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WinCALIS programs include a Unicode Browser (see next page).
We have discovered that although there are few other Unicode applications for our users to exchange data with and even fewer Unicode Windows tools and accessories available to them, they can, however, interface nicely with a number of Windows programs which are totally ignorant of Unicode. One category of such programs are those which capture and playback keystrokes and mouse clicks, like the Windows Recorder program. Such programs (carefully managed!) can be used to capture and play back the typing of not only ANSI text, but also all kinds of exotic scripts. Another example is the shareware spelling checker WinSpell. In its interactive mode, it can detect typing errors in English, and after the user has selected the proper correct spelling, correct them by issuing the proper keystrokes.
We have also been pleased that WinCALIS authors who had previously used WinCALIS 1.x and who had no compelling need for Unicode, such as teachers of English as a second language, have not complained vociferously about the limitations which Unicode-compliant WinCALIS 2.x has imposed on them. There has been, however, a general feeling that our Unicode editor is slower and this is undeniable. This is in part attributable to processing 16-bit text, but is in even greater part attributable to the multilinguistic sophistication of a unified interface in which the properties of each character need to be evaluated for directionality and numerous other rendering factors. Increasing speed of machines has made sluggishness a less important factor in users' minds. And the increase in storage capacity has made the doubled storage requirement for plain Unicode text almost a non-issue. Although we do not yet engage in massive transmission of Unicode files on the Internet, it is safe to say that technical advances there too will minimize the difficulty of adjusting to Unicode.
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