In a final acknowledgement of what users have been saying for years, that DisplayWrite is not exactly the best word processor in the world, IBM has gone outside to find a better one, signing for exclusive worldwide marketing rights to Signature, a suite of word processing applications developed by XyQuest Inc, Billerica, Massachusetts. It says the new applications are being jointly developed by the two companies and IBM hastened to add that it will continue to market, support and enhance DisplayWrite, and, more importantly, that documents created with DisplayWrite will be compatible with Signature, using a standard file format. When Signature is introduced, customers that licensed DisplayWrite 4 or 5 will be able to upgrade to the new word processor for a short time at a come-on price. XyQuest says the Signature family will be based on its XyWrite engine, with versions for MS-DOS, Windows 3.0 and OS/2 Extended Edition. The pact is with IBM Desktop Software, Milford, Connecticut.
