The Evolution of the Word Processor
Word processors have become such an integral part of our lives that it seems they always have been around. However, word processors have gone from the most basic single-line editing software to the modern incarnations of programs such as Word, WordPerfect and Open Office Writer.
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The First Word Processor
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The first word processor, the Wang 1200, was released in 1971 and was reminiscent of a typewriter. The 1200 was basically a typewriter which had the ability to record keystrokes and then play them back onto a piece of paper. What qualified it as a word processor was the fact that people could go back and correct things that they'd typed without having it print onto a piece of paper. For those who feel they never have enough RAM, keep in mind that the Wang 1200 had 256 bytes of RAM. That meant it could hold just a few words at a time. A single gigabyte is 1,073,741,824 bytes.
WordStar
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While the Wang was the first word processor, WordStar, first released in 1978, was the one that made the word processor a household item. Unlike the Wang, WordStar worked on full-fledged computers and let people see what they were typing on a full screen. It also allowed people to print everything onto a piece of paper after they'd corrected it and were sure it looked the way they wanted. It was based on an earlier effort called WordMaster and dominated the market for early personal computers, including the then newly released IBM PC.
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WordPerfect
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With the advent of the IBM PC, WordPerfect began its rise to prominence. It went head-to-head with WordStar and eventually managed to overtake WordStar as the dominant word processor on the market, offering better support and better capabilities overall. In particular, WordPerfect introduced localized spell check features to its program for many markets. This allowed people who wrote in languages other than English to have an option to check their spelling as well.
Microsoft Word
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WordPerfect was eventually sold to Novell Systems and never quite recovered from that experience. The biggest problem was that the people behind WordPerfect were late to market when it came to porting their product to Windows. Microsoft, as the creator of Windows, was determined to offer the features business people needed, including a competent word processor, and Word was the answer. Microsoft came to dominate the market as Windows took off and people wanted a word processor that had tight integration with the new operating system.
Cloud Word Processors
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Starting with the rise in popularity of Google around the early 2000s, there was a move to create software that worked in the "cloud," meaning that it resided on the Internet rather than on people's computers. The software, as of this writing in April 2010, has still not managed to unseat Word as the dominant word processor. However, it has made inroads and Microsoft itself has introduced its own cloud computing software, called Office Live. The advantage is that this type of software is platform independent, allowing you to access your files from any Internet connected computer or device regardless of operating system.
Open Source
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Another concept which gained traction around the same time as cloud software was open source software, including Open Office Writer, KWord and AbiWord. Open source software is developed by people all over the world working in cooperation. The advantage of it is that it can be more quickly updated since people from all over the world can work to improve it.
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- Photo Credit antique typewriter keys image by Tammy Mobley from Fotolia.com
