alt Hacker NewsI grew up using WordStar on the Apple ][. It was great when all you had was an 80 column card, a green phosphor screen and a keyboard, but I was never sad to leave it behind when GUIs were invented. I have nostalgia for the time, sure, but not for that interface and the multi-key-stroke commands you had to learn by rote.
Each to their own, and of course finding an optimal writing environment is a very subjective thing -- but it's not like there aren't modern distraction-free writing interfaces that exist.
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> I grew up using WordStar on the Apple ][.
I don't think you did. AFAIK it never ran directly on 6502.
Perhaps under CP/M using the Microsoft add-on card that DOS creator Tim Paterson designed for them?
I remember being quite excited at moving from a DOS based word processor (Word Perfect) to a GUI based one (Word). It looked like a step up.
In retrospect the quality, quantity and look and feel of the documents I created remained exactly the same.
> a green phosphor screen
In the spirit of emacs-v-vim, I have to come down in favor of that other phosphor color of those days, amber. Better contrast !!!
> leave it behind when GUIs were invented
GUIs were invented by the Xerox PARC team early 1970s, the IIc (I have one sitting on my desk :) was 1984. Totally beside your point so I apologize. I only mention it because PARC deserves a huge amount of credit.
AFAIK, WordStar never ran directly on the Apple II. You must've had a CP/M card, probably the Microsoft Z-80 SoftCard. And I'll bet that 80 column card was a Videx. I eventually switched from WordStar to AppleWorks. Somehow, I never used Apple Writer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-80_SoftCard
https://www.wiseowl.com/articles/a2fpga-videx-01-the-card-th...