<s>
Electric	B-Application
Pencil	I-Application
,	O
released	O
in	O
December	O
1976	O
by	O
Michael	B-Application
Shrayer	I-Application
,	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
for	O
home	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1975	O
,	O
Michael	B-Application
Shrayer	I-Application
had	O
moved	O
to	O
California	O
after	O
20	O
years	O
as	O
a	O
New	O
York	O
filmmaker	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enjoying	O
assembling	O
electronic	O
kits	O
,	O
he	O
purchased	O
and	O
assembled	O
a	O
MITS	B-Architecture
Altair	I-Architecture
8800	I-Architecture
computer	O
,	O
then	O
modified	O
a	O
public	O
domain	O
assembler	O
program	O
for	O
the	O
Processor	B-Architecture
Technology	I-Architecture
Sol-20	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Having	O
never	O
heard	O
of	O
a	O
"	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
"	O
,	O
Shrayer	O
nonetheless	O
believed	O
that	O
he	O
should	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
use	O
his	O
computer	O
,	O
instead	O
of	O
a	O
typewriter	O
,	O
to	O
write	O
documentation	O
for	O
his	O
program	O
,	O
and	O
thus	O
wrote	O
another	O
program	O
–	O
the	O
first	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
for	O
a	O
microcomputer	O
–	O
with	O
which	O
to	O
do	O
so	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Electric	B-Application
Pencil	I-Application
for	O
the	O
Altair	O
appeared	O
in	O
December	O
1976	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
version	O
for	O
the	O
Sol-20	B-Architecture
became	O
especially	O
popular	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
no	O
large	O
network	O
of	O
computer	O
stores	O
existed	O
,	O
Shrayer	O
formed	O
Michael	B-Application
Shrayer	I-Application
Software	O
Inc	O
.	O
–	O
a	O
decision	O
he	O
regretted	O
,	O
as	O
naming	O
the	O
company	O
after	O
himself	O
cost	O
him	O
his	O
privacy	O
–	O
advertised	O
in	O
computer	O
magazines	O
such	O
as	O
BYTE	O
,	O
and	O
sold	O
the	O
program	O
via	O
mail	O
order	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Electric	B-Application
Pencil	I-Application
required	O
8K	O
of	O
memory	O
and	O
an	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8080	I-General_Concept
or	O
Zilog	B-General_Concept
Z80	I-General_Concept
processor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
customers	O
requested	O
the	O
program	O
for	O
their	O
specific	O
computers	O
and	O
operating	O
systems	O
he	O
ported	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
to	O
each	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
78	O
versions	O
including	O
the	O
NorthStar	B-Architecture
Horizon	I-Architecture
and	O
TRS-80	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Electric	B-Application
Pencil	I-Application
was	O
the	O
first	O
program	O
for	O
microcomputers	O
to	O
implement	O
a	O
basic	O
feature	O
of	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
:	O
word	O
wrap	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
lines	O
are	O
adjusted	O
as	O
words	O
are	O
inserted	O
and	O
deleted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Electric	B-Application
Pencil	I-Application
's	O
market	O
dominance	O
might	O
have	O
continued	O
had	O
Shrayer	O
continued	O
to	O
update	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
imitators	O
appeared	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
including	O
WordStar	B-Application
and	O
Magic	O
Wand	O
,	O
both	O
of	O
which	O
surpassed	O
the	O
original	O
's	O
popularity	O
as	O
Shrayer	O
became	O
bored	O
with	O
programming	O
and	O
sold	O
its	O
rights	O
to	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Electric	B-Application
Pencil	I-Application
remained	O
on	O
the	O
market	O
into	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
including	O
a	O
version	O
for	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
in	O
1983	O
,	O
but	O
by	O
1982	O
James	O
Fallows	O
described	O
it	O
as	O
"	O
outdated	O
and	O
crude	O
"	O
compared	O
to	O
newer	O
products	O
like	O
Perfect	B-Operating_System
Writer	I-Operating_System
and	O
Scripsit	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jerry	O
Pournelle	O
is	O
recognized	O
as	O
the	O
first	O
author	O
to	O
have	O
written	O
a	O
published	O
portion	O
of	O
a	O
book	O
using	O
a	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
on	O
a	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
,	O
using	O
Electric	B-Application
Pencil	I-Application
for	O
that	O
purpose	O
.	O
</s>
