<s>
The	O
IBM	B-Protocol
6580	I-Protocol
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
System	O
is	O
a	O
16-bit	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
that	O
was	O
marketed	O
and	O
sold	O
by	O
IBM	O
's	O
Office	O
Products	O
Division	O
primarily	O
as	O
a	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Announced	O
in	O
June	O
1980	O
and	O
effectively	O
withdrawn	O
from	O
marketing	O
in	O
July	O
1986	O
,	O
the	O
system	O
was	O
sold	O
with	O
a	O
5MHz	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8086	I-General_Concept
,	O
128K	O
to	O
448K	O
of	O
RAM	O
,	O
a	O
swivel-mounted	O
monochrome	O
CRT	B-Device
monitor	I-Device
,	O
a	O
detached	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
a	O
detached	O
8	B-Device
"	I-Device
floppy	I-Device
disk	I-Device
drive	I-Device
enclosure	O
with	O
one	O
or	O
two	O
drives	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
detached	O
daisy	O
wheel	O
printer	O
,	O
or	O
Selectric	O
typewriter	O
printer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
primary	O
operating	O
system	O
for	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
is	O
IBM	O
's	O
internally	O
developed	O
word	O
processing	O
software	O
titled	O
"	O
Textpack	O
"	O
,	O
but	O
UCSD	B-Language
p-System	I-Language
,	O
CP/M	B-Operating_System
-86	I-Operating_System
and	O
MS-DOS	O
were	O
also	O
offered	O
by	O
IBM	O
,	O
Digital	O
Research	O
and	O
CompuSystems	O
,	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
primary	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
operating	O
system	O
,	O
Textpack	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
word	O
processing	O
suite	O
that	O
was	O
aimed	O
at	O
automating	O
document	O
creation	O
and	O
finalization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
features	O
varied	O
from	O
basic	O
text	O
editing	O
with	O
the	O
lowest	O
Textpacks	O
,	O
E	O
and	O
1	O
,	O
to	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
spell	O
check	O
,	O
mail	B-Application
merge	I-Application
,	O
automatically	O
generate	O
headers	O
and	O
footers	O
,	O
customize	O
menu	O
shortcuts	O
,	O
save	O
and	O
recall	O
macros	O
,	O
process	O
light	O
arithmetic	O
and	O
simultaneously	O
run	O
additional	O
IBM	O
programs	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
3278	B-Operating_System
terminal	O
session	O
with	O
Textpack	O
6	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Textpacks	O
4	O
and	O
6	O
also	O
offered	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
combine	O
all	O
program	O
disks	B-Device
into	O
a	O
single	O
DS	O
DD	O
floppy	O
,	O
which	O
could	O
then	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
document	O
storage	O
if	O
space	O
remained	O
on	O
the	O
disk	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
programs	O
included	O
:	O
"	O
Chartpack	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
program	O
to	O
create	O
business	O
charts	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
inserted	O
into	O
typed	O
documents	O
;	O
"	O
Reportpack	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
program	O
to	O
create	O
and	O
manage	O
lists	O
of	O
data	O
;	O
"	O
Language	O
pack	O
"	O
,	O
to	O
provide	O
spell	O
checking	O
in	O
11	O
languages	O
;	O
"	O
Extended	O
Spelling	O
Dictionary	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
provided	O
spell	O
checking	O
for	O
United	O
States	O
legal	O
terminology	O
;	O
"	O
Electronic	O
Document	O
Distribution	O
"	O
,	O
to	O
share	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
documents	O
with	O
a	O
S/370	B-Device
mainframe	O
;	O
Bisynchronous	O
and	O
Asynchronous	O
communications	O
;	O
3277	O
terminal	O
emulation	O
;	O
3278	B-Operating_System
terminal	O
emulation	O
;	O
IBM	O
mag	O
card	O
conversion	O
software	O
;	O
a	O
"	O
PC	O
attach	O
program	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
allowed	O
file	O
sharing	O
and	O
fixed	O
disk	B-Device
sharing	O
with	O
an	O
IBM	O
PC/jr/XT	O
;	O
and	O
also	O
several	O
tailored	O
templates	O
for	O
specialized	O
data	O
processing	O
including	O
"	O
Administrative	O
Support	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
Educational	O
Fund	O
Raising	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
Title	O
Insurance	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
Applicant	O
Processing	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
Personnel	O
Report	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
IBM	O
,	O
this	O
tiered	O
approach	O
of	O
incorporating	O
multiple	O
levels	O
of	O
operating	O
systems	O
and	O
associated	O
feature	O
programs	O
,	O
was	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
more	O
economical	O
for	O
smaller	O
businesses	O
,	O
who	O
could	O
choose	O
a	O
cheaper	O
software	O
package	O
and	O
then	O
upgrade	O
as	O
their	O
needs	O
required	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
used	O
the	O
six	O
character	O
disk	B-Device
labels	O
of	O
the	O
program	O
disks	B-Device
to	O
determine	O
whether	O
one	O
disk	B-Device
was	O
compatible	O
with	O
another	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
a	O
disk	B-Device
label	O
of	O
a	O
noncompatible	O
program	O
diskette	O
is	O
changed	O
to	O
a	O
label	O
associated	O
with	O
a	O
compatible	O
diskette	O
,	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
will	O
attempt	O
to	O
execute	O
the	O
disk	B-Device
as	O
if	O
it	O
contained	O
the	O
correct	O
software	O
,	O
but	O
certain	O
features	O
will	O
either	O
not	O
function	O
properly	O
,	O
or	O
Textpack	O
will	O
abend	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Diskettes	O
used	O
within	O
Textpack	O
are	O
always	O
formatted	O
as	O
either	O
284	O
kB	O
capacity	O
if	O
the	O
disk	B-Device
is	O
1D	O
,	O
or	O
985	O
kB	O
capacity	O
if	O
the	O
disk	B-Device
is	O
2D	O
,	O
regardless	O
of	O
a	O
disk	B-Device
's	O
actual	O
advertized	O
capacity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
a	O
software	O
limitation	O
of	O
Textpack	O
,	O
and	O
not	O
a	O
hardware	O
limitation	O
of	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
user	O
accessible	O
setting	O
to	O
designate	O
disk	B-Device
sector	O
size	O
within	O
Textpack	O
,	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
arbitrarily	O
assumes	O
that	O
all	O
1D	O
disks	B-Device
are	O
rated	O
as	O
SS	O
SD	O
with	O
256B	O
sectors	O
and	O
that	O
all	O
2D	O
disks	B-Device
are	O
rated	O
as	O
DS	O
DD	O
with	O
256B	O
sectors	O
,	O
which	O
results	O
in	O
the	O
aforementioned	O
capacities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
format	O
that	O
Textpack	O
diskettes	O
utilized	O
,	O
though	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
IBM	O
3740	O
Data	O
Entry	O
System	O
,	O
was	O
uniquely	O
proprietary	O
and	O
not	O
interchangeable	O
with	O
any	O
other	O
IBM	O
system	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
's	O
predecessor	O
,	O
the	O
Office	O
System	O
6	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Text	O
created	O
in	O
Textpack	O
is	O
stored	O
in	O
a	O
file	O
structure	O
unique	O
to	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
and	O
is	O
encoded	O
with	O
8-bit	O
EBCDIC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
also	O
supports	O
ASCII	O
,	O
but	O
8-bit	O
EBCDIC	O
is	O
used	O
in	O
this	O
context	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
256	O
characters	O
available	O
per	O
EBCDIC	O
font	O
set	O
,	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
maximum	O
of	O
128	O
characters	O
available	O
per	O
ASCII	O
font	O
set	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
uses	O
two	O
of	O
these	O
EBCDIC	O
256	O
character	O
font	O
sets	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
stored	O
in	O
ROM	O
on	O
the	O
display	O
adapter	O
card	O
in	O
either	O
two	O
or	O
four	O
PROM	O
chips	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
card	O
revision	O
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
achieve	O
a	O
total	O
of	O
512	O
possible	O
available	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
instructed	O
,	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
draws	O
from	O
these	O
font	O
sets	O
to	O
generate	O
a	O
working	O
character	O
table	O
in	O
RAM	O
for	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
to	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Changing	O
characters	O
can	O
be	O
done	O
in	O
Textpack	O
by	O
using	O
the	O
"	O
keyboard	B-Device
change	O
"	O
button	O
on	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ASCII	O
code	O
set	O
is	O
accessible	O
within	O
Textpack	O
while	O
using	O
the	O
Asynchronous	O
or	O
Bisynchronous	O
communication	O
features	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
converts	O
the	O
stored	O
EBCDIC	O
characters	O
into	O
ASCII	O
before	O
transmitting	O
and	O
after	O
receiving	O
text	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
if	O
the	O
user	O
wishes	O
to	O
type	O
in	O
ASCII	O
directly	O
during	O
a	O
communication	O
session	O
,	O
they	O
can	O
change	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
to	O
keyboard	B-Device
#103	O
which	O
is	O
the	O
standard	O
ASCII	O
keyboard	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
in	O
ASCII	O
mode	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
can	O
generate	O
all	O
printable	O
ASCII	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ASCII	O
control	O
characters	O
can	O
be	O
accessed	O
at	O
any	O
time	O
,	O
even	O
in	O
EBCDIC	O
mode	O
,	O
by	O
depressing	O
the	O
control	O
key	O
(	O
the	O
blank	O
key	O
above	O
on	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
)	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
pressing	O
a	O
corresponding	O
key	O
in	O
the	O
alphanumeric	O
block	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UCSD	B-Language
p-System	I-Language
was	O
the	O
official	O
"	O
data	O
processing	O
"	O
operating	O
system	O
for	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
,	O
offered	O
by	O
IBM	O
through	O
contract	O
with	O
Softech	O
Microsystems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Announced	O
in	O
September	O
1982	O
and	O
made	O
available	O
in	O
December	O
1982	O
,	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
contract	O
,	O
p-System	B-Language
was	O
extensively	O
supported	O
by	O
Softech	O
Microsystems	O
,	O
and	O
had	O
multiple	O
feature	O
upgrades	O
offered	O
from	O
IBM	O
as	O
time	O
went	O
on	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
purchasing	O
UCSD	B-Language
p-System	I-Language
for	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
,	O
the	O
purchaser	O
could	O
choose	O
between	O
p-System	B-Language
Runtime	O
,	O
or	O
p-System	B-Language
"	O
Development	O
System	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
the	O
same	O
as	O
Runtime	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
bundled	O
with	O
a	O
BASIC	O
compiler	O
or	O
an	O
additional	O
Fortran-77	O
,	O
8086	B-General_Concept
Assembly	O
code	O
,	O
or	O
PASCAL	O
compiler	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
also	O
sold	O
a	O
software	O
upgrade	O
that	O
would	O
provide	O
p-System	B-Language
with	O
the	O
appropriate	O
I/O	O
calls	O
for	O
the	O
RS232	O
port(s )	O
on	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
's	O
communications	O
card	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
conversion	O
utility	O
,	O
titled	O
"	O
B&H	O
Exchange	O
Utility	O
"	O
,	O
to	O
convert	O
UCSD	O
format	O
files	O
to	O
"	O
B&H	O
"	O
format	O
files	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
the	O
file	O
structure	O
used	O
on	O
the	O
System/23	B-Device
Datamaster	O
,	O
System/36	O
and	O
System/38	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
p-System	B-Language
did	O
not	O
pick	O
up	O
much	O
steam	O
on	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
,	O
but	O
was	O
notably	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
USDA	O
Rural	O
Development	O
as	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
for	O
the	O
"	O
Farmer	O
Program	O
Servicing	O
Action	O
System	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
a	O
custom	O
software	O
suite	O
written	O
by	O
the	O
Rural	O
Development	O
agency	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additional	O
programs	O
offered	O
by	O
IBM	O
for	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
p-System	B-Language
included	O
:	O
"	O
Financial	O
Planning	O
and	O
Report	O
Generating	O
System	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
an	O
advanced	O
version	O
of	O
Reportpack	O
that	O
included	O
financial	O
modeling	O
and	O
easier	O
report	O
generation	O
,	O
"	O
QUICKSTART	O
Utility	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
decreased	O
load	O
time	O
of	O
large	O
programs	O
,	O
and	O
"	O
Money-Track	O
"	O
financial	O
tracking	O
by	O
Pacific	O
Data	O
Systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Digital	O
Research	O
announced	O
CP/M	B-Operating_System
-86	I-Operating_System
v1.1	O
with	O
BDOS	O
2.2	O
for	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
in	O
November	O
1981	O
,	O
with	O
orders	O
starting	O
to	O
ship	O
in	O
Q1	O
1982	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
release	O
contains	O
custom	O
I/O	O
calls	O
and	O
printer	O
configuration	O
menus	O
for	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
's	O
proprietary	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
functionally	O
equivalent	O
to	O
CP/M	B-Operating_System
-86	I-Operating_System
for	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
but	O
with	O
the	O
caveat	O
that	O
the	O
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
disk	B-Device
subsystem	O
and	O
graphics	O
card	O
prevent	O
HDD	O
support	O
or	O
raster/vector	O
graphics	O
support	O
from	O
being	O
possible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
said	O
,	O
most	O
CP/M	B-Operating_System
-86	I-Operating_System
software	O
is	O
compatible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
hardware	O
architectures	O
that	O
ran	O
CP/M	O
,	O
most	O
CP/M	B-Operating_System
-86	I-Operating_System
software	O
has	O
a	O
keyboard	B-Device
and	O
CRT	B-Device
control	O
code	O
configuration	O
menu	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
appropriate	O
information	O
can	O
be	O
entered	O
for	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
CP/M	B-Operating_System
-86	I-Operating_System
was	O
originally	O
meant	O
to	O
be	O
released	O
under	O
contract	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
UCSD	B-Language
p-System	I-Language
,	O
but	O
this	O
ultimately	O
fell	O
through	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
was	O
instead	O
offered	O
independently	O
by	O
Digital	O
Research	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
internal	O
data	O
stream	O
of	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
is	O
EBCDIC	O
,	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
was	O
already	O
fully	O
capable	O
of	O
translating	O
the	O
data	O
stream	O
into	O
displayable	O
ASCII	O
outputs	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
Textpack	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
functionality	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
run	O
CP/M	B-Operating_System
-86	I-Operating_System
in	O
ASCII	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
prerelease	O
version	O
of	O
CP/M	B-Operating_System
-86	I-Operating_System
had	O
a	O
manually	O
mapped	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
but	O
the	O
production	O
release	O
utilized	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
IDs	O
produced	O
by	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
keyboard	B-Device
controller	O
and	O
was	O
capable	O
of	O
switching	O
between	O
keyboard	B-Device
layouts	O
within	O
the	O
setup	O
menu	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CCP/M	O
-86	O
with	O
BDOS	O
3.1	O
for	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
also	O
began	O
development	O
in	O
Q4	O
1981	O
but	O
was	O
never	O
offered	O
as	O
an	O
official	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
limitations	O
of	O
MS-DOS	O
version	O
1.25	O
and	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
hardware	O
,	O
the	O
scope	O
of	O
applications	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
run	O
is	O
limited	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
MS-DOS	O
Loader	O
"	O
written	O
by	O
CompuSystems	O
ignores	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
's	O
ROM	O
BAT	O
results	O
and	O
does	O
its	O
own	O
hardware	O
assessment	O
when	O
loading	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
hardware	O
,	O
though	O
in	O
some	O
ways	O
comparable	O
to	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
5150	I-Device
,	O
did	O
not	O
use	O
off	O
the	O
shelf	O
components	O
,	O
an	O
open	O
architecture	O
,	O
or	O
third	O
party	O
peripherals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
electronic	O
components	O
bear	O
a	O
physical	O
resemblance	O
to	O
IBM	O
's	O
enterprise	O
level	O
hardware	O
of	O
the	O
era	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
fact	O
many	O
components	O
have	O
been	O
recycled	O
from	O
other	O
systems	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
certain	O
IBM-branded	O
chips	O
,	O
the	O
monitor	B-Device
(	O
which	O
is	O
a	O
recolored	O
3101	B-Device
terminal	I-Device
CRT	B-Device
)	O
,	O
or	O
the	O
disk	B-Device
drives	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
physical	O
layout	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
electronics	O
unit	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
the	O
box	O
that	O
the	O
CRT	B-Device
mounts	O
to	O
,	O
consists	O
of	O
a	O
power	O
supply	O
on	O
one	O
half	O
,	O
and	O
cards	O
containing	O
different	O
functions	O
slotted	O
into	O
a	O
backplane	O
with	O
six	O
slots	O
,	O
labeled	O
A-F	O
,	O
that	O
IBM	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
the	O
system	O
distribution	O
board	O
,	O
on	O
the	O
other	O
half	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
system	O
card	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
inserted	O
into	O
slot	O
B	O
of	O
the	O
distribution	O
board	O
,	O
contains	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
functions	O
that	O
would	O
be	O
expected	O
on	O
a	O
PC	O
mainboard	O
,	O
including	O
:	O
clock	O
,	O
central	O
processor	O
,	O
ROS	O
(	O
"	O
Read	O
Only	O
Storage	O
"	O
,	O
aka	O
ROM	O
)	O
,	O
keyboard	B-Device
adapter	O
,	O
interrupt	O
controller	O
and	O
direct	O
memory	O
access	O
controller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
RAM	O
is	O
not	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
card	O
and	O
is	O
instead	O
attached	O
as	O
a	O
discrete	O
card	O
in	O
slot	O
E	O
and	O
in	O
some	O
cases	O
also	O
slot	O
F	O
.	O
The	O
disk	B-Device
controller	O
is	O
not	O
located	O
within	O
the	O
electronics	O
unit	O
at	O
all	O
and	O
is	O
instead	O
located	O
within	O
the	O
unit	O
containing	O
the	O
floppy	O
disk	B-Device
drives	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Slot	O
A	O
on	O
the	O
distribution	O
card	O
will	O
contain	O
the	O
communications	O
card	O
when	O
it	O
is	O
not	O
located	O
in	O
the	O
disk	B-Device
unit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
contained	O
,	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
extensive	O
self	O
test	O
features	O
that	O
were	O
stored	O
in	O
ROS	O
(	O
ROM	O
)	O
chips	O
on	O
the	O
"	O
system	O
card	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
proprietary	O
,	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
hardware	O
was	O
meant	O
to	O
be	O
configurable	O
to	O
tailor	O
suit	O
the	O
needs	O
of	O
the	O
organization	O
ordering	O
the	O
machine	O
and	O
offered	O
multiple	O
configuration	O
options	O
and	O
additional	O
feature	O
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additional	O
configuration	O
options	O
included	O
a	O
25	O
-	O
or	O
(	O
vertically-oriented	O
)	O
66-line	O
display	O
,	O
one	O
or	O
two	O
disk	B-Device
drives	I-Device
,	O
1	O
sided	O
or	O
2	O
sided	O
disk	B-Device
drives	I-Device
,	O
a	O
beamspring	O
(	O
Type	O
A	O
)	O
or	O
Model	B-Device
F	I-Device
(	O
Type	O
B	O
)	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
and	O
RAM	O
configurations	O
between	O
128	O
and	O
448	O
KB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
A	O
basic	O
system	O
—	O
consisting	O
of	O
a	O
display	O
with	O
a	O
typewriter-like	O
keyboard	B-Device
and	O
a	O
logic	O
unit	O
,	O
a	O
printer	O
and	O
a	O
device	O
to	O
record	O
and	O
read	O
diskettes	O
capable	O
of	O
storing	O
more	O
than	O
100	O
pages	O
of	O
average	O
text	O
—	O
cost	O
and	O
leased	O
for	O
a	O
month.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
basic	O
word-processing	B-General_Concept
software	O
was	O
Textpack	O
E	O
,	O
with	O
simple	O
mail	B-Application
merge	I-Application
;	O
Textpack	O
2	O
added	O
support	O
for	O
double-sided	O
disks	B-Device
,	O
networking	O
,	O
spellchecking	O
,	O
and	O
print	B-Device
spooling	I-Device
;	O
Textpack	O
4	O
added	O
automatic	O
hyphenation	B-Algorithm
,	O
columns	O
,	O
and	O
more	O
sophisticated	O
merging	O
;	O
and	O
Textpack	O
6	O
added	O
automatic	O
footnoting	O
and	O
outlining	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
some	O
of	O
IBM	O
's	O
other	O
distributed	O
solutions	O
of	O
this	O
era	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
System/23	B-Device
,	O
5520	B-Device
and	O
5280	B-Device
,	O
which	O
floundered	O
and	O
had	O
limited	O
sales	O
,	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
was	O
initially	O
a	O
modest	O
success	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tom	O
Willmott	O
,	O
director	O
of	O
User	O
Programs	O
at	O
International	O
Data	O
Corporation	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
,	O
estimated	O
that	O
roughly	O
200,000	O
units	O
had	O
shipped	O
within	O
the	O
first	O
two	O
years	O
of	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
going	O
on	O
sale	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initial	O
reception	O
of	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
was	O
also	O
favorable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
8	O
"	O
disks	B-Device
at	O
the	O
time	O
were	O
cheaper	O
,	O
less	O
prone	O
to	O
data	O
corruption	O
,	O
and	O
could	O
hold	O
more	O
data	O
than	O
the	O
contemporaneous	O
320k	O
"	O
floppies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
Personal	I-Device
Computer	I-Device
line	O
,	O
which	O
went	O
on	O
the	O
market	O
in	O
1981	O
,	O
had	O
even	O
better	O
sales	O
numbers	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
timeframe	O
and	O
as	O
the	O
PC	O
and	O
clone	O
market	O
exploded	O
,	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
sales	O
quickly	O
fell	O
off	O
to	O
near	O
zero	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Computerworld	O
Magazine	O
,	O
one	O
anonymous	O
technician	O
had	O
installed	O
more	O
than	O
200	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
workstations	O
between	O
1982	O
and	O
1983	O
,	O
but	O
only	O
a	O
total	O
of	O
11	O
in	O
1984	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
that	O
point	O
,	O
DisplayWrite	O
software	O
had	O
been	O
announced	O
and	O
introduced	O
for	O
the	O
PC	O
line	O
,	O
and	O
critically	O
,	O
a	O
PC	O
cost	O
around	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
whereas	O
a	O
fully	O
equipped	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
could	O
cost	O
as	O
much	O
as	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
most	O
businesses	O
,	O
an	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
or	O
a	O
PC	O
compatible	O
was	O
the	O
obvious	O
choice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
's	O
initial	O
success	O
,	O
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
IBM	O
's	O
1984	O
push	O
to	O
unify	O
its	O
office	O
automation	O
products	O
,	O
prompted	O
IBM	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
parallel	O
to	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
's	O
Textpack	O
software	O
for	O
the	O
PC	O
line	O
,	O
System/36	O
line	O
and	O
S/370	B-Device
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
software	O
,	O
dubbed	O
DisplayWrite	O
(	O
with	O
a	O
capital	O
w	O
)	O
,	O
had	O
improved	O
features	O
over	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
's	O
Textpacks	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
ASCII	O
file	O
integration	O
,	O
ASCII	O
file	O
editing	O
,	O
and	O
increased	O
printer	O
support	O
,	O
but	O
retained	O
similar	O
menus	O
to	O
the	O
Textpack	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
initially	O
three	O
tiers	O
of	O
DisplayWrite	O
,	O
which	O
IBM	O
stated	O
were	O
comparable	O
to	O
Textpack	O
4	O
and	O
6	O
,	O
but	O
with	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
's	O
withdrawal	O
from	O
marketing	O
,	O
DisplayWrite	O
's	O
features	O
ultimately	O
superseded	O
Textpack	O
as	O
support	O
for	O
DisplayWrite	O
continued	O
until	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
also	O
additional	O
parallels	O
of	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
software	O
released	O
as	O
companion	O
software	O
to	O
DisplayWrite	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
"	O
Extended	O
Spelling	O
Dictionary	O
"	O
getting	O
a	O
parallel	O
release	O
as	O
"	O
DisplayWrite	O
Legal	O
Support	O
"	O
and	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
Bisynchcronous	O
Communications	O
software	O
getting	O
a	O
parallel	O
release	O
as	O
"	O
DisplayComm	O
Binary	O
Synchronous	O
Communications	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
DisplayComm	O
software	O
acted	O
as	O
a	O
document	O
unification	O
platform	O
between	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
System/36	O
,	O
S/370	B-Device
,	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
and	O
5520	B-Device
systems	O
and	O
was	O
capable	O
of	O
connecting	O
a	O
compatible	O
system	O
in	O
those	O
product	O
lines	O
to	O
another	O
compatible	O
system	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
exchange	O
documents	O
either	O
way	O
between	O
the	O
two	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
basic	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
was	O
a	O
standalone	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
optional	O
central	O
storage	O
and	O
management	O
unit	O
was	O
available	O
,	O
which	O
permitted	O
multiple	O
Displaywriters	B-Protocol
to	O
share	O
storage	O
and	O
a	O
printer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	B-Operating_System
3278	I-Operating_System
emulation	O
program	O
to	O
attach	O
to	O
IBM	O
3274/3276	O
controllers	O
,	O
IBM	B-Device
4321/4331	I-Device
,	O
or	O
IBM	O
4701	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	B-Operating_System
3277	I-Operating_System
emulation	O
program	O
to	O
attach	O
to	O
IBM	O
3271	O
,	O
3272	O
or	O
3274	O
controllers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Connection	O
to	O
IBM	B-Device
8100	I-Device
systems	O
which	O
use	O
DPCX/DOSF	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
Displaywriter/PC	O
Attachment	O
program	O
on	O
8-inch	O
floppies	O
and	O
cable	O
connecting	O
the	O
Magnetic	O
card	O
port	O
of	O
the	O
Displaywriter	B-Protocol
to	O
the	O
asynchronous	O
communications	O
port	O
of	O
an	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
XT	O
allowing	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
transfer	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
