Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!ncar!gatech!mcnc!decvax!decwrl!pyramid!prls!philabs!micomvax!zap!iros1!mcgill-vision!mouse
From: mouse@mcgill-vision.UUCP (der Mouse)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: The GNU Manifesto
Message-ID: <996@mcgill-vision.UUCP>
Date: 13 Mar 88 10:35:47 GMT
References: <9591@tekecs.TEK.COM> <328@splut.UUCP> <3144@briar.Philips.Com> <34@obie.UUCP>
Organization: McGill University, Montreal
Lines: 43

In article <34@obie.UUCP>, wes@obie.UUCP (Barnacle Wes) writes:
> In article <1886@optilink.UUCP>, cramer@optilink.UUCP (Clayton Cramer) writes:
>> [saying yes, the IBM PC can do word processing and decent printing]
> See Microsoft Word for the world's slowest WYSIWYG editor, [...].
> Also see Microsoft Word on CGA or MDA for no WYSIWYG at all, making
> it nearly impossible to use proportional fonts.

Now wait a minute.  Just what is "word processing"?  Is it text
editing?  Is it WYSIWYG editing?  Is it text fill and justify?  Is it
driving printers?  Is it typesetting?

Presumably it is all or most of the above, at least to some extent.

Now, can you explain why lack of WYSIWYG makes it impossible to use
proportionally spaced fonts?  I use TeX regularly (not that I claim it
is "word processor", whatever that means).  It has the whole notion of
proportional spacing built into it very deeply, and in fact we use it
that way.  On the other hand, I find WYSIWYG editing completely
unnecessary (I use emacs).  I have played with a WYSIWIG "editor"
(FrameMaker on a Sun) and would be driven up the wall in no time flat
if I had to use it for anything more than playing.  I was rather
annoyed with it without even doing anything serious with it.

I think the choice of editor interface is a matter of personal taste
and religion, just as with keyboards or displays.  Someone posted a
statement to the effect that the IBM PC keyboard is nice for WP because
of its feel; I simply can't type on it.  On this keyboard (a tvi950), I
can type at over 10 cps (basis for claim: I set the line speed to 110
baud, and I was typing ahead of the echo by 10 to 20 percent), which
means that my typing speed is limited strictly by how fast I can
compose what I want to say.  On the IBM PC keyboard, I can't come close
to that.  (Yes, my typing is primarily programming, but the above
refers to typing English, such as this posting.)

Perhaps if we can settle on what "word processing" means we can have
less of a flame-fest and more of a serious discussion.  It might also
help to recognize that some things (like keyboards) are a matter of
personal taste, and that not everyone has the same taste.

					der Mouse

			uucp: mouse@mcgill-vision.uucp
			arpa: mouse@larry.mcrcim.mcgill.edu