cnrdean@ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA (12/01/84)
Any info on a good word processor for a PC? This is for our secretaries who are used to a Wang. Therefore it has to be simple, not powerful. 'wordstar' blows them away! Thanks Sam Scalise
rick@uwmacc.UUCP (the absurdist) (12/02/84)
[ Hit ctl-alt-del to reboot bug ]
If your secretaries are used to Wang-style word processing, you
may want to look at Office Writer. It's meant to be a copy of
the Wang Word Processing system which will run on an IBM PC.
As usual, I am not connected with etc., and this is just me talking,
not my employer.
--
"But Dinsdale...Dinsdale used <pause> sarcasm!"
we all know where this quote came from, don't we?
Rick Keir -- MicroComputer Information Center, MACC
1210 West Dayton St/U Wisconsin Madison/Mad WI 53706
{allegra, ihnp4, seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!rickgreenber@acf4.UUCP (12/02/84)
<> I recently did a major proposal for one of the major banks here in town. They needed some very spiffy word processor capabilities, as well as Wang compatability, etc. There was only one word processor that really was good (in my opinion) enough to satisfy them: MASS-11/PC Wonderful little program.... You can get it through Micro-Electronic Systems in New Jersey... Sorry, I don't have the telco number handy..... And, of course, I have no affiliation with them. Ross M. Greenberg @ NYU ----> allegra!cmcl2!acf4!greenber <----
greenber@acf4.UUCP (12/02/84)
<> Make that Micro-Engineering....sorry ...
dwight@timeinc.UUCP (Dwight Ernest) (12/02/84)
> > Any info on a good word processor for a PC? This is for our secretaries > who are used to a Wang. Therefore it has to be simple, not powerful. > 'wordstar' blows them away! > > > Thanks > Sam Scalise Gee! What a novel question! (:-) Actually, this question is so common that it's been answered to death. And there are so many different word processing programs on the market that it's almost impossible to narrow your choices down. Choosing a word processor from among the hundreds available for the PC is like choosing the right automobile to fit your needs and tastes. What you ought to do is go out and pick up a copy of the Whole Earth Software Catalogue or a copy of one of the issues of the Whole Earth Software Review. You can find them on GOOD newsstands. They devoted an entire issue to a very sensical and clear evaluation of many of the top w.p. software packages available for many different operating systems including the PC. If you have difficulty finding a copy of the WESR's issue on w.p., let me know and I'll send you one. As I recall, there's one w.p. package for the PC that offers Wang-like properties. Personally, I'm a devotee of XyWrite from XyQuest. If you'd like more info on that one, let me know, too. But that's my own opinion--sometimes talking about this subject is about as problematical as talking about sex or religion with people you work with--a no-no. (But <sigh> since you asked, I also think people ought to stay away from the Pfs: series.) -- --Dwight Ernest KA2CNN \ Usenet:...vax135!timeinc!dwight Time Inc. Editorial Technology Group, New York City Voice: (212) 554-5061 \ Compuserve: 70210,523 \ EIES: 1228 Telemail: EDPISG/TIMEINC \ MCI: DERNEST
tony@ur-cvsvax.UUCP (Tony Movshon) (12/04/84)
> <> > > I recently did a major proposal for one of the major banks here in > town. They needed some very spiffy word processor capabilities, as > well as Wang compatability, etc. > > There was only one word processor that really was good (in my opinion) > enough to satisfy them: > > MASS-11/PC > > Wonderful little program.... > > You can get it through Micro-Electronic Systems in New Jersey... > Sorry, I don't have the telco number handy..... > > And, of course, I have no affiliation with them. > > > Ross M. Greenberg @ NYU ----> allegra!cmcl2!acf4!greenber <---- Yes, but ... (There's always a but) MASS-11/PC is a pretty impressive word processing package for the IBM PC or DEC Rainbow. It is, however, ENORMOUS (well over 1 Mbyte of code), uses a silly menu-driven interface which arbitrarily restricts your path among its subprograms, runs uncomfortably slowly (at least on the Rainbow screen) unless you have applied the speedup patch to DOS 2.05, does not allow the user to patch printer or terminal output patterns, keeps files in some silly record format rather than ASCII. Among the plusses, it must be said, are three text editors (including a creditable imitation of EDT), pretty reasonable equation formatting, table of contents, indexing, etc. Lots of bells and whistles. Moral: if you have a hard disk and can afford the steep purchase price, it's worth a try. But don't go overboard. Needless to say, I have no connection with Microsystems. Tony Movshon {allegra|ihnp4|seismo}!cmcl2!hipl!tony {seismo|decvax}!rochester!ur-cvsvax!tony
werner@aecom.UUCP (Craig Werner) (12/05/84)
>> 'wordstar' blows them away! > Besides the fact that Nobody I have tried to teach Wordstar to has ever taken more than 1/2 hour to learn it. Most people take the wrong approach -- there are only really 10-12 commands that need to be known to do 98% of everything. If you consider that, WS ain't so bad. But anyway: Worse than WS are Microsoft Word and Volkswriter. One is too slow and all the commands take up space on the screen (Word) and the other with its Alt/Shift/Control Function keys is too easy to do disastrous things with (Volks). Supposedly just like the Wang is Multimate (at least that's what the Reviews say - never used it. Leading Edge, I beleive, makes similar claims. IBM has Display/Write II (or maybe Displaywriter -sp.), which though not like Wang's are just like Dedicated Word Processors designed for Secretaries. One person I know thinks PFS:Write is easy to use and the like, but I do not agree with her at all. Besides that, I hate the colors it forces on the screen (I have RGB.) (BTW - if there is enough interest, I'll post the subset of WS commands worth knowing - with the rest being commentary.) -- Craig Werner !philabs!aecom!werner What do you expect? Watermelons are out of season!
uevans@ecsvax.UUCP (12/07/84)
Craig Werner states that he's never known anyone to take longer than 1/2 hour to learn WordStar... I agree. The secretaries in our department picked up on the basics quickly, and feel comfortable enough to explore more advanced commands on their own. WordStar may not be the best word processor available, but it deserves more credit in the "easy to learn" department than it gets! Elizabeth A. Evans Department of Psychiatry University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
johnl@ima.UUCP (12/15/84)
If your secretaries are used to Wang WP stations, they'll probably like Multimate, which is designed to look just like the Wang and is not a bad word processor in its own right. John Levine, ima!johnl