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  • Re: Wordstar 7.0 Archive

    From loke@21:1/126 to Mortar M. on Tue May 6 03:33:19 2025
    Loved WS, at least the DOS version. Most of us at work
    used it, but there were the WordPerfect devotees as well. I didn't care for WP. I guess I got spoiled with the on-screen cheat-sheet.

    I didn't use word processors back in those days (the editing I did was in
    tools like Devpac to write assembler).

    I recently set up the AO486 core on my Mister FPGA (from which I happen to br writing this very message) and I installed Word Perfect (the text-based
    version on it).

    I have to say, it's actually really good. I'd prefer to use that one than MS Word that I have to use at work. Every single feature I use in MS Word is better in this 30 year old software.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Al's Geek Lab -=- bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)
  • From Bob Worm@21:1/205 to loke on Sun May 18 18:41:16 2025
    Re: Re: Wordstar 7.0 Archive
    By: loke to Mortar M. on Tue May 06 2025 03:33:19

    Hi, loke.

    I recently set up the AO486 core on my Mister FPGA (from which I happen to br writing this very message) and I installed Word Perfect (the text-based version on it).

    I have to say, it's actually really good. I'd prefer to use that one than MS Word that I have to use at work. Every single feature I use in MS Word is better in this 30 year old software.

    Even the spell checker?

    I really must get an old copy of WordPerfect up and running, see if I can still remember *anything* about how to drive it. Then I'll try WordStar and see what all the fuss is about!

    BobW
    --- SBBSecho 3.25-Linux
    * Origin: >>> Magnum BBS <<< - magnumbbs.net (21:1/205)
  • From loke@21:1/126 to Bob Worm on Fri May 30 05:20:50 2025
    Even the spell checker?

    I have to admit that I'm not a huge user of spell checkers. I mean, plain spell checking is fine, but most modern ones go well beyond that, and I don't
    really need a computer to tell me how to write.

    I also don't want to make it seem as though WP was the pinnacle of writing tools. There are better ones today. It's just that MS Word is not included in that list. :-)

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Al's Geek Lab -=- bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)
  • From Bob Worm@21:1/205 to loke on Thu May 29 18:52:44 2025
    Re: Re: Wordstar 7.0 Archive
    By: loke to Bob Worm on Fri May 30 2025 05:20:50

    Hi, loke.

    I also don't want to make it seem as though WP was the pinnacle of writing tools. There are better ones today. It's just that MS Word is not included in that list. :-)

    Out of interest, which ones do you like?

    BobW
    --- SBBSecho 3.25-Linux
    * Origin: >>> Magnum BBS <<< - magnumbbs.net (21:1/205)
  • From deon@21:2/116 to loke on Mon May 19 18:54:40 2025
    Re: Re: Wordstar 7.0 Archive
    By: loke to Mortar M. on Tue May 06 2025 03:33 am

    Howdy,

    I recently set up the AO486 core on my Mister FPGA (from which I happen to br writing this very message) and I installed Word Perfect (the text-based
    version on it).

    How is the Mister FPGA with running the AO486?

    I nearly invested in one a while ago - at one point, I was planning to rebuild my BBS on one to relive what I did in the 90s.


    ...лоеп
    --- SBBSecho 3.24-Linux
    * Origin: I'm playing with ANSI+videotex - wanna play too? (21:2/116)
  • From loke@21:1/126 to Bob Worm on Tue Jun 3 04:32:17 2025
    Out of interest, which ones do you like?

    I prefer to write my text in Emacs. If I want pretty formatting, I can use LaTeX if I'm feeling fancy (or I need to do a presentation, using Beamer) or just Asciidoc for markup-style rendering.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Al's Geek Lab -=- bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)
  • From loke@21:1/126 to deon on Tue Jun 3 04:41:00 2025
    How is the Mister FPGA with running the AO486?

    I nearly invested in one a while ago - at one point, I was planning to rebuild my BBS on one to relive what I did in the 90s.

    Absolutely fantastic. There are two PC cores for it: PCXT which is basically what the same suggests.

    AO486 is the other core, and it's basically the optimal 486 PC one could get back in the day. It includes both a Soundblaster and an MT32. The CPU is up to 90 MHz, but you can set it as low as 15 MHz.

    The modem emulation presents itself as a regular serial modem, and you can dial a BBS by typing "atdtsomehostname.com:1234". There are a buch of other at commands one can use to control it. One fun thing is that it also emualtes the modem sounds.

    I could wax lyrically about the other cores as well which are really great. When coupled with a low latency 4k monitor and a Retrotink 4k, you get as close as you can get to the original hardware without actually getting the real thing, including CRT monitors.

    With this setup, I'm actually able to complete the timing game between levels in Uridium on the C64. Something that was basically impossible on regular emulators due to latency.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Al's Geek Lab -=- bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)