The Council on Computing voted yesterday to change the recommended word processing package for incoming freshmen from Microsoft Word 5.1a to WordPerfect 3.1.
The council also discussed what computing package it would recommend to incoming freshmen, but decided to postpone its decision until its next meeting in May.
Council Chair John Winn said the word processing change "is in itself as different as would be the change from Word 5 to virtually any other word processors."
Winn, who is also the chemistry department chair, said Computing Services will release a statement to the Dartmouth community about how the change will affect Dartmouth's existing computer system in a few days.
Winn said the council discussed the word processor recommendation for more than an hour in its meeting yesterday, but added the council has been considering the change since the fall.
At the beginning of the term, Winn said Kiewit Computation Center conducted a month-long survey to test six different word processors, including Word 6, the latest version of Microsoft Word.
Winn said those who tested Word 6 expressed "uniform disappointment" with the new version.
"WordPerfect emerged as [the program] that's small, quick and easy to use," he said.
The decision to switch was based on several factors, including the large amount of memory needed to run Word 6.
Word 6 "is incredibly inefficient," Winn said. "It takes forever. You would need a Power PC-based Mac to use it well."
In addition, Winn said the "interface [of Microsoft Word] has changed dramatically."
Dartmouth's computer system is currently standardized onMicrosoft Word Version 5.1a, but this has not always been the case, Winn said.
The first change in software came when the campus changed to a Macintosh-based system with MacWrite as its word processing system. Since the change to Microsoft Word, there have been upgrades between versions, Winn said.
When asked about the potential compatibility problem, Winn said "it won't be any bigger than it has ever been."
Winn said cost was not an issue in making the decision because the costs of upgrading to Word 6 or purchasing WordPerfect 3.1 are very similar.
According to Associate Dean of the Faculty of Social Science George Wolford "there was no decision we could make that would not have compatibility problems."
Winn said the Council also discussed the recommended computer package for incoming freshmen, but postponed its decision until its next meeting in late May, when more information on prices will be available.
Kiewit's Associate Director for Computing Randy Spydell said the Council was "wrestling with trying to provide a recommendation for a computer that will serve the '99s well for four years."
The problem, Winn said, is that the package Apple can provide "is not necessarily the one that would serve incoming students real well for their whole career."
The Council is trying to keep the cost within a range of $1,400 to $1,500 to prevent problems for students on financial aid.
