Skip to main content

palindrome emordnilap's Library tagged writing →  View Popular

06 Jun 08

Word Processors: Stupid and Inefficient

  • The word processor is a stupid and grossly inefficient tool
    for preparing text for communication with others.     That is the
    claim I shall defend below. It will probably strike you as bizarre at
    first sight. If I am against word processors, what do I propose: that
    we write in longhand, or use a mechanical typewriter? No. While
    there are things to be said in favor of these modes of text
    preparation I take it for granted that most readers of this essay will
    do most of their writing using a computer, as I do. My claim is that
    there are much better ways of preparing text, using a computer, than
    the word processor.
  • I am suggesting, therefore, that should be two distinct ``moments'' in
    the production of a printed text using a computer. First one types
    one's text and gets its logical structure right, indicating this
    structure in the text via simple annotations. This is
    accomplished using a text editor, a piece of software not to
    be confused with a word processor. (I will explain this distinction
    more fully below.) Then one ``hands over'' one's text to a typesetting
    program, which in a very short time returns beautifully typeset copy.
1 - 20 of 27 Next ›
Showing 20▼ items per page

Selected Tags

Related Tags

Sponsored Links

Ads by Google

Diigo is about better ways to research, share and collaborate on information. Learn more »

Join Diigo