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Goodbye Cruel Word

theodp writes "The problem with Microsoft Word, writes the NYT's Virginia Heffernan, is that 'I always feel as if I'm taking an essay test.' Seeking to break free of the tyranny of Microsoft Word, Heffernan takes a look at Scrivener and the oh-so-retro WriteRoom, which she and others feel jibe better with the way writers think. 'The new writing programs encourage a writerly restart. You may even relearn the green-lighted alphabet, adjust your preference for long or short sentences, opt afresh for action over description. Renewal becomes heady: in WriteRoom's gloom is man's power to create something from nothing, to wrest form from formlessness. Let's just say it: It's biblical. And come on, ye writers, do you want to be a little Word drip writing 603 words in Palatino with regulation margins? Or do you want to be a Creator?'"

5 of 565 comments (clear)

  1. Re:The best tools stay out of the way... by sethawoolley · · Score: 4, Funny

    Amen, brother. That's why I like to use sed and shell echos, pipes, and redirects to do my word processing.

  2. Re:The best tools stay out of the way... by Fred_A · · Score: 4, Funny

    Amen, brother. That's why I like to use sed and shell echos, pipes, and redirects to do my word processing. See ? I'm not the only one who doesn't like ed !
    --

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  3. Re:The best tools stay out of the way... by sethawoolley · · Score: 4, Funny

    Amen, brother. That's why I like to use sed and shell echos, pipes, and redirects to do my word processing. See ? I'm not the only one who doesn't like ed ! But I use sed only because the installed base is much higher compared to ed and document portability is critical in my line of work.

  4. Re:The best tools stay out of the way... by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 4, Funny

    You think you've got problems.. I sign half my letters with :wq!

  5. Re:A simple solution... by Drinking+Bleach · · Score: 5, Funny

    > (And do NOT say "WINE" or I will laugh because that software is largely a bad joke.

    You've got it backwards. MS Windows is the bad joke; Wine is more like nicorette, it wanes your addiction to said bad joke.