The distribution of computer software has changed a lot over the years. Back in the day, you went to the computer show and made your choice from a limited selection of titles. Sometimes you would get home to find that you hadn’t even purchased the most current version. Now, with the advent and acceptance of the internet, computer software selection is so huge that it’s become a buyer's market. Software publishing houses like Adobe and Microsoft used to dominate the market. Now anyone who codes can maybe write the next big app.
Looking at the Mac market for word processors, you have many different choices. The two biggest ones are probably Microsoft Word and Apple Pages. Although those are probably the best known, they aren’t alone anymore. You have choices from a variety of different ones. Two that I’m looking at now are NeoOffice and Mellel. I’m looking for a word processor that fills in some of my needs. My main word processor is probably Pages. It is a solid word processor, page layout application. For most people, this app will handle all their needs. It does a good job as both a fairly non-bloated word processor and desktop publishing app. Pages has some issues. First, it has no full screen editing capability. I like working in full screen. I have no distractions and can focus on the work. Pages also doesn't handle Word documents really well. Simple ones open up nicely. Add some fields or other automations and Pages starts to bog down. Pages also doesn’t open .dot files very well.
I also use CopyWrite when I’m doing a lot of basic composing and not worried about how it looks yet. That is one of the main reasons I use CopyWrite. I gave Scrivener a try and liked it, but still can’t convince myself to purchase it. CopyWrite needs a serious overhaul. The interface needs some serious work. The app is solid and still works though.
My problem is that I still need some tools to write with. I need good support for Word documents including the new formats that Microsoft sprang on us. My other issue is academic writing. I’m transitioning to more academic pursuits and need a tool to write academic papers with. I need good footnotes and end notes and the ability to easily cite references with ease.
I’m evaluating two tools to fit these needs. One I’ve been using for a while and another is getting a fresh look. The one I’ve been using for a while is NeoOffice. This is an adaption of the open source office suite OpenOffice. NeoOffice has a lot of polish and does handle all Microsoft Office formats. It is fairly accurate, but not perfect. It is also free. I like the price, and the support for this product has been great, but it is still a little clunky. Part of that chunkiness that it is based on Microsoft Office. The screen looks like Office 98 or 2003, but doesn’t reflect the newer GUI concepts like Pages. I use it for many things, but I don’t like writing in it. It seems like I spend more time on the process of writing than the writing itself. If they would add things like full screen editing then I might feel more at home.
The other app I’m trying is Mellel. I’m giving it another look because it is part of the Back to School MacUpdate promo. It is bundled with other apps like Bookends, which are what is really driving my review. It Mellel is billed by RedleX as the “leading word processor for Mac OS X designed especially for creative and technical writing, scholars, and anyone who wants a reliable word processor.” That sounds good. That’s what I’m kind of looking for. I’ve been looking at Mellel for about a year or two. I download a new copy and look at it about every six to eight months. It has a lot of features like full screen editing. It does work well with Bookends. It just doesn’t do word documents well and chokes completely on .dot files.
I’m going to give it a serious look since it is part of the MacUpdate Promo bundle. I’ve got a few days to do a lot of writing and see how it does. I like what I’ve use so far. I need to give Bookends a look to and see if it is what I really want. I’ll keep you up to date on my evaluation. In the mean time, surf on over to mupromo.com and look at the bundle for yourself. It’s a really offer and well worth the $49 price.The distribution of computer software has changed a lot over the years. Back in the day, you went to the computer show and made your choice from a limited selection of titles. Sometimes you would get home to find that you hadn’t even purchased the most current version. Now, with the advent and acceptance of the internet, computer software selection is so huge that it’s become a buyers market. Software publishing houses like Adobe and Microsoft used to control the market. Now anyone who codes can maybe write the next big app.
Looking at the Mac market for word processors, you have a lot of different choices. The two biggest ones are probably Microsoft Word and Apple Pages. Even though those are probably the best known, they aren’t along anymore. You have choices from a variety of different ones. Two that I’m looking at now are NeoOffice and Mellel. I’m looking for a word processor that fills in some of my needs. My main word processor is probably Pages. It is a solid word processor, page layout application. For most people this app will handle all of their needs. It does a good job as both a fairly non-bloated word processor and desktop publishing app. Pages has some issues. First it has no full screen editing capability. I like working in full screen. I have no distractions and can focus on the work. Pages also doesn’t handle Word documents really well. Simple ones open up nicely. Add some fields or other automations and Pages starts to bog down. Pages also doesn’t open .dot files very well.
I also use CopyWrite when I’m doing a lot of basic composing and not worried about how it looks yet.. That is one of the main reasons I use CopyWrite. I gave Scrivener a try and liked it, but still can’t convince myself to purchase it. CopyWrite needs a serious overhaul. The interface needs some serious work. The app is solid and still works though.
My problem is that I still need some tools to write with. I need good support for Word documents including the new formats that Microsoft sprung on us. My other issue is academic writing. I’m transitioning to more academic persuits and need a tool to write academic papers with. I need good footnotes and end notes and the ability to easily cite references with ease.
I’m evaluating two tools to fit these needs. One I’ve been using for a while and another is getting a fresh look. The one I’ve been using for a while is NeoOffice. This is an adaption of the open source office suite OpenOffice. NeoOffice has a lot of polish and does handle all Microsoft Office formats. It is fairly accurate, but not perfect. It is also free. I like the price and the support for this product has been great, but it is still a little clunky. Part of that chunkiness that it is based on Microsoft Office. The screen looks like Office 98 or 2003, but doesn’t reflect the newer GUI concepts like Pages. I use it for many things, but I don’t like writing in it. It seems like I spend more time on the process of writing than the writing itself. If they would add things like full screen editing then I might feel more at home.
The other app I’m trying is Mellel. I’m giving it another look because it is part of the Back to School MacUpdate promo. It is bundled with other apps like Bookends, which is what is really driving my review. It Mellel is billed by RedleX as the “leading word processor for Mac OS X designed especially for creative and technical writing, scholars, and anyone who wants a reliable word processor.” That sounds good. That’s what I’m kind of looking for. I’ve been looking at Mellel for about a year or two. I download a new copy and look at it about every six to eight months. It has a lot of features like full screen editing. It does work well with Bookends. It just doesn’t do word documents well and chokes completely on .dot files.
I’m going to give it a serious look since it is part of the MacUpdate Promo bundle. I’ve got a few days to do a lot of writing and see how it does. I like what I’ve use so far. I need to give Bookends a look to and see if it is what I really want. I’ll keep you up to date on my evaluation. In the mean time, surf on over to mupromo.com and look at the bundle for yourself. It’s a really offer and well worth the $49 price.
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LaTeX is the only environment for proper academic writing. Admittedly it's the worst possible method academic writing; except for any other kind. You'll understand that after using it for a few months.
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