Updated Friday, April 4, 2003

Goodbye, WordPerfect Corel chose to axe the Mac version of their flagship program. Then they decided to accept $135 million from Microsoft. Now will all versions of WP go on the chopping block?

Corel talked toITBusiness.ca, who talked to us and wrote a nice article. Justice Dept. investigates Microsoft's Corel bailout. See the Computerworld story. Deal with the devil? Wired article reports Corel's acceptance of Microsoft money. StarOffice for Mac slated for summer of 2001. See the MacCentral story. Applelinks.com's Macintosh News runs an excellent article about our Campaign.

custserv@corel.com Most browsers and e-mail programs will automatically address your e-mail to us, as well as Corel, when you click the above link. If yours doesn't, please cc to: savewordperfect@mailcity.com. We have no other way of knowing how many people are contacting Corel on this topic, and we enjoy hearing fresh arguments about why WP for Mac deserves a reprieve. We will not sell, rent, or otherwise provide your e-mail address to anyone. No spam starts here! NOTE: Corel suggests that wpmac@corel.com is a more appropriate address, but so far they haven't responded to any messages we've sent there. 1-800-772-6735  (Toll-free in U.S. and Canada. See http://www.corel.com/support/reach/index.htm for international numbers.)  Fax 613-761-9176 Corel Corporation Corporate Headquarters 1600 Carling Ave. Ottawa, Ontario K1Z 8R7 Canada Please write to Corel today. Here's a sample letter:

 

WAIT! Before you cut and paste, keep in mind this is a sample only and is not intended to be a form letter! Just two or three sentences in your own words may be taken a lot more seriously than one more e-mail with the identical text.

Dear Corel:  Your recent decision to discontinue WordPerfect for Macintosh was hasty and ill advised. Mac users constitute a sizable body of customers who have consistently demonstrated their preference for WP over Microsoft's inferior Word.  The rationale you provided when you announced your decision in this matter -- that you wished to concentrate on Corel Draw and other graphics programs for the Mac -- is highly questionable. While Mac users appreciate your commitment to graphics software, we use word processing applications more frequently, and we deserve better than what Microsoft or Apple/Claris has offered to date. Your continued support of WP would, in fact, ensure the continuation of a sizable client base for Draw, while discontinuing that support will guarantee a large group of disgruntled people who will avoid purchasing Corel software either for punitive reasons or because they no longer trust you to stand behind your products. No matter how much success you have with Draw, WP is clearly your flagship program, and your level of commitment to it will have a direct impact on your overall sales to the Macintosh community.  Rather than abandoning your most dedicated client base, you should work towards developing an up-to-date version of WordPerfect for Macintosh. (We don't believe it would take two years for you to develop it, as you suggested, but however long it took it would be worth it.) Please reconsider your decision.  Sincerely, [your name here]

OTTAWA, Canada, May 2000--Corel Corporation announced this month that it was bowing out of the word processor business, at least as far as Mac users are concerned. Corel will no longer provide support for WordPerfect 97 for Macintosh, and the long-awaited upgrade that would have brought the Mac version on a par with the Windows version will not happen.  Corel will continue to upgrade WordPerfect for Windows, as it has all along. According to MacWeek, the powers-that-be at Corel claimed they preferred to focus their Mac operations on other programs, such as Corel Draw, and that it would have taken two years to make a fully updated WP for Mac. This leaves MS Word as the only high-end, full-featured word processing application for Mac backed by a major manufacturer. What this means is: (1) Corel is forcing Mac users with serious word processing needs to buy from Microsoft; (2) Corel is limiting Mac users' choice and caving in to the Microsoft Monopoly; (3) Corel is giving short shrift to the Mac platform, while the total number of Mac software programs available tripled in the past year; (4) Corel is thumbing its nose at Mac users, which comprise a community that has been overwhelmingly dedicated to WordPerfect over the years; and (5) Corel is perversely rewarding Windows users, who overwhelmingly buy Microsoft applications for their Microsoft platforms, while leaving Mac users out in the cold. (Corel is the third owner of WordPerfect. They bought it from Novell, who took over from the original owners.) This decision may or may not be penny-wise, but it's definitely pound-foolish. But if enough public outcry happens, maybe the good folks at Corel will change their minds. Please contact Corel and demand that their decision be reversed. (See sample letter and contact information below.) If they listen, Mac users will praise them to the skies--and buy lots of their software! If they stick to their guns, they will be remembered for making one of the stupidest corporate decisions in history. WordPerfect 3.5 Enhanced for Macintosh is again available for download. Thank you! Click here to get it.

Good question. The recently discontinued version of WP for Mac, 3.5 Enhanced, is definitely behind the curve. Its user interface is cluttered--more so than MS Word's--and it isn't particularly intuitive. Some of us unfortunate enough to be forced into using Windows at work, however, have had the opportunity to use a recent version of WP . . . and we have been amazed. WP for Windows is a terrific word processor! It has better features than MS Word, and it's more powerful. Most impressive is its user-friendliness. WP is incredibly intuitive, even for first-time users; it's more customizable than Word, and more easily customizable; and its menus and dialogue boxes are a lot less confusing. It is the definition of what a word processing app should be. Countless Mac users who have used WP for Windows in action have been holding our breath, waiting for Corel to stop dragging their feet and come out with a Mac version. Now not only do they say they're not interested, they're forfeiting their share of the market to Microsoft and its mediocre Word. The question is, will they change their minds?

Thanks to everyone who has gotten involved so far! Please help spread the word any way you can. E-mail your friends and colleagues who use WordPerfect and/or Mac OS and refer them to this website. Post links leading to this site in Usenet groups and on bulletin boards. We need to demonstrate to Corel that there's a large community of users out there who care about this issue. Attention: Webmasters! If you have a website, feel free to copy the banners/buttons below, then post them on your site and link back to here.

These links are provided for your information and convenience. We have not used these products and have no opinion on their worth. Mariner Write Nisus Writer Windows-emulation software such as Virtual PC running WordPerfect for Windows (Just kidding!)

It was reported in 2000 that Sun Microsystems would port its StarOffice suite to Mac. This didn't happen, but the OpenOffice project, based on StarOffice, is developing a Mac version of the suite. A public beta version was released late in 2002, and finetuning continues.

Need to open Word files but don't want to dance with the MS devil? icWord allows you to open, read, print, and copy from Microsoft Word files (but not edit them) with the formating intact. It works with files, as well, which is convenient if ignorant cretins keep emailing you such attachments. Best of all, it's a modest-sized download that costs less than many shareware programs. Highly recommended for WP users.

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