<s>
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
program	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
family	I-Device
released	O
by	O
Atari	O
as	O
a	O
16kB	O
ROM	B-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
in	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
had	O
introduced	O
its	O
first	O
branded	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
in	O
1981	O
,	O
Atari	B-Protocol
Word	I-Protocol
Processor	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
introducing	O
new	O
models	O
of	O
the	O
computers	O
,	O
the	O
XL	O
series	O
,	O
the	O
decision	O
was	O
made	O
to	O
abandon	O
Word	B-General_Concept
Processor	I-General_Concept
in	O
favour	O
of	O
a	O
simpler	O
program	O
that	O
would	O
run	O
on	O
any	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
to	O
them	O
hiring	O
William	O
Robinson	O
,	O
author	O
of	O
Datasoft	B-Application
's	O
Text	O
Wizard	O
,	O
and	O
having	O
him	O
to	O
modify	O
the	O
program	O
to	O
run	O
from	O
a	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
only	O
major	O
concerns	O
were	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
mail	B-Application
merge	I-Application
,	O
a	O
spell	B-Application
checker	I-Application
and	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
printer	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
for	O
anything	O
other	O
than	O
Atari	O
's	O
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
author	O
of	O
an	O
add-on	O
printer	O
pack	O
estimated	O
he	O
sold	O
25,000	O
copies	O
through	O
the	O
Atari	B-Application
Program	I-Application
Exchange	I-Application
and	O
direct	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
later	O
merged	O
the	O
spell	B-Application
checker	I-Application
,	O
a	O
mail	B-Application
merge	I-Application
function	O
and	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
other	O
features	O
in	O
1986	O
's	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
Plus	O
,	O
available	O
on	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
final	O
upgrade	O
was	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
80	O
of	O
1989	O
,	O
which	O
added	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
XEP80	O
80-column	O
display	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
also	O
spawned	O
a	O
port	O
to	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
,	O
ST	B-Protocol
Writer	I-Protocol
,	O
which	O
was	O
offered	O
free	O
on	O
early	O
models	O
of	O
the	O
ST	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
's	O
original	O
marketing	O
plan	O
for	O
the	O
8-bit	O
machines	O
was	O
to	O
sell	O
the	O
400	O
into	O
educational	O
settings	O
and	O
for	O
games	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
800	O
into	O
small-office	O
settings	O
where	O
CP/M	B-Application
and	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
were	O
successful	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1980	O
Atari	O
decided	O
to	O
attack	O
this	O
problem	O
by	O
introducing	O
their	O
own	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
,	O
the	O
inventively	O
named	O
Atari	B-Protocol
Word	I-Protocol
Processor	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
shipped	O
on	O
a	O
copy	B-Application
protected	I-Application
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
and	O
required	O
48kB	O
of	O
RAM	O
,	O
meaning	O
that	O
the	O
user	O
had	O
to	O
have	O
a	O
fully-expanded	O
800	O
and	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
810	I-Device
disk	O
drive	O
at	O
a	O
minimum	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
machines	O
lacked	O
a	O
parallel	B-Device
port	I-Device
and	O
Atari	O
did	O
not	O
sell	O
any	O
printers	O
with	O
the	O
SIO	B-Architecture
adaptor	O
built-in	O
,	O
so	O
actually	O
printing	O
the	O
results	O
required	O
the	O
Atari	O
850	O
interface	O
and	O
a	O
parallel	O
printer	O
like	O
the	O
Atari	O
825	O
or	O
the	O
widely	O
recommended	O
Epson	O
MX-80	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
an	O
extensive	O
set	O
of	O
editing	O
commands	O
using	O
control	B-Device
keys	I-Device
,	O
including	O
cursor	O
commands	O
that	O
did	O
not	O
use	O
the	O
system	O
's	O
own	O
cursor	B-Device
keys	I-Device
,	O
more	O
complex	O
operations	O
like	O
loading	O
documents	O
or	O
printing	O
required	O
trips	O
through	O
multi-level	O
text	O
menus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Word	B-General_Concept
Processor	I-General_Concept
was	O
not	O
the	O
only	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
in	O
the	O
early	O
days	O
of	O
the	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reviews	O
from	O
1982	O
generally	O
also	O
considered	O
Text	O
Wizard	O
from	O
Datasoft	B-Application
and	O
Letter	O
Perfect	O
from	O
LKJ	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moving	O
to	O
Atari	O
,	O
Furr	O
and	O
product	O
manager	O
Peggy	O
Allen	O
soon	O
began	O
planning	O
to	O
replace	O
Word	B-General_Concept
Processor	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
of	O
modifying	O
Word	B-General_Concept
Processor	I-General_Concept
,	O
they	O
decided	O
to	O
abandon	O
it	O
entirely	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ironically	O
,	O
Furr	O
wrote	O
the	O
design	O
specification	O
in	O
March	O
or	O
April	O
1982	O
using	O
Word	B-General_Concept
Processor	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
they	O
hired	O
the	O
author	O
of	O
Text	O
Wizard	O
,	O
15-year-old	O
William	O
Robinson	O
,	O
to	O
modify	O
that	O
program	O
to	O
run	O
in	O
a	O
ROM	B-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Robinson	O
had	O
written	O
Text	O
Wizard	O
for	O
the	O
LA-based	O
software	O
company	O
Datasoft	B-Application
,	O
and	O
it	O
had	O
garnered	O
good	O
reviews	O
while	O
running	O
in	O
very	O
little	O
RAM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
bank	B-General_Concept
switching	I-General_Concept
cartridges	B-Protocol
were	O
not	O
common	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
Atari	O
machines	O
had	O
always	O
included	O
the	O
little-used	O
ability	O
to	O
include	O
up	O
to	O
16kB	O
in	O
a	O
single	O
cart	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
would	O
allow	O
it	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
any	O
machine	O
in	O
the	O
lineup	O
,	O
even	O
early-model	O
400	O
's	O
and	O
the	O
later	O
600XL	B-Device
which	O
came	O
with	O
only	O
16kB	O
of	O
RAM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
meant	O
there	O
was	O
no	O
requirement	O
for	O
a	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
,	O
and	O
documents	O
could	O
be	O
saved	O
even	O
to	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
410	I-Device
cassette	O
drive	O
if	O
need	O
be	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
huge	O
advantage	O
over	O
Word	B-General_Concept
Processor	I-General_Concept
was	O
that	O
the	O
program	O
did	O
not	O
load	O
into	O
RAM	O
and	O
thus	O
left	O
much	O
more	O
memory	O
free	O
;	O
on	O
an	O
800	O
,	O
Word	B-General_Concept
Processor	I-General_Concept
had	O
only	O
about	O
10kB	O
free	O
,	O
enough	O
for	O
about	O
one	O
page	O
of	O
text	O
,	O
but	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
had	O
roughly	O
20kB	O
free	O
even	O
with	O
DOS	O
loaded	O
,	O
allowing	O
small	O
documents	O
up	O
to	O
about	O
six	O
pages	O
to	O
be	O
held	O
entirely	O
in	O
memory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furr	O
described	O
how	O
they	O
handled	O
printers	O
,	O
the	O
program	O
would	O
load	O
a	O
single	O
printer	B-Application
driver	I-Application
at	O
a	O
time	O
,	O
with	O
all	O
four	O
Atari	O
printers	O
supported	O
and	O
others	O
available	O
on	O
disk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
the	O
manual	O
added	O
a	O
short	O
section	O
stating	O
additional	O
drivers	O
would	O
be	O
available	O
from	O
the	O
Atari	B-Application
Program	I-Application
Exchange	I-Application
(	O
APX	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
1.0	O
was	O
released	O
to	O
production	O
in	O
the	O
spring	O
of	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furr	O
left	O
Atari	O
shortly	O
thereafter	O
and	O
took	O
a	O
position	O
with	O
Datasoft	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Three	O
additional	O
minor	O
upgrades	O
were	O
released	O
over	O
the	O
next	O
year	O
,	O
culminating	O
in	O
Version	O
C	B-Language
.	O
The	O
program	O
was	O
an	O
enormous	O
success	O
,	O
becoming	O
one	O
of	O
Atari	O
's	O
best-selling	O
products	O
of	O
all	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furr	O
was	O
later	O
told	O
that	O
the	O
original	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
version	O
had	O
sold	O
approximately	O
800,000	O
copies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
these	O
was	O
the	O
130XE	B-Device
model	O
,	O
which	O
used	O
bank	B-General_Concept
switching	I-General_Concept
to	O
support	O
128kB	O
of	O
RAM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
these	O
machines	O
,	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
November	O
1985	O
,	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
Plus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
this	O
time	O
,	O
Robinson	O
had	O
left	O
Datasoft	B-Application
and	O
started	O
his	O
own	O
company	O
,	O
Micro	O
Fantasy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Robinson	O
continued	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
primary	O
programmer	O
on	O
the	O
core	O
program	O
,	O
while	O
Ron	O
Rosen	O
handled	O
the	O
mail	B-Application
merge	I-Application
,	O
and	O
R	O
.	O
Stanley	O
Kistler	O
the	O
spell	B-Application
checker	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
version	O
added	O
a	O
huge	O
number	O
of	O
features	O
,	O
giving	O
it	O
parity	O
with	O
the	O
original	O
Atari	B-Protocol
Word	I-Protocol
Processor	I-Protocol
in	O
terms	O
of	O
power	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adding	O
all	O
of	O
this	O
functionality	O
meant	O
it	O
no	O
longer	O
fit	O
on	O
a	O
16kB	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
it	O
instead	O
shipped	O
on	O
two	O
flippy	O
disks	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
them	O
with	O
the	O
"	O
normal	O
"	O
version	O
on	O
one	O
side	O
and	O
the	O
130XE	B-Device
version	O
on	O
the	O
other	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
had	O
been	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
notable	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Atari	B-Protocol
Word	I-Protocol
Processor	I-Protocol
,	O
which	O
used	O
the	O
platform	O
's	O
hardware	O
assisted	O
scrolling	O
system	O
to	O
rapidly	O
move	O
the	O
entire	O
document	O
horizontally	O
to	O
allow	O
editing	O
at	O
up	O
to	O
132	O
columns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
worked	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
way	O
,	O
but	O
expanded	O
it	O
even	O
further	O
to	O
a	O
maximum	O
of	O
249	O
columns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
major	O
feature	O
taken	O
from	O
Word	B-General_Concept
Processor	I-General_Concept
was	O
two-column	O
layout	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
manual	O
included	O
an	O
entire	O
section	O
on	O
how	O
to	O
create	O
your	O
own	O
printer	B-Application
driver	I-Application
,	O
although	O
the	O
ones	O
from	O
the	O
original	O
APX	O
disks	O
continued	O
to	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
notable	O
was	O
Atari	O
Proofreader	O
,	O
a	O
spell	B-Application
checker	I-Application
with	O
36,000	O
word	O
library	O
that	O
took	O
up	O
both	O
sides	O
of	O
the	O
second	O
disk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
was	O
the	O
Mail	B-Application
Merge	I-Application
option	O
,	O
which	O
worked	O
in	O
a	O
similar	O
fashion	O
and	O
could	O
merge	O
with	O
up	O
to	O
255	O
records	O
of	O
up	O
to	O
15	O
fields	O
stored	O
in	O
a	O
second	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
these	O
were	O
all	O
disk	O
based	O
,	O
they	O
were	O
quite	O
slow	O
;	O
a	O
3,000	O
word	O
document	O
took	O
about	O
15	O
minutes	O
to	O
spell	B-Application
check	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
downside	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
program	O
was	O
that	O
it	O
left	O
only	O
12kB	O
free	O
on	O
an	O
original	O
48kB	O
machine	O
,	O
only	O
slightly	O
more	O
than	O
the	O
10kB	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Word	B-General_Concept
Processor	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
130XE	B-Device
,	O
running	O
the	O
custom	O
version	O
,	O
47,616	O
bytes	O
were	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
years	O
of	O
complaints	O
that	O
the	O
platform	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
any	O
official	O
80-column	O
support	O
,	O
in	O
1989	O
Atari	O
released	O
the	O
XEP80	O
,	O
a	O
plug-in	O
display	O
module	O
that	O
connected	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
Atari	B-Protocol
joystick	I-Protocol
ports	I-Protocol
to	O
a	O
composite	O
monitor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
used	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
Plus	O
to	O
produce	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
80	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
otherwise	O
identical	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
of	O
the	O
Tramiel	O
family	O
's	O
goals	O
after	O
taking	O
over	O
Atari	O
was	O
to	O
introduce	O
an	O
entirely	O
new	O
GUI-based	O
computer	O
,	O
which	O
emerged	O
as	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
in	O
the	O
summer	O
of	O
1985	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Concerned	O
about	O
the	O
same	O
issue	O
that	O
caused	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
800	I-Device
to	O
be	O
seen	O
dismissively	O
,	O
they	O
had	O
programmer	O
Dan	O
Oliver	O
port	O
the	O
existing	O
assembler	B-Language
language	I-Language
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
screen	O
editor	O
code	O
to	O
the	O
ST	O
while	O
John	O
Feagans	O
converted	O
the	O
layout	O
and	O
formatting	O
handlers	O
to	O
the	O
C	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
two	O
weeks	O
,	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
Plus	O
was	O
up	O
and	O
running	O
as	O
ST	B-Protocol
Writer	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
useful	O
as	O
the	O
program	O
was	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
not	O
GUI-based	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
free	O
while	O
Atari	O
began	O
the	O
search	O
for	O
a	O
GUI	B-Application
program	O
to	O
replace	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
GUI	B-Application
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
soon	O
emerged	O
,	O
some	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
on	O
1985	O
,	O
and	O
ST	B-Protocol
Writer	I-Protocol
development	O
at	O
Atari	O
ended	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
continued	O
releasing	O
the	O
product	O
through	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
major	O
versions	O
,	O
even	O
adding	O
a	O
limited	O
GUI	B-Application
for	O
menu	O
access	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
last	O
releases	O
well	O
into	O
the	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reviews	O
of	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
were	O
generally	O
very	O
positive	O
,	O
complaining	O
mostly	O
about	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
printer	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
,	O
mail	B-Application
merge	I-Application
and	O
spell	B-Application
checking	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
complaining	O
that	O
other	O
printers	O
were	O
not	O
supported	O
,	O
noting	O
the	O
Epson	O
in	O
particular	O
,	O
the	O
article	O
concludes	O
"	O
The	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
has	O
good	O
documentation	O
,	O
is	O
reasonable	O
easy	O
to	O
learn	O
and	O
to	O
use	O
,	O
does	O
n't	O
seem	O
to	O
leave	O
you	O
hung	O
up	O
anywhere	O
and	O
has	O
sufficient	O
commands	O
and	O
flexibility	O
to	O
meet	O
the	O
needs	O
of	O
those	O
who	O
are	O
most	O
likely	O
to	O
use	O
it	O
...	O
After	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
strikeouts	O
,	O
Atari	O
has	O
a	O
hit	O
on	O
their	O
hands.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Antic	O
magazine	O
lauded	O
its	O
speed	O
,	O
simplicity	O
,	O
undo	B-Application
command	I-Application
and	O
called	O
it	O
"	O
fool	O
proof	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
only	O
concerns	O
were	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
3rd	O
party	O
printer	O
support	O
,	O
overstrike	B-Device
mode	I-Device
,	O
and	O
mail	B-Application
merge	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
concluded	O
that	O
"	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
is	O
the	O
best	O
non-game	O
program	O
Atari	O
has	O
released	O
...	O
</s>
<s>
Compared	O
to	O
the	O
other	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
available	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
clearly	O
superior	O
on	O
price	O
and	O
performance.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Creative	B-General_Concept
Computing	I-General_Concept
reviewed	O
it	O
more	O
extensively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
lack	O
of	O
printer	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
is	O
pointed	O
out	O
,	O
but	O
this	O
is	O
solved	O
somewhat	O
by	O
allowing	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
embed	O
printer	O
control	O
characters	O
directly	O
in	O
the	O
text	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
concludes	O
"	O
My	O
overall	O
impression	O
of	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
is	O
positive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Powerful	O
features	O
like	O
file	O
merging	O
and	O
chain	O
printing	O
are	O
supported	O
...	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
will	O
be	O
the	O
best	O
Atari	B-Protocol
word	I-Protocol
processor	I-Protocol
for	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
Atari	O
computer	O
owners.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
starts	O
"	O
Given	O
the	O
limitations	O
of	O
Atari	O
hardware	O
,	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
good	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
if	O
you	O
write	O
documents	O
larger	O
than	O
your	O
computer	O
's	O
memory	O
,	O
or	O
if	O
you	O
need	O
to	O
display	O
80	O
columns	O
of	O
text	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
,	O
forget	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
,	O
stick	O
to	O
your	O
typewriter	O
or	O
buy	O
a	O
more	O
expensive	O
computer.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
book	O
stated	O
that	O
it	O
"	O
heralds	O
a	O
new	O
era	O
in	O
word	O
processing	O
"	O
for	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
owners	O
,	O
and	O
"	O
a	O
good	O
reason	O
in	O
itself	O
to	O
purchase	O
an	O
Atari	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
praised	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
's	O
ease	O
of	O
use	O
and	O
print	O
preview	O
,	O
and	O
concluded	O
that	O
the	O
software	O
was	O
"	O
a	O
must	O
for	O
every	O
serious	O
writer	O
and	O
Atari	O
owner.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Consumer	O
Reports	O
rated	O
the	O
combination	O
of	O
an	O
Atari	B-Device
800XL	I-Device
,	O
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
and	O
the	O
Atari	O
1027	O
printer	O
as	O
the	O
best	O
word	O
processing	O
system	O
for	O
the	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AtariWriter	B-Protocol
includes	O
automatic	O
word	B-Algorithm
wrap	I-Algorithm
,	O
full-screen	O
editing	O
,	O
dual-column	O
printing	O
,	O
search	O
and	O
replace	O
,	O
undo	B-Application
,	O
block	O
editing	O
and	O
a	O
print	O
preview	O
feature	O
that	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
view	O
a	O
printable	O
page	O
by	O
scrolling	O
across	O
the	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
