Article View: alt.folklore.computers
Article #621576Re: Old word processors
From: Dave Garland
Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2018 04:50
Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2018 04:50
33 lines
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3349 bytes
On 3/23/2018 4:50 PM, Andreas Kohlbach wrote: > On Fri, 23 Mar 2018 12:13:01 -0700 (PDT), hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: >> > >> Second, typists prepare many different kinds of documents. Some >> do lend themselves readily to word processing due to the repetitive >> nature of the text. But other typewritten material does not lend >> itself to word processing. This would include custom letters, >> documents prepared from computer output (before consolidated >> merged processing), forms, envelopes, postcards, and index >> cards and file tabs. This is true of the IBM Mag devices (though they could be used as a dumb typewriter as well). They could do custom letters, but a lot of times that wouldn't gain anything over a dumb typewriter. Later gear (Wang, CPT, Displaywriter, et al.) could do some of those things. Input from (other) computer output had to wait until media and formats had standardized. And odd pieces of paper and form factors are still a headache for output by computerized systems, as is filling in hard-copy printed forms. > That is where "mail merge" steps in. Already WordStar has this function. That is true. But word processing has been on the scene for more than a decade before WordStar brought it to the masses on generic (CP/M or MSDOS) hardware. Maybe much longer (I'm not familiar with mainframe connected WP). I'd suggest that you're demanding too much of the definition. Being able to record typing, play it back, and make changes/fix mistakes are all that's necessary for WP. That requires automatic word wrap/rewrap and maybe knowing how long the print area is.
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