[Crasian]

Has anybody read when this will be released? I think it's awesome that Office 2004 has alot more features that Office XP.

[Wiskedjak]

June or July

[-Q-]

This thread is a good place to start. From everything that's been said, it won't be released until this summer.

I'm rather underwhelmed by the features they added. And if they still have that stupid 31-character limit to file names, I'm definitely not buying it.

[Horsepoo!!!]

Originally posted by Crasian:
Has anybody read when this will be released? I think it's awesome that Office 2004 has alot more features that Office XP.

Don't forget this gem. I just can't wait for the new Office 2004. And I won't either.

[Crasian]

Originally posted by Horsepoo!!!:
Don't forget this gem. I just can't wait for the new Office 2004. And I won't either.

Thanks for the link! Since I'm "switching", what other word processors are out for the the Mac?

[lookmark]

Originally posted by Crasian:
Thanks for the link! Since I'm "switching", what other word processors are out for the the Mac?

Apple's default text editor, TextEdit, is surprisingly robust (opens and writes standard Word .doc files, spell check, full ruler, word count and more w/ the addition of a free service or two). For basic needs it works very well. The consumer models also ship with AppleWorks, an all-in-one Works-style app that frankly is pretty long in the tooth and not great.

Other than that, WP on the Mac is actually one of the weakest areas. Word dominates the landscape. Besides it, there's Nisus Writer (the OS X version is terrible), Mellel (somewhat promising, but uses a proprietary, non-.doc format, and has a weird, heavy, clunky interface), and Mariner Write (a decent but not very exciting Carbon port). There's also the open source alternatives—OpenOffice, AbiWord, and KOffice—but none of these are ready for prime time quite yet. That's about it.

It's much rumored that Apple has a replacement for AppleWorks coming up, but this rumor has been simmering for years now...

[lookmark]

Oh, and there's finally ThinkFree Office, a Java suite, whose performance is just about as you'd expect.

[mudmonkey]

Originally posted by lookmark:
Besides it, there's Nisus Writer (the OS X version is terrible),

Just curious, why do you say that Nisus Writer Express (a Cocoa, OS X native app) is terrible? I have tried it, and it seemed quite nice. The fact that it is Cocoa (and therefore honors my keybindings, uses the TextExtras bundle, etc.) made it very interesting to me. AFAIK, it's the only full Word Processor that isn't just a pre-OSX Carbon port.

That being said, I use LaTeX rather than word processors, so, I haven't done with Nisus.

[Cadaver]

I'm eyeing Nisus very seriously, but I'm waiting until some critical bug are squashed before I make the purchase commitment.

[Phoenix1701]

Originally posted by mudmonkey:
Just curious, why do you say that Nisus Writer Express (a Cocoa, OS X native app) is terrible? I have tried it, and it seemed quite nice. The fact that it is Cocoa (and therefore honors my keybindings, uses the TextExtras bundle, etc.) made it very interesting to me. AFAIK, it's the only full Word Processor that isn't just a pre-OSX Carbon port.

That being said, I use LaTeX rather than word processors, so, I haven't done with Nisus.

Mellel is also Cocoa, and it has many more features (and fewer bugs) than Nisus. I also like how Mellel handles styles. The interface does take a little getting used to (it's brushed metal, for one thing), but I've found it does get out of your way if you ask it nicely.

[mitchell_pgh]

It depends. If you are basically doing general word processing, you can use just about any of them... (AppleWorks, bla bla bla...)

It's cool because I've started sending more PDFs to friends in stead of .doc files. Most of them don't mind.

That being said, I always have a copy of word around (even though it makes me sick every time I buy it!)

[lookmark]

Originally posted by mudmonkey:
Just curious, why do you say that Nisus Writer Express (a Cocoa, OS X native app) is terrible? I have tried it, and it seemed quite nice. The fact that it is Cocoa (and therefore honors my keybindings, uses the TextExtras bundle, etc.) made it very interesting to me. AFAIK, it's the only full Word Processor that isn't just a pre-OSX Carbon port.

Well, I'm glad *someone* likes it. "Terrible" may be a little strong, but I sure can't say I find the current version of Nisus very inspired. I find it a buggy, clunky, so-so WP app with some odd design choices. (A depressing turn of events, since Nisus on 9 was an entirely different beast.) Judging by the VT and MU reviews, it doesn't seem like I'm alone in thinking so.

I find Mellel much more promising, and a great price too, but the incredibly heavy-feeling interface (and non-.doc compatibility to some degree) give me the willies. I just don't think a WP should look like an iApp. If they streamlined and simplified their UI I'd definitely give it another try.

Anyway, I can bitch 'til I'm blue in the face; my point is simply that it doesn't seem to me that the most inspired or exciting software is being produced in this area. Few developers want to have to deal with the 800-lb. gorilla in the corner who owns the .doc format, and the results, to my eye, show that in spades.

[Busemann]

Originally posted by Phoenix1701:
Mellel is also Cocoa, and it has many more features (and fewer bugs) than Nisus. I also like how Mellel handles styles. The interface does take a little getting used to (it's brushed metal, for one thing), but I've found it does get out of your way if you ask it nicely.

oh and it saves in the ultra proprietary .mel format

Who need full xml support in office anyway? If many requested it, it would probably be incorporated. Office is the only way to go, if you like it or not (and 2004 looks very solid indeed).

[poocat]

because nisus is clunky. it's awkward in it's handling of many simple ui elements, and it, at least in the last version i bothered with (1.1) crashed often enough that i was loosing serious amounts of text every day.

and, let me clarify, i was doing nothing but type.

no itunes. thought that might crash it.
no ichat. same.

i'm not saying they're not trying, but if they're competing with word...

...they've lost.

slow? yup. both of em.
boring? yup. both.

crashing with my document unsaved?
nisus, check.
word? feature lacking, document stable.

hate paying for it.
hate supporting it.
wish i didn't.

do.
poocat.