Anyone remember this word processor?

[IndyJones1023]

On another non-Atari forum, someone posted this:

 

"On the Atari ST, not long before it stopped being relevant, someone wrote a Word Processor that was a completely different design from everything that had come before. He wrote it using a database engine. It would scroll so fast you'd get that "wagon wheel" effect. You could select vertically as well as horizontally. It did search and replace almost instantly. All on the 8 mhz 68000. I thought it was brilliant.

Then the ST disappeared and I've never been able to remember the name of the program or the programmer. I never saw anything like it again, so I assume he didn't port it to Windows or anything.

 

Does this ring a bell to you at all? Do you have any idea what the program might have been? I believe I saw it/bought it at the Baltimore AtariCon where Dave Small literally threw Spectre cases into the audience, telling everybody who caught one that all they needed was to get the ROMS from Apple."

 

Anyone here know what program this was?

[JamesWD]

Gotta be in either of these lists :

 

http://www.atariuptodate.de/en/office/edit/

 

http://www.atariuptodate.de/en/office/wordpro

[prog99]

Tempus?

[TGB1718]

39 minutes ago, prog99 said:

Tempus?

That's what I was thinking too, used it loads bitd, it had some nice features even though it wasn't a word processor,

one nice ability was you could run a program from within Tempus and on exit of that program return to Tempus.

[calimero]

That was STeve 100%!

STeve was very powerfull program that was build around database. 
 

Primož Jakopin is author: https://jakopin.net/primoz/

STeve was probably less know program since it was from Yugoslavia but quite unique, powerful and fast!

You can find screenshots here: http://milan.kovac.cc/atari/software/index.php?folder=/TEXT#STEVE_3.FTP

 

Here is page and original documentation on 800 pages! http://retrospec.sgn.net/users/tomcat/yu/ST/Misc/Html/Steve.php

 

[calimero]

Btw @IndyJones1023 can you post link to original question?

 

Thanks!

 

 

btw2

there are more unique ST programs that never got to Windows or other OS and, what is even worst, their functionality was never copied by some other software. 
 

E.g. Protext (german program, not UK! They are completly different) - you could put calculation anywhere in document! It was like Excel without tables and with database. 
 

—

 

When someone mention WordPerfect or Microsoft Write for ST I am completely puzzled because ST had far more advanced and more professional software then DOS at the time. 

Edited January 31, 2022 by calimero

[IndyJones1023]

The question is from a different forum altogether.

[calimero]

6 hours ago, JamesWD said:

Gotta be in either of these lists :

 

http://www.atariuptodate.de/en/office/edit/

 

http://www.atariuptodate.de/en/office/wordpro

Interesting, there is no STeve or Protext on www.atariuptodate.de

[calimero]

9 minutes ago, IndyJones1023 said:

The question is from a different forum altogether.

I understand that but can you post URL?

[IndyJones1023]

It's a private forum.

[calimero]

Ok. Then please let us know if original author of question had STeve on his mind...?

[IndyJones1023]

Will do!

[TGB1718]

13 hours ago, calimero said:

Interesting, there is no STeve or Protext on www.atariuptodate.de

The site is not complete, I noticed CBreeze was also absent, although specifically designed around

Edit/Compile/Debug C programs, it's still an Editor, another product I used extensively

[IndyJones1023]

From the original question asker:

 

"Wow. I would have never guessed. STeve is such an unremarkable name, though given it ran on the ST an obvious one. The programmer was at the Baltimore Con where I first saw it and incredibly pleasant. I am pleased to see his page with his large body of work since.

Thank you so much! I can't believe you found it!"

 

So, thanks to Calimero!

[calimero]

No problem. I am glad to help  
 

For me it was easy guess. 
 

Original author of question very nicely describe STeve  
 

But real pity is that really small number of Atari users used (or hear) for this program  

 

Atari ST was truly Power without the price since it gave opportunity to make such advanced programs like STeve, Signum, Calamus, Protext, Cubase, Logic, 3D Max...

 

[leech]

1 hour ago, calimero said:

No problem. I am glad to help  
 

For me it was easy guess. 
 

Original author of question very nicely describe STeve  
 

But real pity is that really small number of Atari users used (or hear) for this program  

 

Atari ST was truly Power without the price since it gave opportunity to make such advanced programs like STeve, Signum, Calamus, Protext, Cubase, Logic, 3D Max...

 

Seriously, never had heard of this one.

On the note of Logic and Cubase and others.  There is some work I have been gearing up toward, and a big part of it is that I kind of want to do some videos or comparisons of somewhere of a 'then vs now'.  I've scanned in the manual to the Atari PC 4 (I have not been able to find an English version online), but the scans are... meh.  So I am likely going to rewrite the whole thing and upload it somewhere.  Was considering using something like Atari Works vs Word 2021 (I have it on the macbook), Pages, LibreOffice, and perhaps some lesser known word processors).  But maybe something like Papyrus, or I have the full Calamus SL 2015 that I may use on the Falcon...

 

But I think it'd be an interesting article/video to see if you really can do full documents / manuals on older software.. well a little less about if you can but rather if it's actually simpler/easier.  Because let's face it, things like Word are sometimes overly complex tools when all you need is some simple indexing, etc.

[calimero]

^

I also have a plan to make 'then vs now' - it is preposterous how we did not advance an inch in last 30 years! Word is Word. Excel is Excel. There is no FUNFAMENTAL difference in using computer now, and 30 years ago.

 

e.g. how many of you hear of Quantrix program? It is leapfrog on Excel but nobody use it (even before it become super expensive). Quantrix is an example of FUNDAMENTAL different using spreadsheets to "Excel".

 

I am big fan of "no application" computer world of Xerox Smalltalk - there is no applications but rather DATA that can be manipulated by different tools. Today we are lightyears far from this concept; instead we have our data locked inside Applications  

There was some efforts in 90s to UNLOCK data from Application by e.g. OpenDoc and... I forgot how Microsoft called similar initiative.

 

 

And I also planed to make more videos where I would compare doing similar job on two different platform, like this one:

 

 

[kimchipenguin]

On 1/31/2022 at 9:58 PM, calimero said:

Interesting, there is no STeve or Protext on www.atariuptodate.de

Incorrect, both are there. Protext is listed as a word processor and Steve as an office suite (like Atari Works)

[calimero]

On 3/3/2022 at 7:57 PM, kimchipenguin said:

Incorrect, both are there. Protext is listed as a word processor and Steve as an office suite (like Atari Works)

First, I click on “like” button on your message and only after that I check if Protext is listed in www.atariuptodate.de in “Word Processor” section. 
 

And it is not!

 

BRITISH Program ProText is listed and not German Protext. 
 

As I mentioned before: British (UK) ProText have nothing in common with German Protext!!! 
 

German: http://milan.kovac.cc/atari/software/?folder=/TEXT#PROTEXT.FTP

 

Bristish: http://www.atariuptodate.de/en/267/protext

 

...lets take a look at your claim about STeve on www.atariuptodate.de...

[calimero]

STeve is listed: http://www.atariuptodate.de/en/1026/steve