Editing EasyWriter

{{Infobox software
| name = EasyWriter
| logo = <!-- Image name is enough -->
| logo alt = 
| screenshot = <!-- Image name is enough -->
| caption = 
| screenshot alt = 
| collapsible = 
| author = [[John Draper]]
| developer = 
| released = {{Start date and age|1979}}
| discontinued = 
| latest release version = 
| latest release date = <!-- {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|df=yes/no}} -->
| latest preview version = 
| latest preview date = <!-- {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|df=yes/no}} -->
| programming language = [[Forth (programming language)|Forth]]
| operating system = [[Apple II]], [[IBM PC]]
| platform = 
| size = 
| language = 
| language count = <!-- Number only -->
| language footnote = 
| genre = [[Word processor]]
| license = 
| alexa = 
| website = {{cite web
	| url         = http://beyondthelittlebluebox.com/
	| title       = Beyond The Little Blue Box
<!--| first       = John Thomas	  | last        = Draper
	| first2      = Craig Wilson  | last2       = Fraser
-->
	| access-date = 2024-07-14
    | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221220210039/http://www.beyondthelittlebluebox.com/
    | archive-date= 2022-12-20
    | url-status  = dead
  }}
| standard = 
| AsOf = 
}}

'''EasyWriter''' was the first word processor for the [[Apple II]].<ref name='wsj'>{{cite news
|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]
|url=https://www.wsj.com/public/article/SB116863379291775523-_EQCu93LyjSommsN6J7qiCozuu8_20070122.html?mod=blogs
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717021248/http://www.wsj.com/public/article/SB116863379291775523-_EQCu93LyjSommsN6J7qiCozuu8_20070122.html?mod=blogs
|archive-date=July 17, 2015
|access-date=2010-03-02
|date=January 13, 2007
|title=The Twilight Years of Cap'n Crunch
|author=Chris Rhoads|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was written by [[John Draper]] and released in 1979.

==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>

==Reception==
''[[Byte (magazine)|BYTE]]'' in 1981 reviewed EasyWriter and EasyWriter Professional for the Apple II, stating that "editing is a pleasure with either version", and approving of their features, user interface, and documentation.<ref name="byte198106">{{Cite magazine |last1=Carlson |first1=Keith |last2=Haber |first2=Steve |date=June 1981 |title=Four Word Processors for the Apple II |url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1981-06/page/n177/mode/2up?view=theater |magazine=BYTE |page=176}}</ref> In an early review of the IBM PC, however, the magazine in 1982 stated that EasyWriter for it or the Apple II "didn't seem to be of the same caliber as, say, [[VisiCalc]] or the [[Peachtree Software|Peachtree]] business packages", citing the lack of ease of use and slow scrolling as flaws, and advised those who planned to use the IBM PC primarily for word processing to buy another computer until alternative software became available.<ref name="williams198201">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1982-01/1982_01_BYTE_07-01_The_IBM_Personal_Computer#page/n37/mode/2up | title=A Closer Look at the IBM Personal Computer | work=BYTE | date=January 1982 | access-date=19 October 2013 | author=Williams, Gregg | pages=36}}</ref> [[Andrew Fluegelman]] wrote in ''PC Magazine'' that year that although EasyWriter 1.0 appeared to be an easy-to-use word processor for casual users, it "contains a few very annoying inconveniences and some very serious traps". He cited several bugs, slow performance, and user-interface issues,<ref name="fluegelman19820203">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w_OhaFDePS4C&pg=PA35 | title=Not-so-Easywriter | work=PC Magazine | date=February–March 1982 | access-date=20 October 2013 | author=Fluegelman, Andrew | pages=35}}</ref> and later called it "pretty much a lemon".<ref name="fluegelman198211">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vy3cBZkjbZgC&pg=PA73 | title=Volkswriter 1.1: Camilo Wilson's Claim to Fame | work=PC Magazine | date=November 1982 | access-date=21 October 2013 | author=Fluegelman, Andrew | pages=73}}</ref> Fluegelman said in 1985 that the review had become notorious, as he was a novice computer user and "no one knew who I was, I didn't know anybody, I just took this program and I said 'This is terrible'", but "it deserved panning".<ref name="microtimes198505">{{Cite magazine |last=Erokan |first=Dennis |date=May 1985 |title=Andrew Fluegelman - PC-Talk and Beyond |url=https://archive.org/details/microtimes00donh/page/n17/mode/1up?view=theater |access-date=2025-03-12 |magazine=MicroTimes |pages=19-26}}</ref>

IBM's [[Don Estridge]] admitted in 1983 that he "tried to use EasyWriter 1.0 and had the same experience everybody else had".<ref name="byte198311">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1983-11/1983_11_BYTE_08-11_Inside_the_IBM_PC#page/n89/mode/2up | title=IBM's Estridge | work=BYTE | date=November 1983 | access-date=19 March 2016 |author1=Curran, Lawrence J. |author2=Shuford, Richard S. | pages=88–97}}</ref> EasyWriter 1.10 resolved most of Fluegelman's complaints. He reported that it "performs smoothly, will handle most any routine writing and printing job, and is easy to learn and operate", and that if IBM had released 1.10 first EasyWriter would likely have become the standard PC word processor.<ref name="fluegelman198208">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WYnHD9WSWdAC&pg=PA180 | title=EasyWriter Resurrected | work=PC Magazine | date=August 1982 | access-date=21 October 2013 | author=Fluegelman, Andrew | pages=180}}</ref>

''BYTE'' criticized EasyWriter II for running as a [[Self-booting disk|booter]] instead of using DOS, requiring specially formatted disks for storage and a utility to convert to DOS-formatted disks, not being compatible with double-sided drives, and using a heavily [[mode (user interface)|modal]] editing interface.<ref name="shuford198305">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1983-05/1983_05_BYTE_08-05_The_Electronic_Office#page/n181/mode/2up | title=Word Tools for the IBM Personal Computer | work=BYTE | date=May 1983 | access-date=19 October 2013 | author=Shuford, Richard S. | pages=176}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of word processors]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Word processors}}

[[Category:Apple II word processors]]
[[Category:DOS software]]
[[Category:IBM software]]
[[Category:Word processors]]