Xy history

[Brucefelk@xxxxxxxx]

The current fascinating discussions of early WP history remind me of my
response to a series of history exchanges two years ago. Atex had been cited
as a precursor (or was it an offshoot?) of Xywrite. I made a contribution
then which got swallowed up in a hardware problem and never reached the list.
 Here it is, for what it's worth:

Subj:  xywrite history: a sidelight
Date:  7/24/1997 06:49:
From:  "Bruce L. Felknor"
To: "xy requ: listproc@ccat" 

File: xywrite history: a sidelight (1964 bytes)

I am fascinated and intrigued by the recent/current xyhistory exchanges. My
introduction to Xywrite may supply an interesting sidelight.

I started using II-plus when I retired in 1985 and bought my first PC, an IBM
XT. I was aware then of the early Atex connection, and also of the fact that
a number of major newspaper newsrooms used XyWrite. My own employment was at
Encyclopaedia Britannica, and I moved into the editorial division in 1977 as
executive editor, to handle the first major revision of the Micropaedia since
the appearance of the 15th edition in 1974.

As the editing project and staff were being organized and assembled, a
simultaneous search for a suitable word-processing system was under way. I
knew nothing of its details, because I was immersed in setting up the
editorial operation for the revision. Tom Goetz, a former exec ed and future
ed-in-chief, and Mel Bellmon, a house computer maven, were the central
figures in the quest for a word-processing system to the best of my recall.

They found their way to Atex somehow via the Watch Tower Bible and Tract
people, the publishing arm of Jehovah's Witnesses, which had what I remember
as the largest polyglot publishing enterprise in the world, with multifarious
languages and an enormous list of publications from pamphlets to bibles.
Their variations on pure Atex were adapted and modified to fit the needs of
the Britannica and a large-scale training program was undertaken, quite
successfully, to enable the editorial staff to move into on-line editing,
step by step and year by year to be sure, from pencil and paper (qua
multicarbon snapout forms).

I think I was aware early of the XyWrite connection, and it was only natural
when I retired to a writing and editorial consulting career to do it via
XyWrite. I upgraded at almost every step from II+ to 4.01 and now to 4.017.
III+ was indeed the sweetheart, though, and if I live long enough I may just
revert to it. [p.s. 9/3/99: I keep a shortcut to it (3.057) on my desktop
and use it as needed.]

        Bruce L. Felknor