Having the commands as a display over the edit session was a genius move. UcSD p-system did this too for their OS.
How it showed mark-up was also good.
WordStar: A Writer's Word Processor (1996)
41–50 of 96 posts
Re: WordStar: A Writer's Word Processor (1996)
#42I love the WordStar key combos, and still have some relevant muscle memory. Back in the day I learned them at about the same time as using Turbo Pascal 3 - which used a few of the same ones.
Back around 2006, I did a crash project on IBM 4690 OS. At some point I got into the included editor and by the second time I hit control-K, it all started coming back to me.
That project also had to use 16 bit small memory model which brought me back to the ancient Turbo Pascal / C days.
Re: WordStar: A Writer's Word Processor (1996)
#43While we're being nostalgic, VDE, a WordStar clone, was another miracle of tiny code. I still run it now and then in a DOSEMU emulator on Linux. https://www.sites.google.com/site/vdeeditor/Home
Out of curiosity, how is DOSEMU working out for you compared to something like Dosbox?
I've looked into it in the past; does it work like WINE, or is it basically Dosbox with better hardware and filesystem access?
I've also seen Dosemu2[1], because apparently the original was no longer under development, so I'm a bit concerned at how well it works nowadays.
Re: WordStar: A Writer's Word Processor (1996)
#44For me? It's Org Mode for writing. But it's easy to understand how people can become productive in an environment which they spent time learning how to use. And of course there's a modern, Free clone called WordTsar as mentioned elsewhere in this thread if people want to try it out.
Which is a worthless app. And look at the latest post, he can't even spell Linux. On the WordTsar homepage. I wouldn't use shit like that dude. Go for the real wordstar or bust.
Re: WordStar: A Writer's Word Processor (1996)
#45This is the word processor that GRRM uses, he keeps an ancient DOS computer around just to use WordStar.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/03/words...
Re: WordStar: A Writer's Word Processor (1996)
#46This is the word processor that GRRM uses, he keeps an ancient DOS computer around just to use WordStar. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/03/words...
> that GRRM uses
Well...
Re: WordStar: A Writer's Word Processor (1996)
#47I've used many wordprocessors but WordStar still is my favorite, I first used it under CP/M and later on the IBM PC. Anyone who has used it knows that once you got the feel for the WordStar keystroke diamond it was magic to use. I still have hundreds of files in WordStar format and I can either import them into a GUI WYSIWYG WP or I can still use them in WordStar 7 running under an emulated environment in Windows. Wo…
> WordStar keystroke diamond reminds me of Alias software (Maya but maybe others) use or layout as ergonomics. They used QWER and ZXCV as main rapid keybindings for the most used operations (pick, translate, rotate, scale). You didn't have to invest more than 20 seconds to remember that. A lot of knowledge of this kind is probably locked in old forgotten ware.
Indeed, such a boost in ergonomics and productivity with just a "simple" choice.
Btw, I was always amazed by people breaking this functionality by insisting using other keyboard layouts, more appropriate for text.
Re: WordStar: A Writer's Word Processor (1996)
#48"I love my Electric Pencil." [1] Michael Shrayer's word processor was released in 1976 for the Altair computer. [2] Other versions soon followed.
[1] See ad on page 10: http://www.atarimania.com/mags/pdf/SoftSide_Vol_2_No_08.pdf
Re: WordStar: A Writer's Word Processor (1996)
#49I am a big fan of Robert J. Sawyer. He is like Michael Crichton, except tech things go good instead of bad. On the topic of word processors: The famed New Yorker writer John McPhee only writes with Kedit, which I had never even heard of until he spoke of it a lot in his book on writing. I seem to recall a story of him needing to pin down the orginal creator at some point, well after the creator had abandoned the proj…
I think KEDIT was simply the DOS port of XEDIT, IBM's standard text editor on mainframes.
Re: WordStar: A Writer's Word Processor (1996)
#50Jim Fox was a key programmer for WordStar. He never got much credit. I guess because he was just an employee.
Jim thought, and talked about WordStar up until his death a few years ago on the streets of San Rafael.
I’m posting this because he would want it. Jim was so proud of his contributions to WordStar, and told anyone who was within speaking distance. Jim was pretty happy guy, but couldn’t find work, and wasn’t near crazy enough to get SSI. He was just a bit different (only different after being on the streets. He once told me, a year on the street, and the mind goes. (I didn’t see anything wrong with his mind though), and getting a programming job after 45 is difficult?
He told me a a small company (called a Startup now) hired him, but they didn’t give him time catch up. He was homeless for years, and his skills were rusty, and his suit was from a Goodwill drop box. He told me, “I was almost up to speed, and feel like I will be contributing soon.” A week later he was back in his Penguin Suit doing dances for change in downtown San Rafael. He was also the Webmaster for the Coastal Post in Bolinas. They couldn’t pay him, and he was fine with that. He also had some good ideas, but people didn’t take him serious? He had a website called Cyberthings.
I’m writing this because I heard about WordStar so much, and I like Jim. People called him eccentric, but he just didn’t have a home. Jim knew a lot of people. A couple of wealthy guys let Jim sleep on their property, but the wives didn’t like him there. I get it. It’s still a responsibility to have a homeless guy camping on your property. Jim always graciously left if asked, and never held a grudge. He used to say to me, “I just don’t want to die of pneumonia on one of these cold side streets.” I never knew what to say.
I writing this because I read he died a few years ago, and miss the guy. The San Rafael police went out of their way to mess with him. Instead of helping, they just wanted to nail him for anything. He once got a Jaywalking ticket after asking a cop to retrieve his stolen laptop. The cop said no, so Jim walked across the street. The cop crossed the street, and gave him a ticket.
Sorry for rambling. Not in a great mood.