Technipages

Tutorials and fixes for smartphone, gadget, and computer problems

Wordstar

by

WordStar is the first mass-market word processing program with a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) interface. Other pioneering innovations included cut-and-paste, and mail merge commands. The program relied on a unique set of keyboard commands that were memorized by millions of users and continued to affect keyboard shortcut layouts well into the 1980s. (The lingering influence of this keyboard command set is attested by the continued availability of a Microsoft Word add-on program that emulates keyboard commands.) Released in 1978 for the CP/M operating system, was made available in an MS-DOS version in 1982; however, the program met stiff competition from WordPerfect, which quickly dominated the market. A 16-bit version was made available for Microsoft Windows 3.0 in 1999.

Technipages Explains Wordstar

WordStar is one of the earliest word processor program written, and it was initially known as MicroPro. Invented by Seymour Rubenstein and Rob Bernard, they released its first release in 1978. After the release, the program was met with wide acclaim, WordStar garnered commercial success. It was the first computer word processor to achieve such a feat. Its success was owed to Seymour’s skill as a businessman.
WordStar’s reign as the most used word processor was shortlived as it failed to make the transition from CM based to MS-DOS based. WordStar2000 was the breakthrough, as it featured a new user interface and different common structure which posed a severe problem for its already teeming users. WordPerfect eventually replaced WordStar.
Before the inception of WordStar, some of the word processors being used were Final Word, which was developed for early IBM personal computers. Another notable mention is Wang1200 which was released in 1971, after which WordStar succeeded it. Wang1200 only had a RAM of 256bytes, and it could only retain words for only a few minutes.

Common Uses of Wordstar

  • WordStar is the first word processing software to reach wide acclaim as it was a very big improvement over its preceding software.
  • WordStar’s owners Seymour Rubenstein was a very experienced businessman who called some shots to have the word processor being used.
  • WordStar came with a unique short cut command which is aimed at reducing typing time and increase efficiency

Common Misuses of Wordstar

  • WordStar word processing software’s failure was due to an increase in the price of VAT being added to software packages.