Title :
The Origins of Word Processing Software for Personal Computers: 1976-1985
Author_Institution :
American Univ., Washington, DC
Abstract :
Since Electric Pencil first debuted in 1976, more than 400 other word processing packages have emerged, most fading into oblivion. This article recounts the history of microcomputer word processing software - focuses on three of the earliest word processing software packages, Electric Pencil, EasyWriter, and WordStar, which was the mid-1980s leader in the CP/M, PC-DOS, and MS-DOS operating system environments
Keywords :
history; software packages; word processing; CP/M operating system environment; EasyWriter; Electric Pencil; MS-DOS operating system environment; PC-DOS operating system environment; WordStar; microcomputer word processing software package history; personal computer; word processing software origin; Application software; Computer aided manufacturing; Electrostatic precipitators; Home computing; Microcomputers; Packaging; Pervasive computing; Programming profession; Software packages; Text processing; Easy Writer; Electric Pencil; John Draper; Michael Shrayer; Microsoft Windows; Microsoft Word; Seymour Rubinstein; Word Perfect; WordStar; word processing software;
Journal_Title :
Annals of the History of Computing, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/MAHC.2006.76
