Kicked in the guts by a subcontracted development effort that has gone wrong, MicroPro International Corp, San Rafael, California is moving to steady itself with the introduction of WordStar 5.5, offering comprehensive interconnection to other popular software packages, plus local area network and graphics support. The company claims that release 5.5 also significantly boosts productivity for touch typists. WordStar 5.5 integrates easy interconnection to Lotus 1-2-3, dBase and WordPerfect, a special local network starter pack, graphics import capabilities and file conversion capabilities, with page preview and Systems Application Architecture pull-down menus claimed to simplify learning the high-end capabilities of WordStar. WordStar 5.5 is designed to maximise performance on cheapo low-end MS-DOS micros – the type of machine generally provided to the majority of touch typists, MicroPro suggests. WordStar 5.5 is available in the US this month, and upgrades can be bought directly from the company. The full package costs $500, and $50 for upgrades from WordStar 5.0, and $90 for upgrades from earlier WordStar versions.
