I do love finding a program that I say, “Oh, I can do all of my needs in this one application.”  It’s awesome because I feel less bloated in a way.  Take for instance, VMWare Fusion and Parallels Desktop 5.  They both do the same thing, but VMWare Fusion has (in my opinion) a better Unity mode than Parallels’ Coherence.  But Parallels has better support for OpenGL and 3D Graphics on their virtual machines, but VMWare feels more stable with the features it provides.  So, what do I do?  I have both (and use the both evenly just to let you know).

Anyways, back on topic.

Word processing has always been an issue for me on a Mac.  Windows keeps it simpler, somewhat.

Word Processing on Windows

In terms of user interface and design, I think that there are 3 main holders of power in Word Processing on Windows.  There’s Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect, and IBM Lotus Symphony.  Sure that are some more out there, like OpenOffice.org and AbiWord, but they follow the trend, and don’t try to set trends.  You may argue that IBM Lotus Symphony itself is based upon OpenOffice.org, but the user interface of Symphony sets it apart.  Symphony has it’s own look and feel, not something like “Hey, use us, we look just like the expensive stuff.”  I think OpenOffice.org and AbiWord are great projects and very useful, but they don’t really try to stand out among the crowd.

All of them pretty much have the features I need, it’s just the interface or pricing.

I love the interface of IBM Lotus Symphony.  The only problem right now is how bulky it is.  I can’t use it because of how slow and clunky it feels.  If it were snappier, it’d be my word processor of choice, but right now, I just keep my eye on it hoping for speed improvements.

Corel WordPerfect is a great tool.  I know people who refuse to use anything else.  I could never really get into it.  I’m looking at it now, and I like what I see, but now I’m on Mac, so I don’t see a point in buying it.

Microsoft Word is pretty much the standard.  I personally don’t like the “ribbon.”

On Windows, I currently use AbiWord or OpenOffice.org (the build from Go-Oo).  Sure I bash them for following, but they’re reliable and useful.  I also don’t use Windows very much, so I just need something cheap to open up documents when I am on Windows.

Word Processing on a Mac

On a Mac, you get the same basic choices that Windows has, MS Word, OpenOffice.org (or NeoOffice), and IBM Lotus Symphony.  You also get a load of other choices like Nisus Writer, Mellel, Bean, Mariner Write, iWork’s Pages, Pagehand, and much more (not to mention things like Scrivener or WriteRoom).

MS Word is still the standard for most people.

OpenOffice, NeoOffice, and all the other derivatives still aim to provide the same feature set of MS Word.  I really hate the user interface on the Mac because it doesn’t flow.  Even though it no longer requires X11, it still looks like a Windows MS Word 97 clone.

IBM Lotus Symphony looks the same as it does on Windows.  I still love the user interface, but it’s still bulky and slow to run.

PageHand is a relatively new player in the Mac OS X Word Processing game.  I really like what it has so far, but it still has a long way to go.  I really need footnotes, headers, footers, and some other things that PageHand currently doesn’t provide.  I want to buy it, but I’m reluctant (although buying it would probably aid in development and get me the features I need).  Another one of my concerns, yet also my likes is it saves to the PDF format.  The actual markup is a comment in the PDF (I believe), which makes me concerned about necessary file size when sharing the document (but I can always Print->PDF I guess).

Mariner Write feels really old.  It’s still updated, but there’s times when I believe, that a meeting should be called, and an update to the modern age should happen.  Sure it’s friendly, but it feels like it’s designed for old people.  Not sure how to describe it, but I feel like I lose control in the wrong direction with it.

iWork’s Pages, on the other hand, makes me feel like I lose control in the right direction.  I really like Pages, but I don’t see me using it in my day to day writing.  I enjoy the interface, I enjoy the features, but when it comes down to some of the parts of the document I need to edit for classes, Pages needs a few more steps than what I want to take.  Mainly for custom footers and headers on every page, easy foot notes, and some other things (although I’m probably doing things wrong because I’ve been told it’s actually easy to do in Pages).

Mellel is a word processor that I keep looking at, trying, and finding myself hating for tampering with.  It’s a great tool, but the learning curve is too steep for me to make the jump.  I’d like to learn to use it, but I can’t find the time nor patience to do so.

Bean is a free minimal word processor.  It has the basic features most people need.  I think it’s okay for basic word processing, and it’s fast as can be, but it lacks the power I need.

Nisus Writer Pro is what I currently use.  I love the interface and the features, but it’s still a bit rough around the edges in comparison to some of the other things out there.  I rarely use images in my documents, but when I do, I always question why I’m trying to do it in Nisus.  Other than that, foot notes, headers, footers, and a lot of other things are easily.

I really like Nisus Writer, PageHand, and Symphony because the most common things I need to do are easily and readily accessible.  MS Word, OpenOffice, and some others have floating windows and a bunch of other things to customize regularly accessed or regularly changed  parts of a document creating too much clutter (in my opinion).  The person working on PageHand probably read my mind or something because they way it handles typography is simply beautiful to me.  I love the way it works.  I wouldn’t have bought Nisus Writer Pro if Symphony worked well enough for daily use on my computer (sorry Nisus).  Symphony is great project, but I think they need to work on making it more usable (or tolerable?).

My main issue with word processing on the Mac is that there are so many choices, and each choice handles things in its own way, which is both a blessing and a curse.  On Windows, it’s more of choose the one that opens the right file formats, or which one works nicely with your wallet.  On Mac, the concern is how do you, as the user, want your word processor to work with you (or how do you want to work with the word processor).

I think there are many great things coming out in the future.  OpenOffice is working on a new user interface (at least for Impress?), MS Office 2010 is supposed to come out soon, and PageHand is still relatively young and growing.  I haven’t heard that many rumors about an iWork ’10 (other than there probably won’t be one).

Anyways, what do you use for word processing and why?

I don’t use Storyist for poetry, but I do use it to keep tab on my short stories, and soon, my scripts/screenplays.

I was really shocked that the upgrade is free for those who bought it after September 1st, 2008.  That’s a long ways back.  I bought my copy in October, and would be willing to pay the upgrade cost, but it’s great to find out that I won’t have to.

The interface looks like a huge improvement.  If you’ve played with Storyist before, you can see some differences (major or minor depending on your opinion) that make a big improvement.

Storyist 2 will also add in some features that many people were complaining about it lacking before.  It will add full-screen editing, comments, and image-in-manuscript support.  I’m mainly looking forward to the full-screen and and the updated interface.  There was a short teaser trailer here.

I’m eager to see when it ships, but I can wait.  Steve and friends are probably working their best to get all of the bugs kicked out and everything in working order.

Scrivener is also planning on releasing their big 2.0 later this year.  No news about when the free updates start (I think it’s 3 months before the release date?)

Ulysses 2.0 will also be coming out in May (finally after so many years).  1.7 is supposed to come out before that, but I think people are more eager for 2.0.  Blue-Tec said in their blog (on the 24 of April) that people who buy now won’t see an upgrade fee (I believe).

There’s a lot of 2.0 planned for writing software this year.  There’s a lot of other writing software out there too, but these are the 3 that I pay attention to the most (mainly because I love the interface and work-flow of each one).  When this summer comes, I’m going to be having quite a bit of fun with all the updated software that’s coming out (not just for writing, but for graphics and everything else as well).  I need to focus on my poetry and one of my stories over summer too (which is what reminded me of the software updates coming soon and everything).

Lines and Lines
Of Code and Code,
Link a List
Node-to-Node.

How long has it been,
Since I’ve seen the sun?
If this compiles,
I’m finally done.

How I feel when I program… It used to be fun, but now it never stops :’(

Test today,
what to say.

They were hard,
Had a brain fart.

Brain still is mush,
Poems today stuck.

Can’t come up with anything today… Brain is mushified from all the tests I’ve had today.

The man in the mirror
Asked me who I was.

“I’m me,” I replied.
“Are you really?”
“Yes?” I questioned.

“Are you where you want to be?
Doing what you want to do?
Did you choose to stand where you stand?”

I hesitated,
Aren’t dreams just dreams,
And reality is reality?
I might want more,
But aren’t I happy
To stand where I stand?

“Are you happy?”
The man in the mirror,
Was reading my thoughts.

“Yes” I asserted,
But somewhere,
I knew I lied.

“So you’re giving up
On your dreams?”
The man in the mirror,
Remarked with an evil smirk.

He knows, I thought
The life I live,
Is not the life I want,
But dreams are just dreams,
This reality is my reality.

“Go on and give up,
Your dreams will soon fade.”
The man in the mirror
Spoke so harsh,
But I could see sadness
Somewhere in his eyes.

What he said might be true,
Dreams are just dreams,
And reality is reality,

“Yes, that is true,”
The man in the mirror
Spoke louder than before,
“Dreams are just dreams,
And reality is reality,
But your speaking to me,
How can this be?”

Just some thoughts. When you look in the mirror, are you happy with what you see, or do you know it could be something better?

I want to be a magician of words,

To be able to make people read and say,
Look at that assonance.

To make people stare in awe
Of what an onomatopoeia.

To be able to alliterate,
And have complete control.

But until then,
I’m still an amateur,
At choosing words.

Studying poetry, and admiring other poets’ use of the different magical terms describing the use of words.

“Boxers or Briefs?” I was asked today,
They caught me off gaurd,
I didn’t know what to say.

I had to think for a moment,
What do I wear,
Is there a right or wrong answer,
About my underwear?

Why would one ask?
I can’t seem to say,
But in case your wondering,
It’s boxers everyday.

…
Random nonsense. Couldn’t really think of anything for today. I bought some books of poetry, hopefully they provide some inspiration and help me become a better writer. I’ve been told that my rhythm gets thrown off once in a while, and I’ve also been told that some of my poems are very novice-like. I am a novice, but hopefully I can learn … This poem is in no way a reflection of my usual work…

Will I ever confront myself?
Will I keep turning a blind eye?

There must be a reason,
For things I do.
I can’t be fool enough,
To continue on this path.

Everyone can see me,
But no one will stop me.

Can anyone care
For someone
Who doesn’t care
About Themself?

Poem about confronting myself… Just thinking about how people keep doing things they know are bad and wondering why they keep doing so. Then I thought about how no one really talks to them about it, and maybe the person wants to be stopped. But yeah, just thoughts.

I killed myself again last night,
Pulled the knife swiftly through my skin.
The world slowly became darker,
My life seeped out through liquid red.

I awoke from that dream,
Wondering why I would dream such a thing,
I have so much to love a cherish,
What could it possible mean?

I do not have a fear of death,
For life, I cannot say the same,
I know what will happen after I die,
But not what will happen today.

I dream of death a lot at night,
Causing myself great pain,
I always wake up terrified,
Will I kill myself again?

Poem for today! More emo stuff from the emoKid! Hope you don’t have dreams where you kill yourself. Count your blessings, if you keep on living, you might get to meet me one day!…?

I was looking for Inspiration today,
I guess she didn’t want to be found.

I searched high and low,
East and West,
Close and Far,
Dark and Light,

But no matter where I looked,
She wasn’t there.

So I sit here,
Empty inside.

If you do see her,
Please tell her I was looking,
And now I am waiting,
Hoping to see her beauty.

So, National Poetry Writing Month is 1/3 of the way done.  And I’m starting to feel a lack of inspiration.  I’m pretty sure it’s because of final projects, but I’m hoping to be in the writing spirit when school has ended.

Today’s poem comes from the lack of inspiration.  Hope you like it.