Editing WriteNow

{{short description|Word processor application}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox software
| name = WriteNow
| screenshot = WriteNow-software-screenshot.png
| caption = WriteNow 1.00 on the Mac platform
| author = John Anderson, Bill Tschumy
| developer = T/Maker
| released = {{Start date and age|1985}}
| latest_release_version = WriteNow 4.0<ref name=macworld9503>{{cite magazine| title=Lean Writers |url=https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_9503_March_1995/page/n119/mode/2up |pages=116–119 |volume=12 |number=3 |date=March 1995 |magazine=[[Macworld]] |first=David |last=Pogue |author-link=David Pogue |access-date=11 August 2021}}</ref>
| discontinued = yes
| operating_system = [[Classic MacOS|Macintosh]], [[NeXTSTEP]]
| genre = [[Word processor]]
| license = [[Proprietary license|Proprietary]]
}}
'''WriteNow''' is a [[word processor]] [[application software|application]] for the original [[Apple Macintosh]] and later computers in the [[NeXT]] product line.  The application is one of two word processors that were first developed with the goal that they be available at the time of the Mac [[product launch]] in 1984, and was the primary word processor for computers manufactured by [[NeXT]].<ref name=nextworld3_7>{{cite magazine| magazine=NeXTWorld | volume=3| issue=7| title=Evolutionary Man | url=https://archive.org/details/NeXTWORLDVol.3No.7November1993/page/n11/mode/2up | page=10 | date=7 November 1993|first=Leann |last=Coulter |access-date=2 August 2021}}</ref> WriteNow was purchased from [[T/Maker]] by [[WordStar]] in 1993,<ref name=macuser0693>{{cite magazine| url=https://archive.org/details/MacUser9306June1993/page/n37/mode/2up |title=WordStar Buys WriteNow |magazine=[[MacUser (US edition)|MacUser]] |volume=9 |number=6 |date=June 1993 |page=35 |access-date=12 August 2021}}</ref> but shortly after that, WordStar merged with [[The Learning Company (formerly SoftKey)|SoftKey]],<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://archive.org/details/MacWEEKV07N21/page/n35/mode/2up |magazine=[[MacWEEK]] |volume=7 |issue=21 |page=36 |title=WordStar, Softkey merge; stock swap total $213 millions |first=Lisa |last=Picarille}}</ref> which ultimately led to its discontinuation. It had a combination of powerful features, excellent performance, and small system requirements.

==History==
WriteNow was written for [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer, Inc.]], by John Anderson and Bill Tschumy in Seattle, separate from the Macintosh computer and [[MacWrite]] word processor development teams. [[Steve Jobs]] was concerned that those programming MacWrite were not going to be ready for the 1984 release date of the Macintosh;<ref name=nextwextra0991>{{cite magazine |magazine=NeXTWorld Extra |issue=September 1991 |date=September 1991| title=WriteNow spun out to software startup |pages=1–2 |first1=Dan |last1=Ruby |first2=Dan |last2=Lavin |access-date=12 August 2021 |url=https://archive.org/details/NeXTWORLDVol.1No.4Winter1991/page/n87/mode/2up}}</ref> Apple Computer therefore commissioned a team of programmers, friends of Apple engineer [[Bud Tribble]], to work independently on a similar project, which eventually became WriteNow.<ref name=nextworld3_7 /> Members of the WriteNow team knew about MacWrite, but members of the MacWrite team did not know about WriteNow.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

Ultimately, MacWrite was completed on schedule and shipped with the Macintosh. This left WriteNow in limbo until Jobs left Apple to form [[NeXT]] and bought Solaster Software which was started by John Anderson, Bill Tschumy and Christopher Stinson.{{citation needed|date=May 2022 |reason=Coulter 1993 talks about Bill joining NeXT and two unnamed grad students. There is reference of Anderson being from the same zoology department and Solaster Software at https://archive.org/details/h42_Oregon_Software_Omni_Pascal_Newsletter/page/n96/mode/1up - but little to link it all together but the edit}} John and Bill, the authors of WriteNow, joined NeXT. WriteNow marketing rights ended up being owned by NeXT,<ref name=nextworld3_7 /> and WriteNow released for the Macintosh in 1985, published by the [[T/Maker]] Company.

In October 1988, WriteNow 2.0 was released on Macintosh,<ref>{{cite magazine
| magazine  = [[MacUser (US edition)|MacUser]]
| url = https://archive.org/details/MacUser8908August1989/page/n141/mode/1up
| title = Word Wrestlers
| pages = 138–139
| first  = Laura
| last   = Johnson
| date   = August 1989
| volume = 5
| issue  = 8
}}</ref> adding dictionaries, character / word / paragraph count, import and export of [[Rich Text Format|RTF]] and [[MacWrite]] files, and updated compatibility with recent system enhancements.<ref>{{cite magazine| magazine=[[Macworld]]| title=New WriteNow Now| page=14| url=https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_8904_April_1989/page/n13/mode/1up| volume=6| issue=4| date=April 1989}}</ref><ref name=macuser1989_08_2>{{cite magazine
| magazine  = [[MacUser (US edition)|MacUser]]
| url = https://archive.org/details/MacUser8908August1989/page/n141/mode/1up
| title = MacWrite II WriteNow
| pages = 140–147
| first1  = Russell
| last1   = Ito
| first2  = James
| last2   = Finn
| date   = August 1989
| volume = 5
| issue  = 8
}}</ref> Version 3.0 introduced style sheets.<ref>{{cite magazine
| magazine  = [[MacUser (US edition)|MacUser]]
| title     = The right word processor
| first     = Ted
| last      = Landau
| date      = September 1992
| pages     = 101–110
| volume    = 8
| issue     = 9
| url       = https://archive.org/details/MacUser9209September1992/page/n102/mode/1up
}}</ref>

==Features==
WriteNow improved on some of the limitations of MacWrite through the better handling of large documents and the addition of features such as [[spell check]] and [[footnotes]]. It was "lean and fast," being written entirely in [[assembly language]],<ref name=nextworld3_7 /> and it was suited for Macintosh users with only 400 [[kilobyte|KB]] [[floppy disk]].<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_8802_February_1988/page/n157/mode/2up |magazine=[[Macworld]] |volume=5 |number=2 |pages=154–163 |date=February 1988 |title=Just Write |first1=Melanie |last1=Bayles |first2=Michael| last2=Bayles| access-date=12 August 2021}}</ref> WriteNow went through several versions culminating (in 1993) with version 4.0.2, which continued the "lean and fast" reputation while adding features such as tables.

In the opinion of many of its users, WriteNow represented the ideal Macintosh application. It had a simple, intuitive graphical user interface ([[GUI]]), no [[copy protection]], and it worked in practically every revision of the Macintosh operating system, including in the [[Mac 68k emulator]] on [[PowerPC]] Macs and in the [[Classic Environment]] under [[Mac OS X]]. Its biggest claim to fame, however, was its speed. It was written in [[assembly language]] ([[Motorola 680x0]]) by a group of developers who had a reputation for producing extremely efficient code. The [[user interface]] was unusual in that, while the typical word processor had a [[ruler]] embedded in the main document window, WriteNow used a separate, fixed window that could be sent into the background, freeing screen space on the [[compact Mac]]'s small nine-inch screen to display an additional line or two of text.

==NeXT port==
Early on WriteNow was ported to the NeXT operating system and was subsequently bundled with NeXT workstations.

Due to concerns of third-party publishers such as [[WordPerfect]] over the issue of competing with a free word processor, it was unbundled 1 October 1991<ref name=nextwextra0991 /><ref>{{cite magazine| magazine=NeXTWorld| volume=1 |number=4 |date=1991 |url=https://archive.org/details/NeXTWORLDVol.1No.4Winter1991/page/n17/mode/2up |page=17 |first=Dan |last=Lavin |title=NeXT Ink |access-date=12 August 2021}}</ref> and ownership transferred to Appsoft, which sold it as shrink-wrapped software.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=NeXTWorld |volume=2 |number=1 |date=1992| url=https://archive.org/details/NeXTWORLDVol.2No.1Spring1992/page/n67/mode/2up |title=Review: WriteNow |page=65 |first1=John Perry |last1=Barlow |author-link1=John Perry Barlow |first2=Dan |last2=Lavin| access-date=12 August 2021}}</ref> From that time, NeXTSTEP shipped without a full-featured word processing program. WriteNow for NeXT became available for sale on October 15 for $199.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://archive.org/details/NeXTWORLDVol.1No.4Winter1991/page/n91/mode/2up |magazine=NeXTWorld Extra |issue=November 1991 |pages=1, 6 |first=Dan |last=Ruby |date=November 1991 |access-date=12 August 2021 |title=Appsoft}}</ref>

WriteNow was written in Motorola 68k [[assembly language]], upon which the NeXT hardware was based.

==Reception==
[[File:Eddy 1986.jpg|alt=MacUser Best New Word Processor 1986|thumb|MacUser Editors' Choice Award for Best New Word Processor 1986]]

''Compute!'s Apple Applications'' in 1987 wrote that "''WriteNow'' is the Pegasus of Macintosh word processors—swift, easy to learn and use, and packed with power".<ref name="mcneill198712">{{cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/stream/COMPUTEs_Apple_Applications_Vol._5_No._2_Issue_6_1987-12_COMPUTE_Publications_US#page/n55/mode/2up | title=Macintosh: The Word Explosion | magazine=[[Compute!]]'s Apple Applications | volume=5 |issue=2, #6| date=December 1987 | access-date=14 September 2016 | last=McNeill |first=Dan | pages=54–60}}</ref>

''[[MacUser (US edition)|MacUser]]'' gave WriteNow 2.0 for Macintosh a 4 mice (out of 5) in the August 1989 issue, pitting it against [[MacWrite#MacWrite II|MacWrite II]]. It praised the speed of the application, while criticizing the complexity of the multi-column formatting.<ref name="macuser1989_08_2" /> WriteNow won MacUser's Editor's Choice Award for Best New Word Processor in 1986<ref>{{cite magazine
| url=https://archive.org/details/MacUser8701January1987/page/n58/mode/1up
| title= 2nd Annual Editor's Choice award
| magazine= MacUser
| date=January 1987
| pages = 53–56
| volume = 3
| issue = 1
}}</ref> and 1988.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/MacUser8905May1989/page/n98/mode/1up |title=The 4th Annual Editor's Choice Awards| magazine=MacUser |date=May 1989 |pages=91–99 |volume=5 |issue=5}}</ref>

==Discontinuation==
Around 1993, rights to WriteNow (for both Macintosh and NeXT operating systems) were purchased by [[WordStar]].<ref name=macuser0693/> Shortly after that, WordStar merged with [[The Learning Company (formerly SoftKey)|SoftKey]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 18, 1993|title=SoftKey to buy Spinnaker, WordStar|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/08/18/SoftKey-to-buy-Spinnaker-WordStar/4167745646400/|access-date=2021-08-11|website=UPI|language=en}}</ref> and WriteNow was later discontinued. The lifecycle of computers using the 680x0 architecture was coming to an end, and the architecture-specific assembly language code that made WriteNow so much faster than its competitors also made it much more difficult to port to the new [[PowerPC]] processor<ref name=macworld9503 /> than competing word processors written in [[high level language|high-level languages]] such as [[C (programming language)|C]].

==See also==
* [[SimpleText]]
* [[TextEdit]]
* [[List of word processors]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426223416/http://www.macease.com/writenow-latest_info.html |date=April 26, 2009 |title=WriteNow: Latest  Info }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Writenow}}
[[Category:Apple Inc. software]]
[[Category:Classic Mac OS word processors]]
[[Category:1985 software]]
[[Category:Assembly language software]]
[[Category:Discontinued software]]