> Whether you love or hate Word, love or hate Microsoft itself, in the end you have Apple to thank (or curse) for this programs survival

Plot twist: A decade later, Microsoft saved Apple from bankruptcy (https://www.thebusinessanecdote.com/post/when-microsoft-save...)

The Register just wrote an article on creating a bootable USB version of DOS to make a distraction free writing machine. [1]

They include three freeware word processors "MS Word, Arnor Protext, an outliner, and the WordPerfect Editor" and released it on Github [2]. But, they mention other word processors in the article and their current status (free/paid/etc).

[1] Build your own antisocial writing rig with DOS and a $2 USB key https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/26/dos_distraction_free_...

[2] Usable DOS-based live USB media https://github.com/lproven/usb-dos