wordstar was a funny one! It was the first word processor I learned as a kid, and Dad heard me having wild dreams about Wordstar one night. He said I clearly yelled out, 'Wordstar! Wordstar! (something unintelligible) program!' I still have physical documents which were written on, and printed with, Wordstar.
Pretty sure we had WordPerfect at a later date, but MS Word was the word from some time in the 90s onward. I'm just glad I'm such a stingy traditionalist that I clling to programs that are over a decade old, and have avoided the AI scraping so far.
Wordstar was a funny one! It was the first word processor I learned as a kid, and Dad heard me having wild dreams about Wordstar one night. He said I clearly yelled out, 'Wordstar! Wordstar! (something unintelligible) program!' I still have physical documents which were written on, and printed with, Wordstar.
Pretty sure we had WordPerfect at a later date, but MS Word was the word from some time in the 90s onward. I'm just glad I'm such a stingy traditionalist that I clling to programs that are over a decade old, and have avoided the AI scraping so far.
wlewisiii
Just another hotel clerk
I don't know for sure, I would walk through the steps in the article to be certain though.
Archiver
Veteran
I just did, the dirty little AI entry is nowhere in sight, thank goodness.
wlewisiii
Just another hotel clerk
Good to know since my lack of trust of M$ is legendary. I can still remember when "DOS isn't done till LOTUS won't run".
What is the DOS command for finding out if AI is scraping my real computer....
chuckroast
Well-known
Once upon a time, even before there was an IBM PC or MS-DOS there were still other Personal Computers and there was C/PM to manage your disk drives on them. Even the Apple II could have a card with a Z80 and C/PM on it with access to all of that world of software.
And starting in 1978 there was Wordstar as the best word processor available. It would grow and mutate, be ported a number of times to Dos and Windows into some very strange forms. Still, by it's final release - WordStar for DOS 7.0 Rev. D - would come out in December 1992 - it was a solid and polished alternative that did what you wanted, not what someone had decided you wanted.
The program has never been updated since, and the company that made it has been defunct for decades; the program is abandonware. At the time that 7.0D came out I was working as the Assistant General Manager at a Walden Software Store (anyone remember _that_ shortlived chain?) and made my bootleg legitimate because even then, to me, it was still the reigning king of the word processors.
And I still use it, and Sonnar Brian I understand uses an earlier version (version 6). Several famous authors still prefer it over more modern software and with the news that Microsoft has now enabled Word to scrape your writing and send it back to Redmond to train their AI unless you jump through lots of hoops to opt out, there is even less reason to want to use their bloatware.
Sure you could use Libre Office and many do chose to. When absolute interoperability is needed, I do as well. However, there is still a place in the world for the classics. With modern emulation technology like DOSBox-X, it can run fine on DOS, Windows, Linux and Macintosh without problem or change. The postscript is still usable by modern printers. For a program from 1992, it remains better than most other 32 year old packages!
The program had been available as install disks on "Abandonware" websites but they can be difficult to use and can be virus/malware infested for the unwary. In addion, unless you still had everything memorized, the lack of manuals was a real challenge. To fill this void, Canadian SF author (Hugo & Nebula winner) Robert J. Sawyer has stepped up with his package:
Word Processors? Pft. I use emacs and RestructuredText/LaTeX
I made Wordstar 4 into a Fortran Callable Routine to edit my data files as I was plotting them.
chuckroast
Well-known
Never forget the Continue column on yer punch cards ...
I wrote a Fortran Program to read an XML description of a Communications Protocol that generated a Fortran Program to parse the protocol.
One of the Bosses joked my code would be self-aware and keep going.
If all the computers boot-up with nothing but DOS, Wordstar, Fortran, and Macro on them- it's the
I will not have a problem with it. It's the end of the world, and I'm fine....
One of the Bosses joked my code would be self-aware and keep going.
If all the computers boot-up with nothing but DOS, Wordstar, Fortran, and Macro on them- it's the
Four Programs of the Apocalypse
I will not have a problem with it. It's the end of the world, and I'm fine....
I just mentioned Today to our IT expert that IBM Punch Cards are easier to use than the many, many, many Windows he had to open to setup my Win11 computer.
chuckroast
Well-known
Yabut they're hard to resize
My first "real" computer job was working for a company that made custom check sorting equipment for banks, controlled by a similarly bespoke minicomputer. The OS for that minicomputer (all custom of course) was built on units of data that were exactly what you'd find on a punch card, even though punch cards were a distant memory. So much so, that when you edited, you could only move forward, never back, in the same manner that a card reader could only go forward in the deck. I became a Jr. Hero & Patriot 1st Class when I added code (in a custom assembly language, of course) so that we programmers could edit within the "deck" moving both forward- and backward on command. Oh the memories ...
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