sadow@ncsatl.uucp (Scott C. Sadow) (02/20/90)
In article <digest.EZrhcsK00Ukc80VVB9@andrew.cmu.edu>, st0o+@andrew.cmu.edu (Steven Timm) writes: > Has anyone out there tried Microsoft Word For Windows on the IBM PC as > yet? > > If so, I have these questions: > > The literature suggest 1-2 MB of EMS memory is recommended (but not > required) what happens if you don't have it? > > Can the program run stand-alone without Windows (or is that question > immaterial because the program comes with Windows) > > Is extended memory usable as EMS memory? > > Are there any significant differences between the academic version and the > full version? -- Scott Sadow ...gatech!ncsatl!sadow
sadow@ncsatl.uucp (Scott C. Sadow) (02/21/90)
In article <digest.EZrhcsK00Ukc80VVB9@andrew.cmu.edu>, st0o+@andrew.cmu.edu (Steven Timm) writes: > Has anyone out there tried Microsoft Word For Windows on the IBM PC as > yet? > > If so, I have these questions: > > The literature suggest 1-2 MB of EMS memory is recommended (but not > required) what happens if you don't have it? > > Can the program run stand-alone without Windows (or is that question > immaterial because the program comes with Windows) > > Is extended memory usable as EMS memory? > > Are there any significant differences between the academic version and the > full version? (sorry about the previous post - my response got lost...) First, I would only recommend Word for Windows if you are already familiar with Word (the one that doesn't run under windows). For ease of use, I would recommend Ami. I have found that Ami Professional is very easy to learn to use. All of the comparisons I have read between Ami and Word for Windows says Ami is better (unless you already know how to use regular Word). Ami runs fast (I understand it was tested and runs ok on a standard 4.77 Mhz PC) and is very intuitive to use. (I have not had to open the manual - the menus are THAT good) Ami Professional has all the features of Ami and then some. Both Ami's comes with a stand-alone version of Windows, in case you don't have a version already. Ami lists for $199, but I have seen it for around $150 or so. Ami Professional lists for $495 (same as Word for Windows), but can be gotten for somewhere in the mid $300s. In addition, students can get it significantly less than that. (If you school doesn't have it, you can call Samna at (404) 851-0007 and ask about student sales) Also, the "academic" versions of Ami are identical to the "normal" version. As to using extended memory as EMS, you need a driver to do that. (However, Windows can be told how to handle extended or expanded memory as either a disk cache or direct memory swapping) I have 384k of EMS 3.2 on my machine - I use Smartdrive (Window's disk cache) and that speeds things up. (Including outside of Windows - i.e. Norton's SI says the disk is faster). If my machine supported EMS 4.0, I believe that Windows would do its swapping to EMS memory instead of disk. By the way, my machine is 12 Mhz, and it is FUN to watch Ami Professional flow the text as I type - I always see what the printed output looks like (this is layout mode - draft mode is normal character based printing on the screen) Also, 1-2 MB of EMS would be nice, but Ami does not need it to run, especially if Ami is the only thing running in Windows. (i.e. therefore it doesn't have to share memory) -- Scott Sadow ...gatech!ncsatl!sadow