Re: any OSS text mode word processors?

[Ken Yap <ken@nhj.nlc.net.au>]

>This is sort of going at it from a different prospective. Would there still b
>e
>give away copies of DOS word processing programs out there that could be run
>on top of the Linux DOS emulator or would this be too slow or does it matter.
>Thought, have you checked places that deal in used computers and software.
>Maybe they would collect and give you things that they normally don't accept
>because there is too little value left. I know one used software dealer local
>to me will take such software as a donation for I believe for schools. Just
>some thoughts.

I just tried running Wordstar 4.0 under dosemu but it runs into some
problems. I haven't tried Wordperfect 5.1 yet. Speed is probably not a
problem because dosemu can run almost as fast or even faster than the
real thing (due to Linux efficiencies). I suspect there will be some
annoying quirks and I'm not keen on an emulated solution. I'd prefer an
OSS solution. I've just been looking at pico and joe. They seem to fit the
bill with simple things like justification and spell checking (because
they are really text/mail editors) but fall down with bolding/italic,
centering and WPish things. Still that might be good enough for some
users. Not everybody needs a full-blown publishing system. I suspect
that in a year or two, machines powerful enough to run X and apps like
Maxwell or Abiword will be donated and the problem will solve itself.