I just downloaded and used it for 10 minutes, and I have to agree that AbiWord 2.4.5 (on mac os x 10.4.8 on a powerpc) is simply unusable. As mentioned, text spacing is awful; can't tell where the cursor is; and Bold and Underline didn't work for the font that the app picked.

I never got far enough to try any other features. As mentioned by others, if I can't tell whether I have a space in the middle of a word or not, and can't tell where the cursor is, it is not a usable word-processing app.

[I'm really only rating value. putting 3 for the (other) ratings, which I'm required to fill in.]