A childrens' word processor operated mostly by answering yes-and-no questions, Bank Street Writer was sold by the millions in the 1980s. It, Oregon Trail and the programming language LOGO were the killer apps of public education, seizing the imagination of teachers nationwide. They weren't sure how, but they were convinced these programs could make children smarter and more creative through computing.

Bank Street Writer was the brainchild of teachers at Bank Street College in Manhattan. It's lacking a few things you might want in a word processor, such as 80-column text, or bold. Yet despite a paucity of features comparable to SimpleText, this virtual typewriter was liked for its friendly, non-threatening interface.

Trailing its success were Bank Street Music Writer, Bank Street Filter, Bank Street Mailer, Bank Street Speller and other programs. More recently, the company has tried to sell more modern versions of Bank Street Writer, but hasn't come close to repeating their early feat of putting copies in almost every junior high creative writing program in the 1980s. ~ John Gorenfeld, All Game Guide