Microsoft Word

wordforwinOriginally written in 1983 for the IBM PC running DOS by Richard Brodie, Word has gone on to become the most dominant word processing software on the planet both in the home and in the office. Versions for the Mac, UNIX, OS/2 , and Windows arrived in the mid 80s. It would later be integrated into Microsoft Office. The first version had a sticker price of $500 US.

Wordperfect was then the dominant word processing program at the time, and  Microsoft at first struggled to break into the market with their new offering. Although it was the first word processor that showed typeface like bold and italics on screen on the IBM PC, it was not a true WYISWYG (what you see is what you get) system and didn’t become one until Word for Mac was released in 1985. Ironically it was this version that gave the program wider appeal and popularity grew. By 1989 with the debut of Word 4.0, it was incredibly successful, edging out Wordperfect, who didn’t produce a version for Windows. Today the program still exists as a part of Office and is recognized as the leading word processor on the market.

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