Re: XyWrite versions

[Anthony Hyde afhyde@xxxxxxxx]

Addressed to: PMYG@xxxxxxxx
       xywrite@xxxxxxxx

** Reply to note from PMYG@xxxxxxxx Mon, 21 Jul 1997 19:23:57 -0400 (EDT)
Paul,
I certainly wouldn't feel able to write a full account of all the versions of
XyWrite, though I'm sure someone on this list could do so. I began using the
program as XyWrite II, editor.exe bearing a date stamp of 01-01-80,
although the copyright screen reads (C) 1983. The next version was XyWrite
II+, with editor.exe being stamped in 1984. From here the program went to
XyWrite III, III+, Signature, IV, and XyWrite for Windows. XyWrite began as
a software version (I suppose some would say "rip-off") of a dedicated
wordprocessing machine that was enormously popular in newspaper offices.
I think -- stress think -- the machine was Atax, or something like that. The
founders of XyQyuest, as I understood it, originally worked for company that
produced the machine, and -- when the IBM PC first appeared -- saw the
possiblility of producing a piece of software that would duplicate it, but run
on the (relatively cheaper) PC. In fact, XyQuest could supply you with a .kbd
file that would exactly duplicate the keys on the Atax. They also supplied
(actually on the distribution disk) a Portugese keyboard, brazil.kbd. In those
early days, I once asked someone at technical support why they did this, and
they explained that an early market for the program had been the
Portugese language weekly newspapers in the Portugese communities in
New England. Several people, early on, took advantage of the customizing
capability of the program to produce supplementary disks of macros, which
they sold. One was XyPower Programs (Timothy J. Baehr); another XyDisk
(for XyWrite III, and III+) by Stephen W. Cline. A lawyer (I believe in San
Francisco) produced a periodic newsletter around the program as well.

I hope this helps -- and might encourage others on the list to add some
historical notes on the program.

Regards,

Anthony Hyde