Editing EasyWriter (section)

==Reception==
''[[Byte (magazine)|BYTE]]'' in 1981 reviewed EasyWriter and EasyWriter Professional for the Apple II, stating that "editing is a pleasure with either version", and approving of their features, user interface, and documentation.<ref name="byte198106">{{Cite magazine |last1=Carlson |first1=Keith |last2=Haber |first2=Steve |date=June 1981 |title=Four Word Processors for the Apple II |url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1981-06/page/n177/mode/2up?view=theater |magazine=BYTE |page=176}}</ref> In an early review of the IBM PC, however, the magazine in 1982 stated that EasyWriter for it or the Apple II "didn't seem to be of the same caliber as, say, [[VisiCalc]] or the [[Peachtree Software|Peachtree]] business packages", citing the lack of ease of use and slow scrolling as flaws, and advised those who planned to use the IBM PC primarily for word processing to buy another computer until alternative software became available.<ref name="williams198201">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1982-01/1982_01_BYTE_07-01_The_IBM_Personal_Computer#page/n37/mode/2up | title=A Closer Look at the IBM Personal Computer | work=BYTE | date=January 1982 | access-date=19 October 2013 | author=Williams, Gregg | pages=36}}</ref> [[Andrew Fluegelman]] wrote in ''PC Magazine'' that year that although EasyWriter 1.0 appeared to be an easy-to-use word processor for casual users, it "contains a few very annoying inconveniences and some very serious traps". He cited several bugs, slow performance, and user-interface issues,<ref name="fluegelman19820203">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w_OhaFDePS4C&pg=PA35 | title=Not-so-Easywriter | work=PC Magazine | date=February–March 1982 | access-date=20 October 2013 | author=Fluegelman, Andrew | pages=35}}</ref> and later called it "pretty much a lemon".<ref name="fluegelman198211">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vy3cBZkjbZgC&pg=PA73 | title=Volkswriter 1.1: Camilo Wilson's Claim to Fame | work=PC Magazine | date=November 1982 | access-date=21 October 2013 | author=Fluegelman, Andrew | pages=73}}</ref> Fluegelman said in 1985 that the review had become notorious, as he was a novice computer user and "no one knew who I was, I didn't know anybody, I just took this program and I said 'This is terrible'", but "it deserved panning".<ref name="microtimes198505">{{Cite magazine |last=Erokan |first=Dennis |date=May 1985 |title=Andrew Fluegelman - PC-Talk and Beyond |url=https://archive.org/details/microtimes00donh/page/n17/mode/1up?view=theater |access-date=2025-03-12 |magazine=MicroTimes |pages=19-26}}</ref>

IBM's [[Don Estridge]] admitted in 1983 that he "tried to use EasyWriter 1.0 and had the same experience everybody else had".<ref name="byte198311">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1983-11/1983_11_BYTE_08-11_Inside_the_IBM_PC#page/n89/mode/2up | title=IBM's Estridge | work=BYTE | date=November 1983 | access-date=19 March 2016 |author1=Curran, Lawrence J. |author2=Shuford, Richard S. | pages=88–97}}</ref> EasyWriter 1.10 resolved most of Fluegelman's complaints. He reported that it "performs smoothly, will handle most any routine writing and printing job, and is easy to learn and operate", and that if IBM had released 1.10 first EasyWriter would likely have become the standard PC word processor.<ref name="fluegelman198208">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WYnHD9WSWdAC&pg=PA180 | title=EasyWriter Resurrected | work=PC Magazine | date=August 1982 | access-date=21 October 2013 | author=Fluegelman, Andrew | pages=180}}</ref>

''BYTE'' criticized EasyWriter II for running as a [[Self-booting disk|booter]] instead of using DOS, requiring specially formatted disks for storage and a utility to convert to DOS-formatted disks, not being compatible with double-sided drives, and using a heavily [[mode (user interface)|modal]] editing interface.<ref name="shuford198305">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1983-05/1983_05_BYTE_08-05_The_Electronic_Office#page/n181/mode/2up | title=Word Tools for the IBM Personal Computer | work=BYTE | date=May 1983 | access-date=19 October 2013 | author=Shuford, Richard S. | pages=176}}</ref>