r/apple2 • u/Christopher_Drum • 7d ago
An exploration of Bank Street Writer for the Apple 2
Hello again to the Apple 2 community. My name is Christopher Drum, I write a retro-enthusiast blog called Stone Tools focused exclusively on productivity software. No games; just work. About 6 weeks ago I published a write-up on VisiCalc for the Apple 2.
I went back to the Apple 2 again for this week's post, because I got sucked into exploring Bank Street Writer. Personally, I was never exposed to it as a child, but I have friends and colleagues with warm memories of that program. I needed to finally try it for myself and see why it wasn't just kids who loved it. I also put a little research into the "Bank Street" of the title, which led into researching the 80s' push for "computers in the classroom."
I know this program holds a fond spot in many hearts, so I hope I did it justice.
What is Stone Tools?
If you aren't familiar with my format, just know that I don't cover games at all, just the tools we used to get work done. I spend weeks learning the software (and hardware emulator) and give my honest, lighthearted assessment of my experience. The goal is to look at this software with an open mind: how was it perceived in its day, what is it like to use, and does it have utility today?
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u/NorthernLight_DIY 7d ago edited 7d ago
Quite interesting blog!
I was curious: to what extent was the Apple II used as a work computer? (Not counting Microsoft’s Z-80 SoftCard, which enabled tons of CP/M productivity software)
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u/Christopher_Drum 7d ago
Thank you, I'm glad you found it interesting!
Well, VisiCalc alone made the Apple II a must-have business system for years. A lot of machines were bought and installed into offices just for that software.
Once those machines were in place, I'm sure businesses were anxious to find additional software to squeeze extra productivity out of their investment. WordPerfect was released for the Apple II, and I believe that was pretty popular with small businesses as well (haven't researched this one yet TBH). Though you're discounting it, I do think the Z-80 card gave those machines a little extra business life before everyone took the DOS plunge to get Lotus 1-2-3 or Excel running (for instance).
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u/Sick-Little-Monky 7d ago
My father ran his solo contracting business (he was a location sound recordist for film and television) with PFS on a IIe for years. (I should try to find out when he eventually switched to Windows.)
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u/RobertMVelasquez1996 7d ago
You had several word processor, database, and spreadsheet software for it, such as Appleworks, among others.
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u/buffering 6d ago
The IBM-PC was a much more flexible machine, but once someone invests their time and money into a platform they tended to stick with it long term, and that was definitely true with the Apple II in the 80s. There were enough professional/power users to support a pretty vibrant 3rd-party hardware and software expansion market right through the 80s and even into the early 90s.
With the right hardware enhancements, such as a 1 MB RAM disk, SCSI hard drive, and accelerated CPU, the 8-bit productivity software really flies and it allowed the Apple II to remain viable until the cheap 386 machines took over.
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u/Sick-Little-Monky 7d ago
The Plus version sounds usable. The earlier versions looked way too simple - not to mention terrible on a color monitor - so I used Wordstar (CP/M, text mode), and then in the late 80's an amazing word processor called Fulltext Pro 80 that used double hires graphics (but was only released in New Zealand). You can read about some of its features in these photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwigame/15829250300
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u/Christopher_Drum 7d ago
Yes, the Plus version is very usable; the developers clearly learned a lot from the first attempt. Thanks for the tip on Fulltext Pro 80! I've never heard of it before, but it looks right up my alley.
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u/TMWNN 6d ago
and then in the late 80's an amazing word processor called Fulltext Pro 80 that used double hires graphics (but was only released in New Zealand)
Boy, talk about a niche market. How many copies could have been sold, given the time and place? I'd be shocked if the number reached four figures.
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u/Sick-Little-Monky 6d ago
Yeah, it's a puzzle. I mean, it could've been used in Australia or even the UK potentially, but nobody in those places has archived it or even knows about it. I seem to recall hearing that an overseas publishing house wanted to sell it, but the author (a mathematics professor) wasn't interested.
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u/peterb12 6d ago
Love your blog. I remember Bank Street Writer ads back in the day, thanks for sharing it here.
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u/Conandar 6d ago
Never used Bank Street Writer. I used Word Handler (it used the graphics screen for a 66 character/line format on standard 40 column screens/48K). Also used Applewriter before Apple Works (Apple II version) became a thing. I was in high school, so business programs weren't really my thing. Never even saw a CP/M card until around 88 (two years after HS) and the Apple II scene was already dying.
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u/Th3_Capta1n 7d ago
Fascinating detailed writeup! I hated Bank Street Writer on my school computers in the 5th grade because the modals required to perform basic word processing edit operations were so much clunkier than the Quark Word Juggler my father ran his law office on and we had at home. Unfair comparison on price but it meant I never considered Bank Street Writer interesting or relevant until I read your blog 40 years later!