If you believe xyWrite 3 couldn't possibly be any better, or you assume basic things you wish it would do can't be done, !xyWiz will startle you. (And if some !xyWiz component has disappointed you in the past, the current version will come as a happy surprise.)

An installer for XyWrite for Windows (16-bit) running under modern Windows

XyWrite documentation (Mostly XyWrite III+)

XyWrite as delivered by the factory is notoriously under documented, particularly with regard to some implementation notions (such as 3 byte encoded data characters) that one really needs to understand to use XyWrite well. Over time, Herbert Tyson's superb "XyWrite Revealed" book, and a number of excellent notes by Carl Distefano and Robert Holmgren have been extremely useful in filling the documentation void.

I have been working on my own set of notes concerning these implementation details. My notes differ considerably in approach from Tyson's, Distefano's, and Homgren's works in that they attempt to rationalize how and why things in the implementation got to be the way they are. For me, and presumably some readers who are like me, a how-it-got-that-way approach makes things easier to understand and remember. Other will no doubt find the prevailing Tyson/Distefano/Homgren works more to their liking. Some may find value in reading both

This note describes XyWrite III+ in some detail, with emphasis on (a) its overall architecture and on "internals," and (b) its "macro"/programming/automation facilities. The target audience is threefold: (1) XyWrite III+ users who want more understanding, mostly of XyWrite XPL programming, (2) others who have never used XyWrite, and "wonder what the fuss is/was all about," and (3) myself -- since nothing clarifies one's thoughts about a given topic as trying to explain the topic to someone else. //

XyWrite III+ is a product that many users still feel is the best writing tool they have ever experienced. But, due to some misestimation by XyQuest (XyWrite's developer) as to how much MS Windows would damage the DOS applications market, plus an untimely, misguided, and costly partnership between XyQuest and IBM at about the time Windows was emerging, XyQuest failed at about the time MS Windows emerged. XyWrite development largely ceased soon thereafter.

In my view, many of the concepts that made XyWrite great have never been articulated, and many of them died when XyQuest died. This note attempts to explore and lay out some of those concepts, in a way that they might be appreciated even by someone who has never used the product, in the hope that some of these concepts might emerge in some measure in future "word processing" software. This hope, however, is perhaps a rather slim one -- nothing will make a person into a XyWrite fan as much as actually using the product will.

XyWrite is a word processor for MS-DOS and Windows modeled on the mainframe-based ATEX typesetting system. Popular with writers and editors for its speed and degree of customization, XyWrite was in its heyday the house word processor in many editorial offices, including the New York Times from 1989 to 1993. XyWrite was developed by David Erickson and marketed by XyQuest from 1982 through 1992, after which it was acquired by The Technology Group. The final version for MS-DOS was 4.18 (1993); for Windows, 4.13. An offshoot descendant of XyWrite called Nota Bene is still being actively developed.

DOS XyWrite virtualization solutions:
vDosPlus XyWrite installers

I continue to use WordStar for DOS 7.0 as my word-processing program. It was last updated in December 1992, and the company that made it has been defunct for decades; the program is abandonware.

There was no proper archive of WordStar for DOS 7.0 available online, so I decided to create one. I’ve put weeks of work into this. Included are not only full installs of the program (as well as images of the installation disks), but also plug-and-play solutions for running WordStar for DOS 7.0 under Windows, and also complete full-text-searchable PDF versions of all seven manuals that came with WordStar — over a thousand pages of documentation.

I’ve also included lots of my own explanations on how to use and customize WordStar, many WordStar-related utility programs, and numerous other goodies.

Carolyn Clink kindly did the scanning of the manuals. When she was done, I said to her, “Countless WordStar users will thank you.” She replied, “Oh, I think I can count them.” ;)

And it’s true that the WordStar die-hard community is pretty small these days (George R.R. Martin still uses the even-older WordStar 4.0). But the program has been a big part of my career — not only did I write all 25 of my novels and almost all of my short stories with it (a few date back to the typewriter era), I also in my earlier freelance days wrote hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles with WordStar.

I wanted there to be a monument to this, the finest word-processing program ever created. As Anne Rice said, “WordStar was magnificent. I loved it. It was logical, beautiful, perfect. Compared to it, Microsoft Word is pure madness.”

And, I suppose I’m thinking a bit about my legacy, too. Once I’m gone, my literary estate will need to deal with my electronic manuscripts, and my executor should be able to work with them on her own computer rather than just mine. Also, there are countless other writers who are no longer with us who wrote with WordStar, including Arthur C. Clarke; I hope this archive I’ve created will be of use to scholars.

Anyone can have WordStar for DOS 7.0 up and running on a Windows computer in a matter of minutes using this archive; with just a little bit more work, WordStar for DOS 7.0 also runs just fine under Linux and Mac OS.

Here’s the link to the full 680-megabyte archive:

https://sfwriter.com/ws7.htm

Before WordPerfect, the most popular work processor was WordStar. Now, the last ever DOS version has been bundled and set free by one of its biggest fans.

WordStar 7.0d was the last-ever DOS release of the classic word processor, and it still has admirers today. A notable enthusiast is Canadian SF writer Robert J Sawyer, who wrote the book that became the TV series Flashforward.

Thanks to his efforts you can now try out this pinnacle of pre-Windows PC programs for professional prose-smiths. Sawyer has taken the final release, packaged it up along with some useful tools — including DOS emulators for modern Windows – and shared the result. Now you, too, can revel in the sheer unbridled power of this powerful app. //

While many folks in the Unix world have Vi keystrokes engraved in their muscle memory, those for WordStar are the equivalent for CP/M and MS-DOS users of a certain age. Ctrl+S/ E/D/X for navigation, Ctrl+K, B to mark the start of a block, Ctrl+K, K to mark the end, then Ctrl+K, C to copy it or Ctrl+K, V to move it; and Ctrl+K+S to Save. The modern Joe text editor still uses them, for instance. It hasn't got all the functionality, but if you don't want to struggle with an emulator to run a DOS app, the FOSS clone WordTsar comes close, and has versions for Windows, Linux and macOS.

By modern standards, WordStar doesn't do much, but it does everything many writers want. The Reg FOSS desk is rather fond of Robert Sawyer's novels, as well as George R R Martin's come to that, but those less given to genre fiction may recognize William F Buckley Jr and Ralph Ellison, both keen users. ®

I just got a note from @Microfix that pointed me to an interesting discussion from Ionut Ilascu at BleepingComputer:

After Microsoft ends support for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 on January 14, 2020, 0Patch platform will continue to ship vulnerability fixes to its agents.

“Each Patch Tuesday we’ll review Microsoft’s security advisories to determine which of the vulnerabilities they have fixed for supported Windows versions might apply to Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 and present a high-enough risk to warrant micropatching”

Micropatches will normally be available to paying customers (Pro – $25/agent/year – and Enterprise license holders). However, Kolsek says that there will be exceptions for high-risk issues that could help slow down a global-level spread, which will be available to non-paying customers, too.

Many of you know that 0Patch has been issuing quick fixes for bad bugs in recent patches. In all cases, I’ve refrained from recommending them, simply because I’m concerned about applying third party patches directly to Windows binaries. That said, to date, they’ve had a very good track record. Whether they can continue that record with patches-on-patches-on-patches remains to be seen, of course.

I fully expect Microsoft to release patches for newly discovered major security flaws, even after January 14. Whether those will step on the 0Patch patches is anybody’s guess.

Definitely something worth considering….

0patch promises to keep delivering security updates to Windows 10 even after Microsoft stops next year. Should you use it? We help you decide. //

It’s a way to (likely) get some extra security on a Windows PC by blocking potential flaws from being exploited. But you’re also trusting an additional vendor’s security software. //

If you’re going to connect a Windows 10 (or Windows 7) PC to a network after it’s no longer receiving patches, you should take some security precautions. Ensure you’re using a browser that’s still getting updates on your operating system and an antivirus that’s still supported. And yes, 0patch could also be an additional layer of security against nasty flaws.

“In the short term, it is a good option to buy time, but eventually, the operating system should be upgraded to a regularly supported version,” said Kron.

Tilde is a plain text editor for the Linux console. The difference is that even if you've never seen it before, you already know how to use this one. //

In the bad old days of WordStar, WordPerfect, DisplayWrite, MultiMate, Arnor Protext and so on, every app had a totally different UI.

This was partly because they all came from different original platforms, partly because such things weren't standardised yet, and partly because once someone had mastered one company's program, it made them very reluctant to switch to anything else. WordStar, for instance, offered original WordStar, WordStar 2000 and WordStar Express, all with totally different UIs.

But then the Mac came along. All its apps looked and worked much the same, because in 1987, Apple published a big, detailed book [PDF] telling programmers exactly how MacOS UIs should work. IBM followed suit with its CUA standard and gradually PC apps fell in line.

Windows and OS/2 both followed CUA, as did Motif on UNIX, and for a few decades harmony mostly reigned. GNOME 3 threw a lot of this out of the window, but even now most Linux graphical desktop and apps broadly follow the system: a menu bar, with File and usually Edit menus, a Help menu at the end, Ctrl+S to save, Ctrl+O to open, and so on. You may never have heard of CUA, but you know how to use it. //

Macros, tips, and templates for Corel® WordPerfect® for Windows®

This is a WordPerfect "template" of the default Function key assignments (F1-F12) in the standard WPWin keyboard, in the form of a simple .WPD file.

Note that this is not a typical WordPerfect template file (*.WPT) -- it is simply a standard WPD document (8.5"x11") in portrait format containing two tables (F1-F6 and F7-F12) that you can print out and tape to the wall, or open when needed with a shortcut key (e.g., see "Add a specific folder or file to any visible toolbar" here).

Users of the WordPerfect DOS keyboard can modify the document's table to suit their needs. //

Update: Included with WordPerfect X8 (released in 2016) and later versions is a new Corel macro: CreateFunctionKeyTemplate.wcm located in your Default macros folder. This displays a small dialog of options and then creates a printable landscape-oriented table of the current keyboard's Function keys assignments. To play it just use Tools, Macro, Play and type its name.

WPDOS under Modern Windows and macOS, New Printer Drivers, Euro Symbol Support, and Added Features for WPDOS 5.1 and 6.x

A government-university partnership dedicated to improving the quality, usability and accessibility of data from Indiana's state agencies.

This is an age-old Christian debate and the confusion is based on looking at one side of the problem to the exclusion of the other. However, before we begin, let us remind ourselves of a couple of simple NT teachings:

1. Salvation is the Initiative of God alone
2. God wants all people to be saved by grace
3. God's gracious Will
4. Many reject God's will and offer of Salvation
5. Christian Distractions from perseverance

[Internal citations omitted]

Summary/Conclusion

We are saved by grace alone, through Christ alone, by faith alone and this is the initiative of God alone by the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. However some refuse to accept this and reject the faith granted to them (Rom 1:18-23) and so become lost. It is by continuing to believe and trust in God and the divine strength He imparts that a Christian perseveres.

I was wondering the difference between WGS84 and EPSG:4326 (see this).

Can then WGS84 on its own be defined as a Coordinate Reference System? Or is it just a datum so that a Coordinate System must be attached to it to fully define a CRS? (see e.g. this document, figure below Sec. 6.4.1)

ANSWER:

There can be some confusion over the difference between a Spatial Reference System (SRS) and a Coordinate Reference System (CRS), and unfortunately WGS84 is often used for both. EPSG:4326 is merely the reference number of EPSG's database entry describing a CRS. Typing 4326 into their website here gives us this:

enter image description here

The things to note here are that 4326 refers to a Geodetic CRS (i.e. it uses latitude and longitude as coordinate units). It is made up of the WGS84 Geodetic Datum (EPSG:6326) and an ellipsoidal coordinate system (EPSG:6422). The datum itself is made up of the WGS84 ellipsoid, and a prime meridian. These are the SRS components.

So you can see in this instance, WGS84 could refer to three different things! But EPSG:4326 is unambiguous. The beauty of this system is that other geodetic CRSes can be defined in terms of EPSG:6422 (Ellipsoidal CS) and we'd always know it refers to an North/East longitude/latitude coordinate system.

In addition, projections can be built up from these geodetic CRSes, for instance UTM zone 30N looks like this:

enter image description here

Here you can see that it uses the WGS84 CRS as its base coordinate reference system, then defines the type of projection, its origin, and its false eastings and northings. So it can be viewed as a kind of "wrapper" around EPSG:4326, which is already well defined. It would be possible, for instance, to use the same projection parameters but a different geodetic CRS such as OSGB 1936 (EPSG:4277), which will define a valid coordinate system but one that would be of less use to other users. These sort of ad-hoc CRSes tend to be given high EPSG numbers, and often are just bogus ones invented for a specific use and not officially adopted by the EPSG. EPSG:900913 (Google's Web Mercator) was like this, until it was adopted as EPSG:3857.

• Google Earth is in a Geographic coordinate system with the wgs84 datum. (EPSG: 4326)

• Google Maps is in a projected coordinate system that is based on the wgs84 datum. (EPSG 3857)

• The data in Open Street Map database is stored in a gcs with units decimal degrees & datum of wgs84. (EPSG: 4326)

• The Open Street Map tiles and the WMS webservice, are in the projected coordinate system that is based on the wgs84 datum. (EPSG 3857)

So if you are making a web map, which uses the tiles from Google Maps or tiles from the Open Street Map webservice, they will be in Sperical Mercator (EPSG 3857 or srid: 900913) and hence your map has to have the same projection.

I'll like to expand the point raised by mkennedy

All of this further confused by that fact that often even though the map is in Web Mercator(EPSG: 3857), the actual coordinates used are in lat-long (EPSG: 4326). This convention is used in many places, such as:

• In Most Mapping API,s You can give the coordinates in Lat-long, and the API automatically transforms it to the appropriate Web Mercator coordinates.
• While Making a KML, you will always give the coordinates in geographic Lat-long, even though it might be showed on top of a web Mercator map.

A REVOLUTIONARY NOTE-TAKING, REFERENCING, & WRITING SYSTEM

What this is

This repo contains downloads of compressed disk images of bootable USB keys.

Version 1 is based on several upstream FOSS projects, plus some ancient DOS freeware applications. The idea is to provide a complete, easy-to-use, distraction-free environment for writers. It is set up for English with provision for US and UK keyboard layouts. If you want other translations, I welcome help!

To get your work off the key, just insert the key into a computer that's already running any more modern OS than DOS.

You cannot go online with the keys and there are no Internet tools. There are also no games included. Both are intentional.

What it contains: SvarDOS plus a menu launcher and a choice of freeware writing tools

The operating system is SvarDOS, the latest release as of January 2025. For source code for the OS, go to the SvarDOS website.

There are no build scripts or source code here. I did not use any. I did not compile anything at all. What I did was take pre-existing compiled code from SvarDOS and other projects, install it, and configure it. Then I worked out how to make bootable media in VMs, imaged those DOS-bootable USB media, and put the downloads here.

The main writing-tools key has a simple launch menu using the DOSShell menu from PC DOS 2000, which back in 2021 I made into a Virtualbox VM and published on my tech blog.

It contains three word processors, two outliners, three plain-text editors, and some other apps. These alls are all explicitly freeware or products from companies that no longer exist.