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Re: [TenTec] Help me, I'm dumb.

To: tentec@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Help me, I'm dumb.
From: "Dr. Gerald N. Johnson" <geraldj@storm.weather.net>
Reply-to: geraldj@storm.weather.net, Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: Wed, 20 May 2009 13:49:19 -0600
List-post: <tentec@contesting.com">mailto:tentec@contesting.com>
On Wed, 2009-05-20 at 14:20 -0400, j j wrote:
> if you're looking for a wordstar-like word processor that is
> compatible with newer windows versions, you might try this:
> 
> http://www.winvi.de/en/
> 
> the above text editor started out in linux but has apparently been
> ported over to windows.  the original linux version is very popular in
> the linux community.  not sure how compatible it is with the wordstar
> commands as i never used wordstar, but if vi/winvi doesn't meet your
> needs, check out the linux community of software and see if there is
> another editor that is more closely related to wordstar that has been
> ported over to windows and/or DOS.

I don't run windoze for any work tasks, so winvi and I would not be a
benefit if even I found it capable which I haven't.

I have looked at many linux emulated WS. None do so basic things that WS
does. So on this linux box, I can go to XDOSEMU to run the DOS 4.0
version of Linux. Sometimes I don't need the things that WS does and can
use GEDIT in Linux. Many WS emulators have been made using the VI base.
They are all incompetent in a couple areas. 

One I use on occasion is editing the line endings, say from UNIX nl to
MS cr/lf. VI won't do that. In WS I can say global replace ctl-p ctl-m
ctl-p ctl-j with ctl-p ctl-j to convert from MS to Unix. The ctl-p says
the following character is a control character, not a command. Or I can
say replace backwards <space> ctl-p ctl-m with ctl-l ctl-m and it will
strip trailing spaces from source code lines all by its self without
bothering multiple spaces in the line. I've seen no other editor that
will do that. VI is line oriented and won't let the user touch those
sacred line endings. Many others are the same way.

Another I use in data analysis is the column mode. There I can define a
block as being 3 columns wide by 173 lines tall and move it about,
sideways, or delete that column of spaces or copy it. That's a
capability not in any other that I've seen. That's really handy in a
spaceless comma delimited database file to replace commas with comma tab
to line up the data columns for easier reading. Then to replace all the
tabs with nothing after the data has been manually massaged. Or to
reshuffle the column order a whole database at a time. Not one line at a
time.

WS cursor moves are based on the ESDX diamond with the control key
pushed. So its really handy to have the control key to the left of A.
Most WS commands are based on control keys. I struggle with a keyboard
having caps lock in that wrong position. But I fix my keyboards soon and
use Northgate that last 25 years a keyboard. Loud and clicky, none of
this push a sponge until your finger hurts without audible feedback. I
just took my main one out of service and I'm sure I used it with the 20
MHz 286 computer I built decades ago.

I'm sure I won't be running Vista any time soon, nor the new 7. At least
not on any compute of mine, though today my task is getting a USB760
modem working for Verizon broad band and I may have to run restore XP on
something to get that modem initialized. If I can't get it to go on win
98SE. I do own a couple copies of XP, so I could if I wanted it reported
to Redmond what software I owned each day.

73, Jerry, K0CQ

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