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WordStar was originally made for the CP/M operating system, and was later ported to MS-DOS. It was a word processor used in the early- to mid- 1980s that was written by Rob Barnaby and published by MicroPro International. WordStar was created to allow ease of cross-platform porting with similar commands and controls. Osborne 1 computers included it, which could claim the responsibility for Osbornes becoming the standard for word processing. However, the method of writing that allowed for WordStar to be ported easily became its downfall when IBM PCs took over. The design made its performance suffer and made it harder to add new features, which invited WordPerfect to take its place in the market.
Many companies without MicroPro valued WordStar. However, WordStar itself developed a poor reputation and didn't have a corporate sales program until the end of 1983. Many complaints against WordStar had to do with customer support; for example, their favorite response to user questions was "Ask your dealer." While it did have a reputation for being the most powerful word processor on the market, it also had a reputation for being among the most difficult-to-use word processors on the market.