Date   : Thu, 30 May 1985 15:34:45 GMT
From   : maxwell%babel.dec@BRL.ARPA
Subject: EMACS for CP/M, MINCE, and SCRIBBLE

I've gotten  awfully  used to using EMACS (on VAX/VMS) here at work. So used
to  it,  in  fact,  that I've looked into EMACS-like editors for CP/M-80, so
that I can feel [nearly] as comfortable at home too.

I've got  copies of several articles/reviews on MINCE (MINCE Is Not Complete
EMACS), which  paint  a  rather nice picture of an editor more like what I'd
like  to  have.  MINCE is also usually described in concert with SCRIBBLE, a
text processor which also sounds desirable.

Recently however,  I  called  Mark of the Unicorn to learn about pricing and
availability,  and learned that they're no longer supporting either MINCE or
SCRIBBLE,   but   refered  me  to  their  two  distributors.  One  of  their
distributors  didn't  think  that  MINCE  ran  on  CP/M-80,  and didn't have
SCRIBBLE. Neither of the distributors were really sure that the C source for
the  MINCE  commands  (available to allow user customizing) was available as
part of the package, as it has been in the past.  Well informed folks.

Mark of  the  Unicorn's  FINAL  WORD doesn't run on CP/M-80 as I recall, and
from  the reviews it seems to have changed enough from MINCE+SCRIBBLE that I
don't think it's what I want.

Which leads me to my questions.

Is there  anyone out there who uses MINCE (and SCRIBBLE), and who might have
comments about either? What's performance like? Where, and how long ago, did
you get  it/them?  How difficult is MINCE to customize? How much of EMACS is
left  out?  Any  word on whether or not, if Mark of the Unicorn is no longer
supporting  MINCE  or  SCRIBBLE (since they're pushing FINAL WORD, now), the
sources to MINCE and SCRIBBLE might be available?

I've already started, but if I can get away with not writing my own....

-+- Sid Maxwell, DEC @ Spit Brook, Nashua NH