Re: Old word processors

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#621294

From: Dave Garland
Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2018 20:09

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On 3/17/2018 11:41 AM, J. Clarke wrote:

> I think the system being sought in this discussion was the IBM 2680,
> available in 1967 or 1968, which was a phototypesetting system driven
> by a System/360 with associated software.  There were similar systems
> from RCA, Harris, and Mergenthaler.
> 
Yes, the phototypesetting gear was pretty sophisticated. I wouldn't 
call it "word processing" myself, though. To me, WP is an improved 
version of what was done by secretaries or typists with typewriters in 
a typical office, rather than something that replaced a Linotype. 
YMMV. I did typeset a few things using PS typewheels and WordStar, but 
that was not fun (WordStar did have character-width tables, but you 
had to hex-edit the binary to change them). WP (and page-layout 
programs) really had to wait for decent (and affordable) laser 
printers before they were very useful for fancier output.

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From: Dave Garland <dave.g...@wizinfo.com>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Old word processors
Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2018 15:09:49 -0500
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