Game of Thrones Author George R R Martin Writes with WordStar on DOS 522
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: "Ryan Reed reports that when most Game of Thrones fans imagine George R.R. Martin writing his epic fantasy novels, they probably picture the author working on a futuristic desktop (or possibly carving his words onto massive stones like the Ten Commandments). But the truth is that Martin works on an outdated DOS machine using '80s word processor WordStar 4.0, as he revealed during an interview on Conan. 'I actually like it,' says Martin. 'It does everything I want a word processing program to do, and it doesn't do anything else. I don't want any help. I hate some of these modern systems where you type a lower case letter and it becomes a capital letter. I don't want a capital. If I wanted a capital, I would have typed a capital. I know how to work the shift key.' 'I actually have two computers,' Martin continued. 'I have a computer I browse the Internet with and I get my email on, and I do my taxes on. And then I have my writing computer, which is a DOS machine, not connected to the Internet.'"
And.... (Score:5, Funny)
..it takes him 5 years to write a novel. Now we know why.
Also (Score:5, Funny)
'I have a computer I browse the Internet with and I get my email on, and I do my taxes on. And then I have my writing computer, which is a DOS machine, not connected to the Internet.
And for the ultimate in security, he also uses 8" floppies. [slashdot.org]
He thinks it is not connected to the internet ... (Score:4, Funny)
. . . but curiosity got the better of those eager NSA employee fans, who have bugged the computer to know what will happen before the rest of the world . . .
The Clippy version (Score:5, Funny)
"It looks like you're trying to write a newsletter about incestuous elves. Would you like assistance?"
Re:Also (Score:0, Funny)
wieners. floppy wieners. floppy wieners...
Shut up..... (Score:5, Funny)
Every time someone complains about how long he takes to write a book he kills another Stark!
Re:And.... (Score:5, Funny)
He keeps loosing his new chapters. If you're going to try for a second side on your floppies with a hole punch, you take your chances.
Re:Amen, brother Amen! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Amen, brother Amen! (Score:5, Funny)
Type 'Google' into Bing bar to get Google to search for 'Hotmail' to look at their email and then forward it to their grandchildren.
Re:Also credits the dude that keeps it running (Score:5, Funny)
Poor guy has to dick with GRRM's autoexec.bat and config.sys every time he adds a new feast scene.
Re:Amen, brother Amen! (Score:4, Funny)
I was just thinking this would be something a Raspberry Pi would be perfect for.
In fact, if Wordperfect was still around in a reasonable condition, they could just sell the complete package in a box (just add keyboard and monitor). Or they could just sell the SD card.
Re:somebody make a dragon for dos joke (Score:5, Funny)
When Smaug came to the Lonely Mountain, he Terminated and stayed resident.
Re:If it ain't broke, don't fix it (Score:5, Funny)
Hye, don't knock ThÃloündyir, he was a major player in the fantasy series "The $JAk5-~T_8x7XP;Mnmw)+eQdHo'e'=Ue'y!0\HP_].Ax30{ of House B|knn_5_ctp%h$iizImAl\@*D*=9n"
Re:If it ain't broke, don't fix it (Score:5, Funny)
In fact one of the main characters is named John Snow...
You know nothing about Jon Snow!
1,000 trailer trucks filled with clay tablets ... (Score:5, Funny)
The publishers I've dealt with won't accept a written manuscript. You must submit it electronically.
The rules are different for you and I and GRRM. If he showed up at a publisher with a 1,000 trailer trucks filled with clay tablets for book 6 they would sign a deal and cut him a check.
Re:Amen, brother Amen! (Score:4, Funny)
I have a fax-through-email service. I had to talk my wife out of using it to send someone some forms back to a person who had emailed her the forms to sign :)
Re:640k isn't enough for everybody (Score:0, Funny)
It'd've been better to not use the contraction?
Re:If it ain't broke, don't fix it (Score:5, Funny)
DOS WordStar is notably lacking in support for extended characters of any sort.
If there's one thing Martin doesn't need, it's more characters.