‘Sun OpenOffice Writer Next’ by Frank A Hilario, January 2007
Word Processing: A History Of An Idea Time Forgot
When I look at the word processing (worping) genius that went into the making of either OpenOffice Writer 2006 (which imitated Word 2003) or Microsoft Office Word 2007 (which imitated no one, being revolutionary in its interface), I’m unhappy. Neither comes close to my idea of an excellent, not to mention a genius word processor (worp).
I started worping 21 years ago, on 29 December 1985, with WordStar. Worping has since been my bread and butter, you might say. Reading ‘A Brief History Of Word Processing’ by Brian Kunde, written in 1986 (2001, stanford.edu/), reminds me of my idea, at least 10 years old, that what is wrong with worping is that it has not grown up from the genius of processing words to the genius of processing ideas. The personal computer (PC) used as a worp is still merely a glorified typewriter. Because that was what worping was designed to be. Writes Dan Bricklin, who helped create one of the early word processors (worps) in the middle of the 70s (1998, gooddocuments.com/): ‘In all cases, the design goal of the word processor was to produce a final paper output. The initial users were not even the authors; they were the typists and typesetters.’ A worp was meant to be a mechanical program, that’s all.
According to Brian, worping is 42 years old, delivered as a newborn baby in 1964 by IBM with the name Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typewriter with which typed material could be edited on tape without the need for retyping, as well as filed and printed. Not a bad beginning at all.
The modern word processor has since grown in program functions, size and complexity. Yet, in the early days (1980s), when worping was simple enough, brilliant writers like Ray Bradbury rejected outright the modern worper that came with the PC because they could not see its use beyond manipulating words. That rejection is a continuing one to this day. Here is part of the text of a recent interview by Gavin J Grant with Ray Bradbury (2000, booksense.com/):
Do you still use a typewriter?
Oh yes. I don’t have a computer. A computer’s a typewriter, so I don’t need two. I just need one.
I know you have a mixed relationship with technology …
No I don’t. All I ask is that you tell yourself why you need a thing, and then you use it. Why do you need a telephone? Well, we’re using one right now. Why do you need a computer? Well, if you’re in business, a computer is a very important part of your business, especially if you’re selling things to people and you have 2-300 sales in a day. At the end of the day your computer adds it up for you – that saves a heck of a lot of time, doesn’t it? So you look at each machine and say, ‘How do I do this?’ If you use it for stupid or silly reasons … like the Internet is often used by men – it’s a toy. You can play with a toy, but don’t play with a toy all the time. That’s all I’m saying.
Ray Bradbury, a genus of a genius, born 1920, can’t see beyond worping and the games that most people play with the PC. He probably thinks you can’t abuse a typewriter. He wrote (typed) the first draft (titled The Fireman) of Fahrenheit 451 at the basement of the library of the University of California Los Angeles on a rented typewriter in 9 days; the final version was published in 1953 and became his most popular work of fiction (2007, sparknotes.com/).
In contrast to Ray Bradbury, equally famous science fiction author, another genus of a genius, born 1917, Arthur C Clarke (2001: Space Odyssey) welcomed worping and told the creators of WordStar, the first word processor (Mary Bellis, inventors.about.com/):
I am happy to greet the geniuses who made me a born-again writer; having announced my retirement in 1978, I now have six books in the works and two (probables), all through WordStar.
To each age and genius his own typewriter. ‘Word processing,’ say Paul E Ceruzzi & Burton Grad (2006, computer.org/), ‘today is without a doubt the most-used of all PC applications.’ Those geniuses who don’t worp don’t know what they’re missing!
WordStar came out in 1979, Microsoft Word in 1983. I don’t know about the United States, but I personally know that WordStar was the #1 worp in the Philippines in much of the 1980s. When WordStar 4 came about, we WordStar worpers rejoiced: among other things, I remember it had programmable shortcuts (macros) that made life easier for typists and editors, not to mention authors like me who were their own editors.
About the history of Microsoft Word, we are told (PP, 4 January 2007, microsoft.com/):
Word was originally the ‘Bravo’ product, brought to Microsoft from Xerox Palo Alto Research Center by Charles Simonyi in 1981. The following year, Microsoft officially launched Word’s development team. When the first version was released in 1983, it was the first word processing product to feature the WYSIWYG design philosophy that what appears on screen should appear in print. It was the first program to feature line breaks, bold-faced and italic fonts onscreen, and typeset-quality printing. (WYSIWIG – What You See Is What You Get)
WordPerfect was released for the PC (WordPerfect 2.2) in 1982, the first version being for the Data General minicomputers (wikipedia). It soon overtook WordStar as the most popular worp. I remember it with its beautiful fonts and graphics; I also remember it as the most difficult worp to learn.
There are other worps that I remember: Ami Pro (Lotus), MultiMate (Borland), DisplayWrite (IBM). I never tried them though I read about them. I was happy with WordStar; Jerry A Canonizado (JAC to friends) convinced me to try WordPerfect, but I found it too complex for me. Bernie Quimpo pushed me to try Microsoft Word and there I found much fulfillment as writer, editor, publisher.
Such fulfillment will never be complete until the millions of people who use word processors (worpers) learn that worps are meant for handling not only words but thoughts. 2Learn.ca says it very well (2001, 2learn.ca/):
The use of the computer as a word processor fits with constructivist theory, as it allows for flexibility according to ability, cooperation with others, and construction, as well as reconstruction, of each student’s thoughts and experiences.
Genius! This is the most brilliant, the most illuminating declaration I have ever read on what seems to be a complex idea working with simple idea, constructivism working with word processing. It’s a clue to genius, if any genius is listening. Here’s another clue, quoted on that webpage: ‘How do I know what I think until I see what I say?’ Worping is almost 30 years old. The geniuses of worping – Microsoft (with its Word), Corel (WordPerfect), IBM Lotus (Word Pro) and even OpenOffice.org (Writer) haven’t a clue.
