Remembering those pre-GUI word processors
Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 9:30 pm
I've just dragged my old XT out and have been feeling nostalgic about all those old word processors...
My pre-gui Word Processor history goes like this...
Dick Smith System 80
Scripsit
(My first taste. First as a cassette WP then disk)
Lazywriter
(I wrote a thesis with this one)
IBM PC
Wordstar 3.3
(My first taste of 80 columns WP. WS ran on disk A:, data on disk B:)
IBM XT then AT
Xywrite
(Great WP and my personal favourite. What I liked about this one is that providing you didn't put any formatting in, all you got was straight ASCII code. Made for a good general editor as well as a word processor therefore.)
Word Perfect 5.1
(The standard for MS-DOS before Windows came along. OK, but I preferred Xywrite. Graphical WYSIWYG pre-printing view.)
Then there was Windows and Word and that was the end of non-bitmapped Word Processors. I briefly flirted with Word Perfect for Windows (it was a dog!) then went to Microsoft Word. Twenty years later I'm still using Microsoft Word.
Having just played around with Wordstar and Xywrite even nostalgia is not enough to ever wish those days again. Arrgg.
Anyway, what early Word Processors did you use and what was your favourite?
My pre-gui Word Processor history goes like this...
Dick Smith System 80
Scripsit
(My first taste. First as a cassette WP then disk)
Lazywriter
(I wrote a thesis with this one)
IBM PC
Wordstar 3.3
(My first taste of 80 columns WP. WS ran on disk A:, data on disk B:)
IBM XT then AT
Xywrite
(Great WP and my personal favourite. What I liked about this one is that providing you didn't put any formatting in, all you got was straight ASCII code. Made for a good general editor as well as a word processor therefore.)
Word Perfect 5.1
(The standard for MS-DOS before Windows came along. OK, but I preferred Xywrite. Graphical WYSIWYG pre-printing view.)
Then there was Windows and Word and that was the end of non-bitmapped Word Processors. I briefly flirted with Word Perfect for Windows (it was a dog!) then went to Microsoft Word. Twenty years later I'm still using Microsoft Word.
Having just played around with Wordstar and Xywrite even nostalgia is not enough to ever wish those days again. Arrgg.
Anyway, what early Word Processors did you use and what was your favourite?