HERE Great little word processor that does it all -- except charge you a bundle.
Atlantis Nova is a Microsoft Word competitor that adheres to the 10/90 theory of software design: It provides the 10 percent of the word processing features that most people need to get 90 percent of their work done. And it's small enough?684 KB installed?to fit on a thumb drive.
While the free Nova version is not a total replacement for MS Word, it's a delight to use in its own right. Most of your tasks?outside of your basic typing?are done through icon-studded toolbars, controlled by a switch that instantly flips you between two sets of three-line toolbars. Atlantis Nova is perfect for traveling with an underpowered and cramped notebook, and it's not bad back on the desktop.
If you need to include differential equations in your documents or create indices and tables of references, you'd best look elsewhere, perhaps in the direction of the new Atlantis Word Processor, the brawnier big brother of Nova, which costs $35 (30-day free trial) and includes features such as automatic spell-as-you-type, double precautions against losing documents, drag-and-drop, encryption, and a "control panel" to handle complex layouts.
