Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!mcdphx!mcdchg!ddsw1!tronsbox!dsoft!dfrancis
From: dfrancis@dsoft.UUCP (Dennis Heffernan)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Wordprocessing problems?  Eg flicker, software glitches?
Keywords: word processing
Message-ID: <416@dsoft.UUCP>
Date: 30 Dec 89 23:00:20 GMT
References: <955@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca> <9449@spool.cs.wisc.edu>
Lines: 39

In article <9449@spool.cs.wisc.edu> uhr@thor.cs.wisc.edu (Leonard Uhr) writes:
>
>I'm interested in getting an Amiga for video and graphics, etc. - BUT ALSO
>for
>word processing.  It has a reputation for being flakey (no half-decent
>software
>except wordperfect, which is an old version; an annoying flicker that it
>costs
>hundreds of dollars to fix; a somewhat unstable operating system, etc.).  I'd
>appreciate descriptions of these and other problems, and how they can be
>solved.
>  That is, can an Amiga that costs $1100-$1600 - about the same as a basic AT
>or Mac plus - do as good a job at word processing, as well as all the other
>things it can do?  And how well will a basic 500 that costs even less do? 
     

	For starters, an A500 can do just as good a job.  Add-on modules like
the A590 and similar (but better, IMHO) ones from GVP offer all the expansion
you're likely to ever need.

	The "annoying flicker" is only present in the interlace modes.  I don't
generally use interlace for wordpro's; some people have complained about the
text quality of the non-interlaced display, but I'm not one of them.

	As for software, I'm a solid member of the Church of WYSIWYG.  For 
anything that is going to get printed after I'm done with it, I use Pen Pal.
Pen Pal doesn't have a lot of power features though- no automatic footnotes,
for instance, or multiple columns.  When writing text that's going to uploaded
or otherwise not printed when I'm done (frinstance, if I was going to use it
in a desktop publishing package), I use the shareware editor, UEdit.  UEdit
is totally customizable- it has its own programming language.  If you want 
something with a lot of power and no fiddling around, get WordPerfect.  True,
it's not 5.0, but as I understand it the only really major improvements made
in 5.0 involved incorporating graphics into your document, and that's not 
really a job for WordPerfect anyway.

	In short, I'd recommend the Amiga over a PC.  You might be able to do
better with a Mac, but not for the same or less money.

	--dfh	...uunet!tronsbox!dsoft!dfrancis
		"Think of something clever, and assume I said it."