Cut & Paste (word processor)

Cut & Paste
Original author(s) Steve Hayes
Tim Mott
Jerry Morrison
Dan Silva
Steve Shaw
David S. Maynard
Norm Lane[1]
Developer(s) Electronic Arts
Initial release 1984
Platform Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, IBM PC, IBM PCjr
Type Word processor
License Proprietary software

Cut & Paste is a word processor published in 1984 for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, IBM PC, and IBM PCjr. It is one of the few productivity releases from game developer and publisher Electronic Arts; Financial Cookbook is another.[2] In the UK it was distributed by Ariolasoft.[3]

Originally sold for US$50, Cut & Paste was billed for its user friendliness. Advertisements proclaimed, "If you can learn to use this word processor in 90 seconds, can it really be any good?"[4] and the slogan on the box read "The Remarkably Simple Word Processor."[3] Reviewers confirmed that Cut & Paste is easy to use, but found the software to be overly simplistic compared to other word processors.

Reception

Marty Petersen, for InfoWorld, wrote "We think it is simply mediocre, performing just adequately, and not nearly as good a buy as some other low-cost word processing programs." He called out the limited text formatting capabilities as a significant drawback, and concluded that Cut & Paste is "little more than a glorified typewriter."[4] Reviewing the Atari 8-bit version for UK magazine Page 6, John Davison concluded, "I find it difficult to raise any enthusiasm for this program. Its few good points are far outweighed by its many bad ones. In action, it seems closer to an electronic typewriter than a computerised word processor."[3] BYTE said that Cut & Paste "is simple to use but unfortunately it's much too limited to be of great value as a serious word processor", recommending it for children learning how to use a computer.[5]

Arthur Leyenberger in an August 1984 review for ANALOG Computing wrote, "The user interface is probably Cut & Paste's strongest feature," and "I was able to start typing this review using the program as soon as I put the disk in the drive." But he found the software "just does not have enough features to make it a serious choice for anyone doing more than writing an occasional letter."[6]

Development team

David Maynard previously created Worms?, a software toy that was one of the 1983 launch titles from Electronic Arts.[7] Dan Silva went on to write Deluxe Paint for the Amiga, published in 1985.

References

  1. ↑ "Cut & Paste". Atari Mania.
  2. ↑ "Electronic Arts "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" Ad" (PDF). Compute! (53): 7. October 1984.
  3. 1 2 3 Davison, John S. (September 1986). "Cut & Paste". Page 6 (23).
  4. 1 2 Petersen, Marty (March 19, 1984). "Review: Cut & Paste". InfoWorld: 45–47.
  5. ↑ Gingras, Daniel J. (December 1984). "Low-cost Word Processing on the Apple". BYTE. pp. A30–A37.
  6. ↑ Leyenberger, Arthur (August 1984). "Review - Cut & Paste". ANALOG Computing (21).
  7. ↑ Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
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