Word Perfect X5

Not too long ago, I realized I needed (or rather, wanted) some sort of “official” word-processing application. I used to have OpenOffice, but for some reason, that program would completely crash the old Dell computer I once owned. I didn’t like Microsoft Office because that program changed the look of documents to what it thought I wanted, not what I wanted it to do. I’ll never forget the anger and frustration of trying to make a simple outline – a hierarchical list consisting of coordinating points as roman numerals, with subordinating points as capital letters. For some inexplicable reason, Office 2007 would insert a bulleted list inside the outline. I never figured out why it kept doing that.

Maybe that sale was a bit of serendipity, but WordPerfect went on sale on Amazon last week for $60, so I bought it right away.

Immediately, I was happy when the Amazon box arrived. Unlike the Microsoft Office 2007 bundle, I could actually open this box. It was regular cardboard that was sealed with a simple sticker. The MSO bundle came in some sort of anti-theft plastic box that was literally impossible to open. The only way I could extract the install DVD out of the case was by literally smashing it open! Of course I couldn’t throw away that plastic case because the security key is adhered with an anti-theft anti-removal sticker. Great.

Anyway, the great thing about this program is that it has the compatibility of MS (which I’ll need for writing documents on public computers) without the headaches of having that program constantly trying to change things I didn’t want changed. In other words: it is just significantly more user-friendly.

As a side-note, perhaps this is my chance to start that sci-fi story that has been kicking around inside my head for the past few years.

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