mouse@mcgill-vision.UUCP (der Mouse) (03/13/88)
In article <672@gethen.UUCP>, farren@gethen.UUCP (Michael J. Farren) writes: > In article <34@obie.UUCP> wes@obie.UUCP (Barnacle Wes) writes: >> The PC is a LOUSY word processor because the IBM PC keyboard is a >> disgusting piece of garbage. > Anyone who is typing at 75+ WPM (which is a pretty low speed for a > professional word processor) relys heavily on tactile and audible > feedback - you just can't go that fast if you can't be sure, without > looking at the screen, whether or not you have actually hit the keys, I am not a professional word processor (whatever "word processing" really is), but I do type fast (over 75 wpm, once I have decided what I want to say), and I virulently hate keyboards with tactile feedback. I like a keyboard with no feel at all (just pushing against a spring until the key hits the bottom of its travel). (Yes, though, I can't live without keyclick or immediate echo on the screen.) I have reached the conclusion that keyboards are as much a matter of taste as, say, editors.... > There is a good deal of difference, which most computer jocks seem to > either never realize or forget, between word processing and using an > editor. As someone who has spent a lot of time doing both, I can > tell you that never [...] would any professional word processing > service consider using something like emacs/troff [...]. Naturally. Troff output looks horrible, even to someone like me who knows nothing about the finer points of typesetting. > It just doesn't make any sense from their point of view. Why not? Educate me; I apparently don't know what "word processing" is. What is it, what does it demand that emacs+TeX can't give, and why does it demand this (as opposed to why you would demand it if you were to be doing WP)? >> If you want a good word processing computer, buy an Atari Mega ST. > The keyboard is, flatly, abysmal, with a mushy feel that will > increase your error rate significantly. Maybe it would increase *your* error rate significantly. That doesn't mean it would increase my or anyone else's error rate. I daresay there are people who find it just the thing for them, just as there are people who find the keyboards I love quite horrible. der Mouse uucp: mouse@mcgill-vision.uucp arpa: mouse@larry.mcrcim.mcgill.edu