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New WordPerfect Releases Reviewed

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the corel-isn't-dead-yet? dept.

MikeCapone writes "The Jem Report has an extensive review (all in one page, no flash ads -- what a concept!) of Corel WordPerfect 12 for Windows and the proof of concept comeback of WordPerfect for Linux."

27 of 317 comments (clear)

  1. Upgrade Policy? by JCMay · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've got an old copy of WordPerfect for Amiga. It's the last version they made. (4.1.12?). Got it in an envelope directly from WordPerfect corporation. Wonder if it has any upgrade value :)

  2. LaTeX by tindur · · Score: 5, Funny

    Can you save the documents in LaTeX-format?

    1. Re:LaTeX by tomstdenis · · Score: 5, Insightful

      LaTeX is for hippies who like proper typesetting.

      The rest of the world is ready to contend with bloaty 2GB "text editors" that will easily put things in the wrong spot and not be compatible between versions and not have professional macros for document logistics and preamble.

      Ha!

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    2. Re:LaTeX by JosKarith · · Score: 5, Funny

      Thank you soooo much. I just got a mental image of a bunch of ageing hippies in latex...
      It's gonna take a lot of alcohol to get _that_ one out.

      --
      'Don't worry' said the trees when they saw the axe coming, 'The handle is one of us.'
  3. Yay by Killjoy_NL · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I really hope they can get some marketshare back, MS Office deserves the competition.
    It might even spur MS to really innovate again.

    --
    This is the sig that says NI (again)
    1. Re:Yay by tomstdenis · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Yeah, innovate by adding another 200MB to their "office suite in a box...full of CDs".

      How to make MS Office better.

      1. Smaller
      2. Better support for OTHER FILE FORMATS
      3. Stop being the ass of the world.
      4. Add some real typesetting standards.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    2. Re:Yay by grub · · Score: 4, Insightful


      Nice in theory but it will never happen.

      1 - They may be able to shave a few megs off, sure, but with MS' fatal infection of creeping featuritis that would be offset in no time.
      2 - They're the 800 lb gorilla, "it's up to the other companies/projects to figure out and support the .DOC format."
      3 - Protecting their bottom line and investors' cash is their job, they can't help it.
      4 - Invented outside of MS? C'mon Tom, you should know better! :)

      --
      Trolling is a art,
    3. Re:Yay by tomstdenis · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Hehehe true dat.

      Well making money goodism aside they amalgamate crap together until the user is so inundated with "features" they just assume it's great. Then when they learn that the auto-toc isn't standard and easy to trip up [as I found out last semester when I was forced to use it] or that you have to manually layout figures, tables, etc.... it looks less like "neat" and more like "life sucks".

      Sure a WYSIWYG is good for short memos and shit. That's why "write" exists. But for manuals, books, papers and reports LaTeX is always the best choice.

      Sadly only 10 people in the world seem to know this ;-)

      Of course MS could just make their own port of TeX and call it MSReX or something... claim they invented it. At least then it would be something I'd use.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
  4. No mail client. by Mr.+Darl+McBride · · Score: 4, Interesting
    That about says it all. They dropped their mail client -- all that's left of it is an address book. They even list "Outlook integration" as a feature.

    So if you're looking for a suite that you can use in a Microsoft-centric office, you'd better have another solution for talking to that Exchange server.

    Is it just me, or is this remarkably silly? Exchange/Outlook is the hub of most offices' operations these days. Not speaking Exchange's calendar and contact protocols is tantamount to not speaking the Word file format five or six years back.

    1. Re:No mail client. by CrazyTalk · · Score: 4, Insightful

      At work we used groupwise, and at the University where I'm taking a night class they use Lotus Notes, so Exchange Server isn't as ubiquitous as you think. Plus, everyone running Windows has outlook express for "free" as well as web mail, so lack of an email client in the office suite isn't that big of a deal.

  5. The hole it left has been filled by Rico_za · · Score: 5, Insightful

    From the article:
    At the time WordPerfect was easily the most popular proprietary application for GNU/Linux, and the hole that it left opened the door for many people to switch to OpenOffice, StarOffice, AbiWord, KWord, TextMaker and others

    Why would I change back from a decent, FREE, application like OpenOffice to WordPerfect? If they're planning on selling it on the name, or because people remember WP, it's too late for that now. OpenOffice has taken over, and could soon be challenging MS Office in a big way.

    1. Re:The hole it left has been filled by AKAImBatman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Mod parent up.

      Corel had their chance back when they built Corel Linux. But instead of putting the *work* into making native code, improving Linux, and making the experience overall better, they simply used the WINE libs to "port" their same old WordPerfect Suite then heaped it on top of an existing Linux distro. In other words, they did the least work possible and saw the least return. Sun OTOH has put a lot of money and effort into OpenOffice/StarOffice, GNOME, and their new Java Desktop System. This has been allowing Sun to maintain the Desktop/Workstation market while their competitors (HP, IBM, and SGI - poor saps) flounder in the Unix market.

      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    2. Re:The hole it left has been filled by Christopher+Thomas · · Score: 4, Informative

      Why would I change back from a decent, FREE, application like OpenOffice to WordPerfect? If they're planning on selling it on the name, or because people remember WP, it's too late for that now. OpenOffice has taken over, and could soon be challenging MS Office in a big way.

      OpenOffice will convince me to abandon Office when it stops mangling fonts and layout for the Word documents people keep sending me. I can read them, but they don't look pretty, and I'm sure as heck not going to _write_ anything in OO while this is a concern.

      Bad install? Maybe. But I've run into the problem in two unrelated *nix labs where it was installed. I suppose _both_ admins _could_ be sloppy, but they've been pretty sharp in other regards.

      If I'm writing documents in *nix, I use LaTeX and send people postscript or PDF. But when I need to give someone a Word document, or bring a PowerPoint slide show to a conference, I use MS Office.

      Your mileage may vary.

    3. Re:The hole it left has been filled by the+unbeliever · · Score: 4, Informative

      Mangled fonts are most likely the result of the writer of the document using a borked TTF font that has no equivalent under *nix, and doesn't tell the application a good alternative.

    4. Re:The hole it left has been filled by DragonMagic · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Hah! I knew someone would bring up the "Why should I pay for something when there's a perfectly good version for free!" argument on this.

      I've used WordPerfect since version 4.x. I also use Linux (and Windows). I've tested many different word processing programs (and still do), including StarOffice and OpenOffice.org

      WordPerfect will continue to be the word processing program for me because of many features that OO.o seems not to want to include.

      Among them? A good Grammatik checker. Advanced typesetting features. Legal templates. Perfect listing of paper and label types purchasable from the store. Great print-as-booklet/double-sided printing. Advanced print-spooling functions (how do you want them to print? Set batches and WP does the rest).

      The main problem with ALL other word processing programs is that typesetting. I haven't found one single program, free or proprietary, that has the ability for me to assign an advance-from that works, besides WordPerfect. And I believe they've been doing it since at least 6.

      OpenOffice has NOT taken over. It's installed on nearly every distribution of desktop Linux, but it still pales in comparison to WordPerfect for both writers and legal professionals. Until it can come near WordPerfect in the above-mentioned abilities, it'll still be just a glorified vim to me.

      And please, before you make statements that OO.o is taking over and giving MS Office a challenge, make sure it's fact and not your opinion. Where's the data that OO.o is in use enough to make a challenge soon for MS Office share?

      --

      Human nature is the same everywhere; the modes only are different. -- Earl of Chesterfield
  6. I remember using WordPerfect 5.1 on my dos 3.3 box by i_am_pi · · Score: 4, Informative

    A history on wordperfect by the great Wikipedia.

  7. *thrums fingers on the desk* by Faust7 · · Score: 4, Funny

    an extensive review (all in one page, no flash ads -- what a concept!)

    And for all the bandwidth that would save, the webserver is still DOA...

    --
    The coolest voice ever.
  8. A better way... by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 5, Funny

    For document storage, I convert each character into an octal number, than arrange grains of sand into little piles on my basement floor. It works fine; I have no idea why anyone needs anything else.

    --
    "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
    1. Re:A better way... by parksie · · Score: 5, Funny

      *sneezes*

    2. Re:A better way... by darkith · · Score: 4, Funny

      Damn viruses...

  9. Right on... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is the best comment ever to explain the role of presentation software:

    "Presentation software has quietly become an essential tool for validating otherwise totally useless company meetings; it makes a lot of nothing look like something important (...)"

    I would add:

    If you don't have anything good to say, put it in a presentation.

  10. Re:Full text by meringuoid · · Score: 4, Funny
    WordPerfect for Linux requires GNU/Linux with the 2.0 kernel or later and a functional X11 graphical environment

    Aw! Guys, if only for nostalgia's sake: how about a curses version? I can't be the only one with fond memories of 5.1 for DOS...

    --
    Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
  11. Dictionary feature looks to be a disappointment by Woogiemonger · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Well, I won't comment on WordPerfect for Linux not supporting dictionary definitions... okay, I guess I did. That stinks. But the Windows version, which supports dictionary definitions, requires you to pay for a complete dictionary.. it's the Oxford "concise" dictionary. If I'm paying for a dictionary service, I'd at least want the unabridged definitions, with an option to only see concise definitions. Also, it'd be nice if they offer a free alternative, allowing the user to specify a dictionary server and interfacing it using the DICT protocol. See RFC 2229 and dict.org for an example at what's available for free.

  12. Let's hope by Prince+Vegeta+SSJ4 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    that they stick with what they did best, making a solid word processor with a ample set of features, that LET YOU set tabs, margins, hanging indents, etc. with ease. It was very intuitive app to use.

    I know that in MS Word, I curse every day with the damn Autoformat features that try to do everything for you, even when I try to turn the features off, it is still a pain in the ass.

    It seems you are trying to write a letter, would you like to:

    • Have me format it for you?
    • Lockup & Crash, right before a save
    • Shoot Clippy in the Head!
  13. *yawn* by JediTrainer · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm still waiting for their next release of the Java port of WordPerfect.

    --

    You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
  14. Dare I hope for an OS X version? by goljerp · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If they're working on WordPerfect for Linux, might they consider doing an OS X version as well? How tough can that be if they've done the hard work of making it run on Linux? Now there's a market...

  15. Oh no! by Peter+H.S. · · Score: 4, Interesting

    When I saw that WordPerfect for Linux was available I grabbed my wallet for my credit card. I clicked the "buy now", only to see that Corel only sell to US or Canadian billing addresses. That sucks since I live in the EU.

    I guess that there will be a lot of people here on /., that will write comments on "how it is to late for Corel", or "Why bother, OO.org is free", or "reveal codes is overrated / not necessary in a modern Word processor" or "I write everything in ed - the standard editor, so you should do too"

    Well I disagree with all that. I want my WP for Linux.
    -0-