Editing Wang Laboratories (section)

===Word processors===

===={{anchor|1200|1220|1222}}The Wang 1200====
Wang's first attempt at a [[word processor]] was the Wang 1200, announced in late 1971<ref>
{{cite web   |url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/2492619/top-10-technologies-of-the-past-45-years.html
   |title=Top 10 technologies of the past 45 years
   |quote=Wang 1200 (1971)
   |date=October 22, 2012}}</ref> but not available until 1972.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/wang
|quote=began producing its first word processor, the Wang 1200, in 1972   
|title=Wang, An}}</ref> The design consisted of the logic of a Wang 500 calculator hooked up to an OEM-manufactured [[IBM Selectric]] typewriter for keying and printing, and dual cassette decks for storage. [[Harold Koplow]], who had written the [[microcode]] for the Wang 700 and its derivative the Wang 500 rewrote the microcode to perform word processing functions instead of numerical calculations.

The operator of a Wang 1200 typed text on a conventional IBM Selectric keyboard; when the Return key was pressed, the line of text was stored on a cassette tape. One cassette held roughly 20 pages of text and could be "played back" (e.g., the text retrieved) by printing the contents on [[Continuous stationery|continuous-form paper]] in the 1200 typewriter's "print" mode. The stored text could also be edited using keys on a simple, six-key array. Basic editing functions included Insert, Delete, Skip (character, line), and so on.

The Wang 1200 machine was the precursor of the Wang Office Information System (OIS).

====Wang OIS====
Following the Wang 1200, Harold Koplow and David Moros made another attempt at designing a word processor. They started by first writing the user's manual for the product.{{sfn|Kenney|1992|p=68}} A 2002 ''Boston Globe'' article refers to Koplow as a "wisecracking rebel" who "was waiting for dismissal when, in 1975, he developed the product that made computers popularly accessible."

In Koplow's words, "Dr. Wang kicked me out of marketing. I, along with Dave Moros, was relegated to Long Range Planning&nbsp;– 'LRPed'. This&nbsp;... was tantamount to being fired: 'here is a temporary job until you find another one in some other company.'"

Although he and Moros perceived the assignment to design a word processing machine as busywork, they went ahead anyway. They wrote the manual and convinced An Wang to turn it into a real project.{{sfn|Kenney|1992|p=68}} The word processing machine{{snd}}the Wang 1200 WPS{{snd}}was introduced in June 1976 and was an instant success, as was its successor, the 1977 Wang OIS<ref>{{cite web|url=http://community.fortunecity.ws/roswell/goldendawn/232/WangComputers1.htm |title=Wang-Computers1 |website=Community.fortunecity.ws |access-date=2016-05-20}}</ref> (Office Information System).

The OIS was a multi-user system. Each workstation looked like a typical [[computer terminal|terminal]] but contained its own [[Intel 8080]] microprocessor (later versions used a [[Zilog Z80|Z80]]) and 64&nbsp;KB of RAM (less than the original 1981 [[IBM Personal Computer|IBM PC]]). [[Disk storage]] was centralized in a master unit and shared by the workstations, and the connection was via high-speed dual [[coaxial cable]] "928 Link".<ref>During the late 1970s and early 1980s Wang Labs Dept. 14, headed by Harold Koplow, was responsible for development of the WANG WPS and OIS Systems, Wang's most successful products. The internal code name for the project was "928" derived from the date of original conception of the product September 28, 1975.</ref>