Computers last too long these days!

[bdb]

From a word processing point of view, I likely could use PaperClip with my Batteries Included 80 column card on my 64 for almost all of what I do today.

Undoubtedly, I could use WordPerfect 4.1 on my A500 far more comfortably today as well. I used this setup for word processing duties from '87 to '94 before moving on to Word in the workplace.

You make an interesting point, during my residency, a professor had a large amount of data on an area he wanted to publish, but he had no access to any computers, although the department had a Wang word processor, and an IBM PC, set up to do this as well.
I offered to enter his data into my C64's Manager and ran basic highs, lows and averages on 180 samples. I then typed up the first 6 revisions of the paper on Speed Script in 40-columns. Finally, he had authorized access to ask one of the clerical staff to type up the paper on the PC.

I would still prefer Final Writer today, especially when composing documents with graphics, never WordPerfect that lacked any Amiga enhancements (No menus? Really?) .

 

[CleaningUp]

You make an interesting point, during my residency, a professor had a large amount of data on an area he wanted to publish, but he had no access to any computers, although the department had a Wang word processor, and an IBM PC, set up to do this as well.
I offered to enter his data into my C64's Manager and ran basic highs, lows and averages on 180 samples. I then typed up the first 6 revisions of the paper on Speed Script in 40-columns. Finally, he had authorized access to ask one of the clerical staff to type up the paper on the PC.

I would still prefer Final Writer today, especially when composing documents with graphics, never WordPerfect that lacked any Amiga enhancements (No menus? Really?) .

WordPerfect 4.1 for the Amiga fully supported menus and Amiga features and was superior to the PC version. Files were compatible between the PC and Amiga on 720kb floppies which enabled me to bring stuff back and forth from school.

I did use SpeedScript on my 64 before switching to PaperClip....typed it in myself from Compute!

 

[bdb]

I will agree to disagree on WordPerfect, as all the PC keyboard overlays would have been unnecessary had it integrated functions into the Amiga GUI.
I, also, typed in SpeedScript, it was a step up from Easy Script, which did have a separate spell checker program I ended up buying.

 

[CleaningUp]

Like many, I had the overlay installed but don't remember truly needing it. I'm going to have to reinstall WP4.1 and see for myself.

 

[Deleted member 14264]

Going back to the topic of PCs now lasting a very long time compared to what they used to ; my i7-970 PC is the last one which has an actual floppy disk controller on the motherboard.
Thanks to this feature, I can directly read and write 3.5" diskettes in 1581 format. This requires Simon Owen's Samdisk found here : https://simonowen.com/samdisk/

This is truly the easiest way I have found to exchange data between PC and C64/C128.

 

[Deleted member 14264]

I different take and some more negative consequences of what I was saying. Okay, computers last longer for what you pay. This also means you get less improvements with every upgrade.

Please pay specific attention to the question at 10:40

 

[Deleted member 14264]

I purchased my Ryzen 9 7950X setup back in late February and I am the witness of something I have never seen before.

When I purchased my machine, the CPU was listed at 719$CAD. Now 8 months later it is listed at 739$CAD !! The price actually went UP!

 

[miggymad]

Protext on the Amiga works for me for basic letter writing. For anything more fancy then it's Microsoft's Word.

<edit>

If you want to be retro, send a letter printed out on a dot-matrix printer in draft mode

Speaking of which, my old trusty Star LC-10 printer has only recently passed (to Silicon Heaven - you know, where all the calculators go) ... Replacement is on it's way!

 

[UberFreak]

Never bought a new PC, all my computing equipment comes from recycling or dumps.
I replace my main PC on average every 10 years, my current HP laptop is a 14 years old i7 and can still do anything I need (browsing. coding, video watching, etc).
I'm using Win7 (configured to the "classic" NT/2000 look) with no intention of upgrading to the bloatware known as Windows 10 or 11 (I use 11 at work and hate it).
If I'm forced to ugrade the OS, it will be to Linux.

 

[fgh]

I bough a cheap Core 2 Quad in 2008, with parts that launched in 2006. I first ran XP on it for fun, then 8, 8.1 and it ran windows 10 fine until I replaced it a year ago

(So I’m sure OP’s i7 could run windows 10 as well!)

 

[Deleted member 14264]

Never bought a new PC, all my computing equipment comes from recycling or dumps.
I replace my main PC on average every 10 years, my current HP laptop is a 14 years old i7 and can still do anything I need (browsing. coding, video watching, etc).
I'm using Win7 (configured to the "classic" NT/2000 look) with no intention of upgrading to the bloatware known as Windows 10 or 11 (I use 11 at work and hate it).
If I'm forced to ugrade the OS, it will be to Linux.

I have a laptop of the same age/same CPU from Sony. I got the free upgrade to Windows 10 around late 2016 and there are a few benefits. Lots more stuff running so moving to Win10 did contribute to stretching the lifespan of the hardware. I changed the hard drive to a SATA SSD and it made the machine much faster for only a few bucks.

I definitely share your opinion of Windows 11. The changes to the interface and AI stuff they want to impose on users is insufferable.