sreekanth@rgb.dec.com (Jon Sreekanth) (06/14/90)
Here is the summary of the responses to my recent post : >A while ago, I got something in my junk mail from DAK (1-800-325-0800), >offering Wordstar Professional 5.0, Grammatik III and Key FormDesigner >all for $49.90. > >Knowing how DAK operates, I suspect these are not the most current releases >of the respective software. Can someone confirm this ? > >Assuming these are not current versions, are these versions just missing >some features, or are they notorious for bugs or idiosyncracies ? > >Feature for feature, does WS 5.0 have most of the "standard" features expected >in a modern editor ? > Thanks to everybody who responded. I've summarised the responses below. Based on the responses, I went ahead and ordered the WS5.0 package for $50; I was told I'd receive it in 2-3 weeks. ........... They have since upgraded their offer to the latest release of 6.0. You also have to buy one of the gadgets, but is a steal at $129.90 (or something like that). ........... You're right, 5.0 is not the most current. They went to 5.5, and now I've seen ads for 6.0. Are you going to miss out on something by not getting the most current release? Probably not much. The ads tout 6.0 as doing wonders with the H-P Laserjet III. I do a lot of writing and am still using version 4.0. $50 bucks is a great deal... ........... You are correct in guessing that these are older versions of the software. Wordstar has released WS 5.5 and recently (I think) WS 6.0. Also Grammatik IV has been out for a while. I don't know about the other program. The wordstar program is a pretty complete program if you like wordstar. I suspect that the new versions have more goodies, but more important have drivers for newer video systems and especially newer printers and things. Whether it is enough for you depends upon your needs. There are also a lot of Shareware word processors which are very good and also quite cheap. ........... Wordstar is a fully featured work-processor, no doubt. I ordered it from DAK and have looked over the feature list. The only thing that seems missing from something equivalent like WordPerfect is the capability to embed graphics images into documents. I have found Grammatik III to be useful. All in all, DAK's price-tag cannot be beat, old release versions or not. ........... I don't know about either WS or KeyForm-whatever. But Grammatik is up to version IV right now. Grammatik III is not a buggy version of IV, as far as I know. ........... Wordstar 5.0 is very complete, and includes the mentioned spell checker and theusarus, as well as, mail merge and some kind of communications program (I think, I didn't install that part). What does it lack? Laser printer support, and graphics import. As a note, upgrades are available for both Wordstar and Grammatik. The upgrade for Grammatik to version IV is $29 (I think, I don't have it in front of me) and enables it to work from inside of Wordstar, but only verion 5.5 or later. At a break down of $20 for Grammatik and $30 for Wordstar (I count FormDesigner as a freebe since I have no use for it right now) that works out to $49 for the latest version of Grammatik which is cheaper than any mail order I've seen. I've heard rumors that Wordstar upgrades are less than $100 so that would put it well below the cost of mail order also. / Jon Sreekanth US Mail : J Sreekanth, 2 Ashford Court #3, Allston, MA 02134 Digital Equipment Corp., 77 Reed Road, HLO2-1/J12, Hudson, MA 01749 Voice Phone : 617-783-9401 eves, 508-568-7195 work