Today, everyone uses Microsoft Word or a text editor based on this software to create and edit texts. The truth is that there were several text editors before this one, and George RR Martin still uses them. We are talking about WordStar, a simple text editor that marked a before and after.
When it comes to word processing programs, the first one that comes to mind is Microsoft Word. Some of you may know the alternatives offered by OpenOffice or LibreOffice, or even Google Drive Documents.
These are all fairly modern word processors with many different functions and features. What you may not know is that there was a predecessor to these that is still in use today. We are talking about WordStar, a simple word processor for MS-DOS that is still used by writers such as George RR Martin and Robert J. Sawyer.
This is George RR Martin’s obsolete text editor
Let’s start by learning a little about the origins of the WordStar software. This program was created by Robar Barnaby and released in 1978 by MicroPro International for the CP/M-80 operating system. Later, this software was converted by Peter Mierau to run on MS-DOS.
The success of this software, according to columnist John Dvorak, was due to “having been the software, the most pirated software in the world.” He also points out that “WordStar books were selling like hotcakes and the authors knew they were selling documentation for pirated copies.”
You should know that this software was considered one of the most difficult to use word processors. Although it was difficult to use, it was the most powerful of its time.
Despite being the most difficult word processor to use, it was the market leader until 1985. There were several reasons for its fall from grace. First, WordPerfect arrived in 1982, and a year later, in 1983, Microsoft Word arrived. But what would end up sinking this software was the developer itself, MicroPro.
The developer had a rather bad reputation, something they earned by dint of hard work. They never paid attention to users’ suggestions. When faced with complaints and queries, the company simply replied, “Call your distributor.” An arrogant attitude that, together with the fact that it was the most complex word processing software to use and the high piracy rate, ended up killing this program.
Although the last version of WordStar was released in 1992, it is still widely used by some writers. The best example is George RR Martin, who said in 2020 that he wrote A Song of Ice and Fire using WordStar 4.0. On the other hand, Anne Rice, author of Interview with the Vampire, also used WordStar until it became difficult to install.
It is still possible to download WordStar, it is as simple as access this linkThe big problem with this software is that it is impossible to install it on the most recent Windows distributions. It requires MS-DOS emulators, such as DOSBox-X, which you can use to run it. download from here and can be installed without problems on any computer.
If you want to use this software, we recommend that you take a look at Rober J. Sawyer’s repository. There he has posted a manual for this program, which works in a very different way from Word.
