I'm thinking of getting a Mac Notebook to create a dedicated writing machine for myself. I can't change to Mac completely, but I can use the notebook for writing.

At this point, I'm thinking, a couple of programs to use in the program. I won't load so many program like I have done with my Thinkpad, but I figured there are some essential programs I need for writing.

1. Tinderbox (one of the reasons I want to get the Mac notebook). I got tired of waiting for the Windows version.
2. Mac Wordprocessor (I can't recall the one that has been recommended here)
3. Bibliographic software (I think I might stick with Endnote)

I can get MS Office for Mac through a program we have at my university.

So, is there any other program can you recommend for writing?

Well, I use Opal for all my writing projects. (Shouldn't be a big surprise.)

I'm not a big Word fan, I tend to use Pages for things that need any kind of layout.

Contact me once you have your Mac and I'll give you a discount.

Kenneth

1. Tinderbox (one of the reasons I want to get the Mac
notebook). I got tired of waiting for the Windows version.

You´ll get Yoyimbo with the Tinderbox license. Yoyimbo is a nice clipping manager and text database. It's not as powerful as Zoot, Infoselect or Ultra Recall but a good piece of software where you may put stuff and organize it before moving it to Tinderbox.

2. Mac Wordprocessor (I
can't recall the one that has been recommended here)

I recommend Scrivener (www.litteratureandlatte.com).
If you don´t like it: Check out Jer´s Novel Writer, Ulysses or Avenir.

3. Bibliographic software (I
think I might stick with Endnote)

I can get MS Office for Mac through a program we have
at my university.

A free alternative to Microsoft Office is NeoOffice (the Java edition of Mac OpenOffice.org).

So, is there any other program can you recommend for writing?

If the outlining feature in Scrivener does not satisfy you, check out

- Omnioutliner (www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnioutliner/)
- or TAO (http://artec-software.com/products/neo/en_index.html - both are excellent outliners; for my needs, however, the outliner in Scrivener is more than good enough.

In case, Yoyimbo/Tinderbox does you meet your requirements, try Devonthink Pro or Office.

I think the piece of software you were looking for is Scrivener.

Franz

Ah,

I forgot Opal as an alternative outliner - sorry David.

Franz

Kenneth - I'm a Mac user of 2 weeks' vintage. Check out Scrivener: http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.htm
Seems a great organizing/writing tool.

I've not seen Opal, but a version of OmniOutliner was residing on my new MacBook.. They'll try and get you to upgrade for $$$$, so you may want to switch over to Opal if Mr. Dunham can cut you a discount (I might take him up on such an offer myself!).

I've used AbiWord and OpenOffice on Windows. Unless your writing needs are complex, AbiWord for OS X should be fine. If you need an office suite, try NeoOffice (an OS X specific port of Open Office). If you still need Microsoft, wait until the end of the year when the new version of Office for Mac is released.

Anyway, enjoy your Mac....I am!

Jon

Yes, anyone from this forum can contact me before purchasing Opal.

Thanks for the suggestions and the offer for discount!

Has anyone tried other bibliographic software such as Bookends or Sente?

Yes, Scrivener was the program I was thinking of.

I also forgot to mention Mellel as a potential wordprocessor.

Has anyone tried Devonthink extensively?

Thanks.

Kenneth

I also forgot to mention Mellel as a potential
wordprocessor.

Mellel is a decent word processor with a nice outlining feature.
But in my opinion, Mellel is no reason to switch to the Mac - unless you need to write in Hebrew or in an Arabic language.
For a writer, Scrivener is a good reason to switch.

Has anyone tried Devonthink extensively?

I used it before I got Scrivener. Now, I have all research inside Scrivener.

I found Devonthink somewhat clumsy compared to Infoselect. This may sound strange as IS is surely not a tool that is elegant to use. But I never
found Devonthink comfortable to use. What is more: I could not use its full power, i.e. the built-in AI. As I have a mix of English and German notes in my databases, DT had problems spotting similar items when I looked for them: It would only suggest German notes when I started with a German note - though there were dozens of English notes on the subject in the database.

Unless you have huge piles of research material, I suggest you first try to put the material in Scrivener. If that does not work, it is easy to move the data into Devonthink or Tinderbox or any of the other data-collection tools. RTF is widely supported on the Mac. In fact, the text editing engine built into Mac OS X uses RTF, it is used by the developers of Scrivener and other writer's tools on the Mac. So, RTF is an excellent choice for exchanging formatted text between Mac applications.

Franz

Kenneth Rhee wrote:

Thanks for the suggestions and the offer for discount!

Has anyone tried other
bibliographic software such as Bookends or Sente?

Yes, Scrivener was the program I
was thinking of.

I also forgot to mention Mellel as a potential
wordprocessor.

Has anyone tried Devonthink extensively?

Thanks.

On bibliographic software: I don't use it, but there has been some discussion of it on the Scrivener forum. You may find that some programmes play better with Scrivener than others.

On DevonThink: I use it, and like it. In order to exploit its functionality to the full, your database(s) need to be large (so that it can can carry out its semantic analyses and make useful forecasts of how it should group future filings). It's quite possible to index files outside DT, but DT also allows them to be imported where they can't be searched by the Mac desktop searcher, Spotlight. This has provoked criticism, and DT has committed to make its files searchable by Spotlight in its next major release. This however is unlikely to be until after the launch of the new Mac operating system (i.e. late 2007/early 2008). In the meantime a new, rival programme, called Eaglefiler, that uses tagging rather than folders and whose database can be searched by Spotlight, appears to be gaining in popularity: http://c-command.com/eaglefiler/

On Tinderbox: Kenneth you may have researched it thoroughly already. However, if not you may find the contributions on the subject to the Scrivener and DevonThink forums and the apto site useful. apto did a useful review: http://www.atpm.com/10.10/atpo.shtml Although three years old, the review isn't out-of-date in its description of the fundamentals, in my understanding. In particular, look for contributions from AmberV, who is a Tinderbox (and Scrivener) user and a fan. Tinderbox is clearly one of a kind.

In general, the user issues in the Mac world of information management and structuring will be familiar to anyone from the Windows world: for example, tagging versus trees, proprietary versus native formats.

Another bibliography manager worth considering is BibDesk. It's meant to integrate with TeX/LaTeX (which is phenomenally well-supported on OS X), but it's a good Mac application in its own right, and it's free.

You don't mention what sort of writing you do. If your needs lean towards the academic (long articles, theses, etc.), LaTeX through TeXShop is worth a look. LaTeX is actually very usable on OS X due to the system's fast PDF engine, system-wide spellchecking (and grammar checking in Leopard), etc. I don't recommend Pages for long, multi-section documents. There are subtle bugs in the current version that only crop up in multi-section documents with tables of contents, etc. Word is always a solid choice, but it's not a speed demon on Intel machines, though that will change when MS releases the next version. Mellel is very good for long academic writing. It's a gem that doesn't get enough good press.

Chris Thompson wrote:

I don't recommend Pages for long, multi-section documents. There are
subtle bugs in the current version that only crop up in multi-section documents with
tables of contents, etc.

My most sectioned documents are under 20 pages, and my 100+ don't have lots of sections, so I must not have run across them. I'd like to know more about those bugs.

This probably isn't the best forum to discuss a Mac specific page editor though, so free to e-mail david AT a-sharp DOTCOM. (Anyone wanting a discount on Opal should contact me at this address too.)

This is definitely a timely topic. I have been thinking of getting an Apple for over a year, but such a change is a big one. If I get one, it will be my only computer, and I will use the program that switches to Vista (Parallels?). I have been waiting for Tinderbox for Windows also, but it is way too long in coming.

Let us know how you like the Mac Kenneth, and how the transition goes (even though it will only be for writing).

Vince