

Game of Thrones author George RR Martin: 'Why I still use DOS' - MarcScott
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27407502?ocid=socialflow_twitter

======
coffeecodecouch
Here is the video the article is about:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5REM-3nWHg](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5REM-3nWHg)

------
__david__
Interesting. I wonder if it's a newer machine with DOS installed, or if he's
still using some old 386… If it's the latter I'd worry about finding
replacement parts when it inevitably breaks. If you've got an ST-506 disk,
you'll never get a replacement for that!

~~~
kobey
I worked in a lab where we had a computer dedicated to running a very
specialized piece of equipment. The computer was a 386 running DOS. We had all
of the software updates (including operating system) to upgrade everything if
needed in case the computer stopped working. That was only a few years ago,
and as far as I know that 386 is still running. After seeing the current
software for running that piece of equipment, I understand why the lab never
upgraded. The old UI was a bit clunky, but it was much easier to use.

------
zhemao
But couldn't he just turn off spell check? I mean, the real reason is that he
probably likes WordStar 4.0 more than the modern word processors, and I can
totally get that, but the spell check excuse is a bit ... weak.

~~~
level
If it ain't broke...

~~~
zhemao
Well sure, I'm not saying that he shouldn't use WordStar 4.0 on DOS. If it
works for him, he shouldn't have to justify it. It takes time to become
comfortable with a new word processor. But if you're going to make up excuses,
pointing at a feature which can be disabled by un-ticking a checkbox is kind
of lame.

------
sebular
Sounds like he wants a text editor, not a word processor. Someone should tell
him about Sublime Text.

