4 ms·
I had a summer job around 1990 as a word processor using a Wang and a dictaphone. While this was definitely at the end of the era of the dedicated word processo
by slantyyz 7y ago
I had a summer job around 1990 as a word processor using a Wang and a dictaphone. While this was definitely at the end of the era of the dedicated word processor, it was an interesting environment to be in. I was one of two dedicated word processors at the company.
It was quite a different world back then, because I would type up a lot of memos that would get physically posted on bulletin boards in public areas, and cc: (carbon copies), while no longer using carbon paper, meant that you were making physical cc's that were being distributed manually.
- tyingq 7y agoI remember being very productive with WordStar, with muscle memory better than what I have now with vim. I could type like the wind, make corrections, reformat, and print in a sort of "out of body" way where my thoughts just flowed. I haven't really experienced that since. Maybe the single tasking environment kept me more focused.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- slantyyz 7y agoWell, back in those days, styling choices could be incredibly limited (depending on whether you were using a green screen vs gui), especially if the word processor's output was limited to a daisy wheel printer. I think the vast number of styling and formatting options these days can easily distract writers from... writing, which is probably why Markdown and focused writing tools have become so popular.
- tyingq 7y agoVery true. WordStar gave me headings, bullets, bold, italic, etc. But not much more. Kept my focus on the words.
- garganzol 7y agoYou may find WordGrinder by David Given a treat. It is the most close resemblance of WordStar experience nowadays and it is free.
- tyingq 7y agoAmen. <ctrl>KP to my friends. I will check it out. The link: http://cowlark.com/wordgrinder/index.html http://cowlark.com/wordgrinder/index.html