Robert Sawyer and George Martin are fans of WordStar. I supported it in the 1980s. It is a very clunky, awkward program by modern standards; that is why WordPerfect completely supplanted it.
It is not freeware. However, if you want to try it, there is a free clone:
http://wordtsar.ca/
It was a very common UI once -- now the Joe editor offers it, but I think the CP/M version of Borland Turbo Pascal had the same.
I tend to agree with you. WordStar came before WYSIWYG or proportional-font printing, and it never really adapted to those things. By comparison, WordPerfect was a master of getting the absolute best out of any printer you might have -- its printer support was legendarily good.
Robert Sawyer and George Martin are fans of WordStar. I supported it in the 1980s. It is a very clunky, awkward program by modern standards; that is why WordPerfect completely supplanted it.
It is not freeware. However, if you want to try it, there is a free clone: http://wordtsar.ca/