Proud to be loopy

[Dr John Gordon (jgordon@xxxxxxxx)]

An open message to Leslie, Annie and other non-loopy cultists:

I'm puzzled by the vehemence of your anti-OS2 stance. What
surprises me as I observe the American computer scene from down
under is the absolute certainty some people have that OS2 is a
dud. Many people who have never even seen it, much less used it,
take up the role of anti-OS2 advocates. And the glee that
greeted the misquotation of Gerstner was a sight to behold. (See
IBM's www home page for IBM's reply to the NYT and their
reaffirmation of support for OS2.) I really don't mind if you
continue to use XyWrite III+ and DOS. I am happy to have it
myself as a backup wp when I have to use one of our old single
floppy Toshiba laptops. For all other work, though, give me OS2
with its numerous good quality apps, its multi-tasking, and its
ability safely to run Xy4 and XyWin.

It's obvious to me why the XyWrite list has a number of committed
OS2 users. OS2 is a lot like XyWrite: the more you use it, the
more you appreciate its power and depth. So you think we
OS2/XyWriters are loopy cultists? Well, suit yourself. I know
you're missing something. And I really do believe TTG is missing
something by not putting development into the OS2 version of
XyWrite they already have. I can see the move to Describe
gathering steam. Describe, the company, looks a lot like XyQuest
did in the mid '80s: a small company with a technically superior
product. Describe, the wp, reminds me of XyWrite in its
customisability (you can write you own menus and keyboards) and
slightly quirky interface. It is also faster, more powerful and
more stable than most of the competition. And in the USA it is
now being sold in a brilliant marketing move for an irresistable
price. US$49 (or less) gets a CDROM with complete working
versions of Describe for OS2, Windows 3.1, NT, and 95. What's
really clever is that this version is being sold as a book (buy
the manual, get the CRROM with it) through a national book chain.
And for non-loopy cultists, you get to pick your own operating
system. Now why can't TTG do something similar with XyWrite?

Cheers,
John G.