The computer nook is filled with "stuff". Over the years, I think that I've single handedly kept many software manufacturers in business. It's also time to wax a little philosophically about things and one of the things that I've invested in most are word processors.
My first home computer was a Radio Shack TRS-80 computer. My first word processor after the line editors at university was Scriptsit. It needed to be upgraded almost immediately to SuperScriptsit. Such a different time and error. These entire word processors were distributed on 5.25" floppy diskettes. Times sure would change.
Along comes DOS and WordPerfect. A great word processor. It could do darn near anything that you'd want and with a "Reveal Codes", you could get down and dirty with the actual instructions that would created bold or italicized text. Man, those documents looked good. These were the days before huge sets of wizards and templates. Originality was not based on the ability to choose the appropriate template; it was based upon your ability to understand what was in a typing textbook and merge it with this new technology!
Around this time, a company by the name of Microsoft was busy with a little product called Microsoft Word. There were others on the market too. But, Borland had a better idea. They released a word processor entitled Sprint. Sprint's claim to fame was that it came with a number of different user interfaces. Using the GUI utility diskettes, you could make it look like EMACS, FinalWord II, Microsoft Word 4.0, SideKick, WordPerfect 4.2 or WordStar 4.0. Who could want more? It worked very well too. After all, a company that wrote Turbo Pascal could hardly go wrong! And, it also featured a neat new section in the manual (remember manuals?)...there were instructions about how to install it to a hard drive instead of to diskette! What a novel concept.
But time and technology marches on. Somehow I lost track of upgrades to WordPerfect until there was an educator promotion for WordPerfect 7. Had to have it and it was amazing what features were available there. Just after that purchase, however, the Ministry licensed WordPerfect 8.
Things seemed to settle down until I bought a new computer. This one came with Lotus SmartSuite and its word processor "Word Pro". It featured a lot of new bells and whistles and documents were just a little more spectacular.
Nothing beats a word processor that comes with a paper clip though! A couple of revisions to Microsoft Office at work ensures that documents are compatible with other people. Compatibility is important and so it was worth the effort to learn. Speaking of compatibility, along comes the Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner and the need to be compatible with both the Macintosh and Windows platform. The answer? Upgrade your Clarisworks to Appleworks.
Often, I wonder about sitting down and doing a dollar/word comparison for the price of staying abreast of all of these changes in technology. The feeling does go away though as I get distracted with yet another upgrade!
Onto the scene is a new alternative though. The tenant behind open source has spread into a new product. Within the past month, Open Office has gone gold. Compatible with the current major players, if you can handle a 49MB download, you now have another option. The plot thickens! Stay tuned.
But, consider the concept and consider the download.
This is the final newsletter for the year. As I look back over the content, it's amazing to see how much we've grown as a district, constantly trying to stay on top of changes with the ultimate goal of providing the best possible education, with a computer component, for our students. My congratulations to those of you who continue to refine your techniques and abilities. With so many moving targets, it is difficult.
Finally, as I do every year at this time, I'd like to pause and pay gratitude for the support staff that helps to make all of this happen. Without our SSTs keeping it working and the CIESCs and CAITs pushing the cause, we wouldn't enjoy the successes that we do. On a personal note, I owe a terrific debt of gratitude to Debbie Primeau who is the one that keeps me focused on what's really necessary and the appropriate deadlines. Had she been involved in the text above, it would have been quicker, on time, and certainly would have gotten to the point quicker.
Have a great end to the school year and a relaxing summer.
