Editing EasyWriter (section)

==History==
Published by Information Unlimited Software (IUS),{{r|freibergerius19820823}} it was written by [[John Draper]]'s Cap'n Software, which also produced a version of [[Forth (programming language)|Forth]], which EasyWriter was developed in.<ref>{{cite news
|work=[[InfoWorld]]
|title=Visit with Cap'n Software, forthright Forth enthusiast
|author1=John Markoff |author2=Paul Freiberger |author3=IW Staff |date=Oct 11, 1982
|pages=31–32
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CzAEAAAAMBAJ&q=easywriter+manual+draper&pg=PA32
}}</ref> Draper developed EasyWriter while serving nights in the [[Alameda County, California|Alameda County]] Jail under a [[work furlough]] program.<ref name='wsj'/><ref name='nyt'/>

It was later ported to the [[IBM Personal Computer|IBM PC]] and released with the new computer in August 1981<ref name='nyt'>{{cite news
|work=[[The New York Times]]
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/29/technology/29CAP.html?pagewanted=1
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304071510/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/29/technology/29CAP.html?pagewanted=1
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=March 4, 2016
|title=From Outlaw to Consultant
|author=John Markoff
|access-date=2010-03-02
|date=January 29, 2001
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|title=Byte
|page=62
|date=January 1982
|title-link=Byte (magazine)
}}</ref><ref name="magid20010809">{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-aug-09-tt-32245-story.html | title=The Start of a Love-Hate Affair With a Computer | work=Los Angeles Times | date=2001-08-09 | access-date=10 January 2015 | author=Magid, Lawrence J. | author-link=Larry Magid}}</ref> as a [[launch title]]. Many criticized EasyWriter 1.0, distributed by IBM, for being buggy and hard to use;{{r|shuford198305}} ''[[PC Magazine]]'' told the company as early as December 1981 that subscribers "wish IBM had provided better word processing".<ref name="bunnell19820405">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w_OhaFDePS4C&pg=RA1-PA21 | title=Boca Diary | work=PC Magazine | date=April–May 1982 | access-date=21 October 2013 | author=Bunnell, David | page=22}}</ref> The company quickly persuaded IUS to develop a new version. (When founder William Baker later sent "I Survived EasyWriter" T-shirts, IBM returned them stating that it did not accept gifts.)<ref name="rosenberg19840424">{{Cite news |title=The Secret World of IBM |last=Rosenberg |first=Ronald |date=1984-04-24 |work=The Boston Globe}}</ref> IBM offered a free upgrade to version 1.10 to version 1.0 owners,{{r|fluegelman198208}} but EasyWriter's poor quality had caused others to quickly provide alternatives, such as Camilo Wilson's [[Volkswriter]].{{r|fluegelman198208}}<ref name="vangelder198309">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mt9tF7XMFX4C&pg=PA156 | title=On The Road To Software Stardom | work=PC Magazine | date=August 1983 | access-date=22 October 2013 | author=van Gelder, Lindsy | pages=156}}</ref>

IUS released a separate application, EasyWriter II. Completely rewritten by Basic Software Group,{{r|shuford198305}} IUS described it as a more "professional" word processor.{{r|fluegelman198208}} The company emphasized that II—developed with [[C (programming language)|C]] instead of Forth—"is not an updated version of the original IBM selection or its upgrade".<ref name="freibergerius19820823">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VDAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA25 | title=Information Unlimited Software influenced by IBM | work=InfoWorld | date=1982-08-23 | access-date=29 January 2015 | author=Freiberger, Paul | pages=25}}</ref>