Tools of the trade (i): collaborative writing
This is a quick rundown of the tools I use to grab and process information and to write.
The writing part is easy — basically, because most tools out there suck.
I divide writing into two broad categories: collaborative and non-collaborative. Non-collaborative means I don’t need to worry about any sort of compatibility issue (and I’m not saying that because I’m on a Mac — see below). Collaborative means I have to adapt to the needs and requirements of the people who review/revise/comment on/post/print my stuff.
Collaborative: sorry, there’s really no alternative to Microsoft Word out there if you need footnotes, comments, and revision tracking. Mellel is an incredible value for money, far better than Nisus Writer Express (don’t let the “Express” fool you: there is no other version, at least not if you’re on OS X, which you should be anyway). Not only was it developed by a bunch of really cool guys over in Tel Aviv who are very responsive to questions and suggestions, but it’s simply superb for writing and costs an unbelievable 29 bucks (last time I checked — I bought this thing right away and am very happy). My only problem is that RTF import/export is not as smooth as it should be, though probably about as smooth as it can be. It would be terrific to have the one feature I love about Nisus: the live thesaurus, which checks whatever word your cursor is on. The thing is fast and cool and really much nicer than having to go through the Services menu.
Upshot is, if you’re looking for a non-collaborative writing tool (about which more in my next post), check it out. If your docs are not too complex and you don’t mind importing/exporting from and to RTF, check it out. If you want to see how this baby deals with foreign scripts, check it out. (Terrific!) And, it’s got BookEnds tie-ins (which I’m not using because I’m on BibDesk).
But back in the real world, it’s Word. Argh!!
