• WordStar for Amstrad CPC and PCW

    From Juancho@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jan 28 19:57:09 2021
    Hello all.

    So, I've been wondering... How good/bad was Wordstar for the Amstrad
    CPC? And I mean with that: was it usable?, barely palatable?, packed
    with features?, best of class word processor for that computer
    platform?, a joy to use?, hellish to use?, seldom used because other
    better options existed?

    I would love to read some recollections about how was the user experience running Wordstar on the Amstrad CPC platform.

    Also, I know the Amstrad PCW was a popular writing tool in the 80's.
    Was Wordstar used in that? Or was some other word processor the tool of
    choice for the Amstrad PCW platform?

    I really would like to know more about that.

    I'm wondering about running Wordstar on a Amstrad CPC emulator
    (caprice32). Is that doable? Is there a better emulator for the Amstrad
    CPC to run Wordstar on?

    Best regards,

    --
    EOT

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  • From ColinR@21:1/5 to Juancho on Sat Jan 30 19:36:41 2021
    On 28/01/2021 18:57, Juancho wrote:
    Hello all.

    So, I've been wondering... How good/bad was Wordstar for the Amstrad
    CPC? And I mean with that: was it usable?, barely palatable?, packed
    with features?, best of class word processor for that computer
    platform?, a joy to use?, hellish to use?, seldom used because other
    better options existed?

    I would love to read some recollections about how was the user experience running Wordstar on the Amstrad CPC platform.

    Also, I know the Amstrad PCW was a popular writing tool in the 80's.
    Was Wordstar used in that? Or was some other word processor the tool of choice for the Amstrad PCW platform?

    I really would like to know more about that.

    I'm wondering about running Wordstar on a Amstrad CPC emulator
    (caprice32). Is that doable? Is there a better emulator for the Amstrad
    CPC to run Wordstar on?

    Best regards,


    I never used Wordstar but used a similar programme called Tasword by
    Tasman Software. I even continued using this when I moved from an
    Amstrad CPC onto a full PC. It was very comprehensive, but being a text
    based system, it could not be WSIWYG so could never be called user
    friendly these days, although then was sufficient.

    The writers of Wordstar (Newstar) wrote a similar word processor for the Amstrad PCW called New Word, but I never used one.

    As emulators I hope someone else can respond as I have no experience!!

    --
    Colin

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  • From Rayner Lucas@21:1/5 to All on Sun Jan 31 01:24:50 2021
    In article <rv4cg6$u56$1@dont-email.me>, rail@greystane.shetland.co.uk
    says...

    On 28/01/2021 18:57, Juancho wrote:
    Hello all.

    So, I've been wondering... How good/bad was Wordstar for the Amstrad
    CPC? And I mean with that: was it usable?, barely palatable?, packed
    with features?, best of class word processor for that computer
    platform?, a joy to use?, hellish to use?, seldom used because other
    better options existed?

    I would love to read some recollections about how was the user experience running Wordstar on the Amstrad CPC platform.

    I never used Wordstar but used a similar programme called Tasword by
    Tasman Software. I even continued using this when I moved from an
    Amstrad CPC onto a full PC. It was very comprehensive, but being a text
    based system, it could not be WSIWYG so could never be called user
    friendly these days, although then was sufficient.

    A version of Wordstar existed for the CPC, but I don't remember ever
    seeing it advertised for sale. Between the lack of promotion and the eye-watering price (£120 compared to around £25 for its competitors), I
    don't think it saw widespread use.

    There was a superb public domain word processor called VDE that was
    compatible with Wordstar's command keys and file format. A DOS/Windows
    version still exists today: https://sites.google.com/site/vdeeditor/Home

    Tasword was a stalwart tool that served me well. IIRC the "power user"
    choice on the CPC was the ROM version of Protext, as this left you the
    most RAM available for your document and also had the nice bonus of
    starting up instantly.


    Rayner

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  • From Matthew Phillips@21:1/5 to All on Sun Jan 31 14:55:13 2021
    In message <51ebeh-6vk.ln1@intheattic.eternal-september.org>
    on 28 Jan 2021 Juancho wrote:

    So, I've been wondering... How good/bad was Wordstar for the Amstrad CPC?
    And I mean with that: was it usable?, barely palatable?, packed with features?, best of class word processor for that computer platform?, a joy
    to use?, hellish to use?, seldom used because other better options existed?

    I never used WordStar on the Amstrad CPC. Many people reckoned Arnor's
    Protext was the best wordprocessor, but there were others that carried on
    being developed a long time, like BrunWord. We had Protext in ROM, so all
    you had to do was enter |p to start the wordprocessor in an instant. I
    believe Brian Watson, the "last 8-bit tycoon", long after using the machine seriously, kept a CPC by his phone because if you wanted to take notes on a phone call, quickly turning the CPC on and entering Protext could be done in about three seconds, easily beating PC boot times.

    Also, I know the Amstrad PCW was a popular writing tool in the 80's.
    Was Wordstar used in that? Or was some other word processor the tool of choice for the Amstrad PCW platform?

    Most PCW users used the wordprocessor that was supplied with it, Locoscript, from Locomotive Software. It booted off its own floppy disc, so it was effectively a complete operating system in itself. Locoscript was written
    with the PCW's hardware in mind, so used the full 90-character wide screen
    and special keys on the keyboard.

    Alternatively you could boot CP/M+ and run any CP/M based wordprocessor. Protext was a popular alternative to Locoscript. Generic CP/M-based wordprocessors would probably have seemed poor by comparison with any wordprocessor designed specifically for the PCW.

    --
    Matthew Phillips
    Durham

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  • From Juancho@21:1/5 to Rayner Lucas on Mon Feb 1 02:02:58 2021
    On 2021-01-31, Rayner Lucas <usenet202101@magic-cookie.co.ukNOSPAMPLEASE> wrote:
    There was a superb public domain word processor called VDE that was compatible with Wordstar's command keys and file format. A DOS/Windows version still exists today: https://sites.google.com/site/vdeeditor/Home

    Do you know if VDE was ported to the Amstrad CPC. I mean, it's a CP/M
    program, but I guess it will need to be adapted to the Amstrad CPC
    terminal type to be properly usable with an Amstrad CPC in full screen
    mode, am I right?

    Tasword was a stalwart tool that served me well. IIRC the "power user"
    choice on the CPC was the ROM version of Protext, as this left you the
    most RAM available for your document and also had the nice bonus of
    starting up instantly.

    Thanks for the tip on Protext. I see there is a CP/M version of Protext, disk-based, for the Amstrad CPC 6128, that is advertised to as being
    able to manage document files as big as the diskette free space:

    http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Protext

    So far, Protext looks like the summit of word processing power for the
    Amstrad CPC (but I've not searched much yet).

    --
    EOT

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  • From Juancho@21:1/5 to ColinR on Mon Feb 1 01:36:34 2021
    On 2021-01-30, ColinR <rail@greystane.shetland.co.uk> wrote:
    I never used Wordstar but used a similar programme called Tasword by
    Tasman Software.

    Thanks for the tip on Tasword. I see online that it is done in BASIC and launches from AMSDOS (not from CP/M). Looks like an interesting retro
    piece to try out.

    --
    EOT

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  • From David Cantrell@21:1/5 to Juancho on Mon Feb 1 16:07:15 2021
    On Mon, Feb 01, 2021 at 02:02:58AM +0100, Juancho wrote:

    So far, Protext looks like the summit of word processing power for the Amstrad CPC (but I've not searched much yet).

    That's fightin' talk to the Brunword users!

    But Protext was cheaper and more widely used, and "quantity has a
    quality all of its own".

    These days I don't use any word processor at all, I just use vim :-)

    --
    David Cantrell | Nth greatest programmer in the world

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  • From Rayner Lucas@21:1/5 to All on Mon Feb 1 17:17:56 2021
    In article <2j0keh-qqh.ln1@intheattic.eternal-september.org>, eternal@notreally.com says...
    Do you know if VDE was ported to the Amstrad CPC.

    Yes, just to be clear, it was available for the CPC.

    So far, Protext looks like the summit of word processing power for the Amstrad CPC (but I've not searched much yet).

    The three big contenders in the CPC word processor market were Tasword, Protext, and Brunword. All had their fans; I mostly used Tasword but
    later got a copy of Protext and found that pleasantly speedy and usable.
    Never tried Brunword, but the later releases (particularly the versions
    that came on a custom ROM module) looked very impressive and
    comprehensive indeed.


    Rayner

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  • From Juancho@21:1/5 to David Cantrell on Mon Feb 1 23:04:21 2021
    On 2021-02-01, David Cantrell <david@cantrell.org.uk> wrote:
    On Mon, Feb 01, 2021 at 02:02:58AM +0100, Juancho wrote:

    So far, Protext looks like the summit of word processing power for the
    Amstrad CPC (but I've not searched much yet).

    That's fightin' talk to the Brunword users!

    Noted about Brunword existence for the Amstrad CPC. Looks interesting.

    These days I don't use any word processor at all, I just use vim :-)

    Yeah, neither do I use any word processing software any more. Nowadays
    nobody prints and sends letters, email has replaced all that, and for
    email a text editor is enough. I'm currently writing this with nvi, a
    clone a classic BSD vi. Works fine, it's small and fast, and for email
    we don't need pagination, headers, footers, cross references nor end
    notes, lol.

    --
    EOT

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  • From Juancho@21:1/5 to Rayner Lucas on Tue Feb 2 01:20:35 2021
    On 2021-02-01, Rayner Lucas <usenet202101@magic-cookie.co.ukNOSPAMPLEASE> wrote:
    In article <2j0keh-qqh.ln1@intheattic.eternal-september.org>, eternal@notreally.com says...
    So far, Protext looks like the summit of word processing power for the
    Amstrad CPC (but I've not searched much yet).

    The three big contenders in the CPC word processor market were Tasword, Protext, and Brunword. All had their fans; I mostly used Tasword but
    later got a copy of Protext and found that pleasantly speedy and usable. Never tried Brunword, but the later releases (particularly the versions
    that came on a custom ROM module) looked very impressive and
    comprehensive indeed.

    Nice to know, those recollections are most valuable for my research.
    Thanks for sharing.

    I'll try to test all those tree word processors in a Amstrad CPC 6128
    emulator, and see which one I like best (I've already found DSK images
    online for them).

    I also intend to test VDE, and WordStar (or NewStar). I've found online
    two WordStar 3.0 editions supposedly for the Amstrad CPC, one in Spanish
    and another in German. Looks like I have nerdy stuff ahead of me,
    good times!

    --
    EOT

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  • From Roland Perry@21:1/5 to All on Tue Feb 9 16:58:08 2021
    In message <51ebeh-6vk.ln1@intheattic.eternal-september.org>, at
    19:57:09 on Thu, 28 Jan 2021, Juancho <eternal@notreally.com> remarked:
    Hello all.

    So, I've been wondering... How good/bad was Wordstar for the Amstrad
    CPC? And I mean with that: was it usable?, barely palatable?, packed
    with features?, best of class word processor for that computer
    platform?, a joy to use?, hellish to use?, seldom used because other
    better options existed?

    I would love to read some recollections about how was the user experience >running Wordstar on the Amstrad CPC platform.

    Also, I know the Amstrad PCW was a popular writing tool in the 80's.
    Was Wordstar used in that? Or was some other word processor the tool of >choice for the Amstrad PCW platform?

    I really would like to know more about that.

    I'm wondering about running Wordstar on a Amstrad CPC emulator
    (caprice32). Is that doable? Is there a better emulator for the Amstrad
    CPC to run Wordstar on?

    A random collection of thoughts:

    I don't recollect any version of Wordstar for the CPC native mode.

    There's no reason why a CP/M version of Wordstar would fail to run on a
    CPC1628 under CP/M. (Or indeed on the PCW under CP/M)

    In a parallel universe the PCW could easily have been a CPC6128-alike
    running Wordstar (or God Forbid, Tasword) rather than the LocoScript
    which was commissioned for it.

    But the PCW's hardware is quite different to the CPC, and was
    specifically designed to be very Locoscript-friendly.

    LocoScript is a clone of a professional word processor written by the
    same bunch of guys for a £10k+ minicomputer hardware platform called the
    Data Recall Diamond.

    Some more snidbits here:

    <https://www.theregister.com/2015/09/09/joyce_turns_30/>

    What it doesn't say is that MEJ was the son of the owner of Data Recall,
    and had designed much of the hardware of their products, including as
    far as I'm aware the first 8080 implementation to be marketed in the UK.
    I had also in a former life tried and failed to sell Data Recall the
    brand of floppy drive I was the UK distributor for. Clayton and Hall
    were also programmers previously employed by Data Recall.
    --
    Roland Perry

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  • From Juancho@21:1/5 to Roland Perry on Tue Feb 9 22:23:10 2021
    On 2021-02-09, Roland Perry <roland@perry.co.uk> wrote:

    But the PCW's hardware is quite different to the CPC, and was
    specifically designed to be very Locoscript-friendly.

    LocoScript is a clone of a professional word processor written by the
    same bunch of guys for a £10k+ minicomputer hardware platform called the
    Data Recall Diamond.

    This is certainly interesting, thanks for sharing. I looks like the
    LocoScript word processor, which was bundled with the Amstrad PCW, was a
    quite capable piece of software. Was that LocoScript ported to the
    CPC6128 line of computers?

    --
    EOT

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  • From Roland Perry@21:1/5 to All on Sat Feb 13 06:25:19 2021
    In message <u2bbfh-9gl.ln1@intheattic.eternal-september.org>, at
    22:23:10 on Tue, 9 Feb 2021, Juancho <eternal@notreally.com> remarked:
    On 2021-02-09, Roland Perry <roland@perry.co.uk> wrote:

    But the PCW's hardware is quite different to the CPC, and was
    specifically designed to be very Locoscript-friendly.

    LocoScript is a clone of a professional word processor written by the
    same bunch of guys for a £10k+ minicomputer hardware platform called the
    Data Recall Diamond.

    This is certainly interesting, thanks for sharing. I looks like the >LocoScript word processor, which was bundled with the Amstrad PCW, was a >quite capable piece of software. Was that LocoScript ported to the
    CPC6128 line of computers?

    No, it was heavily dependent on the special hardware features of the
    PCW. A version of Locoscript was later produced for the PC, though.
    --
    Roland Perry

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  • From ColinR@21:1/5 to Roland Perry on Mon Feb 15 22:17:15 2021
    On 09/02/2021 16:58, Roland Perry wrote:
    In message <51ebeh-6vk.ln1@intheattic.eternal-september.org>, at
    19:57:09 on Thu, 28 Jan 2021, Juancho <eternal@notreally.com> remarked:
    Hello all.

    So, I've been wondering... How good/bad was Wordstar for the Amstrad
    CPC? And I mean with that: was it usable?, barely palatable?, packed
    with features?, best of class word processor for that computer
    platform?, a joy to use?, hellish to use?, seldom used because other
    better options existed?

    I would love to read some recollections about how was the user experience
    running Wordstar on the Amstrad CPC platform.

    Also, I know the Amstrad PCW was a popular writing tool in the 80's.
    Was Wordstar used in that? Or was some other word processor the tool of
    choice for the Amstrad PCW platform?

    I really would like to know more about that.

    I'm wondering about running Wordstar on a Amstrad CPC emulator
    (caprice32). Is that doable? Is there a better emulator for the Amstrad
    CPC to run Wordstar on?

    A random collection of thoughts:

    I don't recollect any version of Wordstar for the CPC native mode.

    There's no reason why a CP/M version of Wordstar would fail to run on a CPC1628 under CP/M. (Or indeed on the PCW under CP/M)

    In a parallel universe the PCW could easily have been a CPC6128-alike
    running Wordstar (or God Forbid, Tasword) rather than the LocoScript
    which was commissioned for it.


    Oyyy, you. I liked Tasword!!

    --
    Colin

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  • From Roland Perry@21:1/5 to All on Tue Feb 16 07:01:32 2021
    In message <s0ert6$ljc$1@dont-email.me>, at 22:17:15 on Mon, 15 Feb
    2021, ColinR <rail@greystane.shetland.co.uk> remarked:
    On 09/02/2021 16:58, Roland Perry wrote:
    In message <51ebeh-6vk.ln1@intheattic.eternal-september.org>, at
    19:57:09 on Thu, 28 Jan 2021, Juancho <eternal@notreally.com> remarked:
    Hello all.

    So, I've been wondering... How good/bad was Wordstar for the Amstrad
    CPC? And I mean with that: was it usable?, barely palatable?, packed
    with features?, best of class word processor for that computer
    platform?, a joy to use?, hellish to use?, seldom used because other
    better options existed?

    I would love to read some recollections about how was the user experience >>> running Wordstar on the Amstrad CPC platform.

    Also, I know the Amstrad PCW was a popular writing tool in the 80's.
    Was Wordstar used in that? Or was some other word processor the tool of
    choice for the Amstrad PCW platform?

    I really would like to know more about that.

    I'm wondering about running Wordstar on a Amstrad CPC emulator
    (caprice32). Is that doable? Is there a better emulator for the Amstrad
    CPC to run Wordstar on?
    A random collection of thoughts:
    I don't recollect any version of Wordstar for the CPC native mode.
    There's no reason why a CP/M version of Wordstar would fail to run
    on a CPC1628 under CP/M. (Or indeed on the PCW under CP/M)
    In a parallel universe the PCW could easily have been a
    CPC6128-alike running Wordstar (or God Forbid, Tasword) rather than
    the LocoScript which was commissioned for it.

    Oyyy, you. I liked Tasword!!

    A lot of people did, for writing memos the CPC. But it wasn't up to
    proper word processing (especially things like mixed sizes/fonts on one
    line and right justification). Remember too, it had to drive the printer
    pins direct (in simulated 24-pin mode), not just throw acsii at a
    printer port.
    --
    Roland Perry

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