07-11-2022, 06:29 AM | #1 |
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WordStar DOS 7.0d -- Chromebook
I thought maybe Robert Sawyer would get a kick out of this. (Probably no one else cares.)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JIR...ew?usp=sharing I think this will be clearer if you download it — or maybe Google likes Windows better than Linux, I don't know. It's actually recorded at a pretty decent resolution for the screencast that comes built into Chromebooks now. I used WordStar for DOS for about 20 years, until I went to Linux. It actually works pretty well in DOSBox, but to use the files in Linux I just convert to ASCII and use that in my word processor (after cleaning it up in Jstar, but that's more of a DOS text file to Linux issue). I own WordStar 3.3, 5.5, 6.0, 7.0d, 2000 and WordStar for Windows (which really wasn't WordStar). I still like the simplicity of the WordStar for DOS screen. |
07-11-2022, 08:54 AM | #2 | |
the rook, bossing Never.
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Or G R R Martin. He uses Wordstar.
I used it for years. It's pointless now. Wordstar 2000 and later for DOS are not Wordstar. Bought in and incompatible. I wrote a Pearl script to convert pre-2000 Wordstar Quote:
For Plain text, Notepad++ or KATE is better (Jota on Android) and for actual Wordprocessing ANY Word for Windows from 2.0a onwards (maybe up to 2007 ) or LO Writer. There are plenty of free text editors that will run in Dosbox (which runs on nearly anything Android to Linux to Symbian to Windows) |
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07-11-2022, 09:17 AM | #3 | |
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But I still like the WordStar screen better. If I ever write short stories again, I'll use WordStar to do it. Just "feels" right. |
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07-11-2022, 08:23 PM | #4 |
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WordStar never did it for me - the navigation keystrokes in particular seemed somewhat perverse (I understand it was trying maximise portability, but since I wasn't that wasn't a priority for me). QEdit was what I eventually settled on for plain text (can't remember what I used before that), and WordPerfect for more sophisticated documents.
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07-12-2022, 05:00 AM | #5 |
the rook, bossing Never.
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I remember pre-IBM keyboards with no navigation keys at all in CP/M era, which is what WS ran on originally.
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07-12-2022, 05:09 AM | #6 |
cacoethes scribendi
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And I remember 2400 baud modems, but that doesn't mean I want to put a limiter on my broadband connection.
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07-12-2022, 06:24 AM | #7 |
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WordPerfect for DOS.
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07-12-2022, 06:34 AM | #8 | |
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I vaguely remember QEdit, may have even tried it. Can't remember for sure. I know I used some other editor that also had the WordStar keystrokes option. Maybe that was QEdit? |
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07-12-2022, 06:36 AM | #9 |
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I don't find WordStar limiting. Actually I see it the opposite way. A text screen (without GUI elements) makes it easier for me to concentrate on writing.
Last edited by rcentros; 07-12-2022 at 11:07 AM. Reason: left out a word |
07-12-2022, 06:38 AM | #10 |
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07-12-2022, 10:15 AM | #11 | |
cacoethes scribendi
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As for minimal screen interface, WordStar was not alone here. Even WordPerfect for DOS had what, a single menu line at the top and a single status line at the bottom and happily supported 50 line mode. Several other plain text editors had minimal interfaces too. Let's face it, it's what you program into your fingers that counts. My fingers rejected WordStar but accepted WordPerfect and a myriad other programs that failed to follow WordStar's lead. (I admit the WP choice made it something of a PITA when WordPerfect was taken over by Novell and then Corel and slowly became unusable. But, I adapted.) |
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07-12-2022, 11:30 AM | #12 | |||
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
I remember buying Corel Office (Windows) at CompUSA because it was cheap. I installed it, but I never used it. Sorry, I'm rambling. |
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07-12-2022, 12:42 PM | #13 |
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Anyone recall Vedit? Or Geoworks?
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07-12-2022, 04:30 PM | #14 |
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The thing is, back then, WordPerfect was better then Word. Even when we had Windows version of both. It's just that somehow Word got to be the program to use even though it was not nearly as good.
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07-12-2022, 05:19 PM | #15 |
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I remember Geoworks. Never used it though.
https://tedium.co/2019/06/20/geoworks-geos-history/ Not sure about Vedit. The name seems familiar in some way. |
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