TIL that WordPerfect is still around, getting updates, and is currently on sale

A few of my colleagues reminisced about using WordPerfect many, many years ago while we were discussing the history of word processor. I searched for it because I hadn't heard a lot about it. It is still being marketed as a productivity suite. It is not one of the cases where a company is still taking money for what is essentially abandonware. In a year's time. The item is on sale.

The Black Friday in July promotion is being run by the company that has been in charge of WordPerfect since I was a child. WordPerfect Office Home and Student, which includes the eponymous word processing software, as well as apps for making slideshows, spreadsheets, and taking notes, is marked down to $59.99 from $100. Extra software and capabilities are included in the Standard and Professional versions.

Image: Corel

This software, one of the go-to word processor before graphical user interface were widespread, is still around, and the company behind it believes that new users are interested in picking it up. Wow, I can't say anything else.

I am certain that there is a niche use case for WordPerfect that people really love, and that I will hear from a lot of people who still use it. I accept that feedback. What do you do with it? I would assume that anyone who needs WordPerfect for whatever they are doing already has it, so they won't get much out of a sale.

I don't think I'd recommend it to most people. If you are already prepared to spend money on a productivity suite, you would be better off just going with the Office apps you get through Microsoft365, which is the standard for better or worse. Microsoft sells a license for Office 2021, if you don't want to pay a subscription. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative, WordPerfect is a good choice, but if you want to have a full set of features available offline, LibreOffice is a great choice.

I am very happy to hear that WordPerfect is still going strong. It's rare to hear about apps that have been around for 40-plus years, especially ones that aren't the top dog. Is it old? WordPerfect isn't using the sameUI as it did in the OS/2 or Amiga days, but it does remind me of the early 2000s when I was first learning to use a computer That isn't a bad thing. Some apps are made better by cloud integration.

Image: raviloks on eBay

WordPerfect can be ordered on a disk if you want to have the most authentic retro experience. You'll get a DVD with the productivity suite on it. As someone who understands the value of time far away from the internet, I really appreciate this as an option, and as someone who doesn't have a disk drive, I wish it came on a flash. The floppies were 5.25-inch. It would take 2,300 high-density disks to hold the Home and Student edition.

One of my colleagues asked if you no longer have to hit the enter key at the end of every line to make sure the text doesn't run off the screen. We have come a long way.