71–80 of 96 posts
For a long time, I used Joe's Own Editor [1], which featured a WordStar keybinding mode. I still use it from time to time. [1] https://joe-editor.sourceforge.io/
You can use Wordstar commands with that code in Emacs.
I don't have a deep personal affectation for WordStar, although I do appreciate it's keyboard layout, but what I do miss is writers having opinions about these things. These days it seems that it's mostly "whatever version of Word that came with my Laptop/Times New Roman 12". We programmers still have our "holy wars" (although I see a decrease of passion here, too, with safe choices like VSC or IntelliJ being more an…
Those debates continue - to Scrivener or not to Scrivener is quite the topic with long-form writers. And Final Draft is heavily discussed. But the reason the debate is dying out is because the competition is dying out: Word won. And that doesn’t mean the app, it means all the Simonyi-type ways of thinking it brings with it: paragraph-level formatting with overrides, single frame with embeds, no visible codes beyond P…
Where could I find such discussions? Do you remember any links?
Jim 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 n…
As a kid I thought it was a pseudonym. I did at some point wonder, what he went on to build. Your description of what he was going through, makes me hope that his memory will be well honored.
For a long time, I used Joe's Own Editor [1], which featured a WordStar keybinding mode. I still use it from time to time. [1] https://joe-editor.sourceforge.io/
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your rambling is very much appreciated. I'm terribly sorry to hear about Jim Fox, it is often those who are the real knowledge behind development that get lost or left behind for a multitude of reasons, which, more often than not, are problems or a fallout with financial backers, entrepreneurs or it's the work of ruthless competitors. Unfortunately, this happens not only in programming and IT but in every endeavor im…
To your list of misfits contributing greatly whilst treated poorly, I'd add Ian Murdoch.
WordStar was the first productivity application I ever used. Here's one of the biggest things I miss these days in computing: ...scroll the screen up and down a page at a time (a "page" in the computer sense of a full screen of text).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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.
Think you're right, it rings bell (albeit faint). Did the Wang wordprocessor use it too? (I used a Wang WP a few times long ago but I've no idea now. In fact the Wang was the very first WP I used — except for KP26/29 card punches with an IBM-360.) :-)