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Ulysses' Companions' Odyssey (provisional app review)
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Posted by MadaboutDana
Apr 20, 2022 at 12:52 PM
Sorry, I misreported the Fairphone operating system – while they do use a “clean” version of Android, it’s still a Google-approved one.
To go totally Google-free, you can opt for a phone from the /e/ Foundation (details: https://e.foundation, also as described here: https://liliputing.com/2021/02/now-you-can-buy-smartphone-with-e-os-in-the-us-and-canada-android-phones-stripped-of-google-services.html). They produce a Google-free version of Android, and I believe it’s easy to install on Fairphones (that’s what I mixed up earlier). You can just download the OS and install it on your own smartphone if it’s a compatible model and/or you’re prepared to take the risk.
There’s also some useful info on independent mobile OSes on the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) website here: https://fsfe.org/activities/android/liberate.en.html#OS
Cheers!
Bill
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Apr 20, 2022 at 12:55 PM
The Ulysses/Inspire Writer comparison is instructive in illuminating the differences between the Apple and Windows environments.
I just checked out Inspire Writer and it seems like a very capable markdown editor, one of the best I’ve seen for Windows. It lacks the design polish of Ulysses. And it is missing two crucial (in my view) features that Ulysses sports:
- You can’t concatenate sheets in IW as you can in Ulysses. This alone makes Ulysses superior.
- Ulysses has a fully functional mobile version that works wonderfully on an iPad.
On the other hand, you have to pay an annual fee for Ulysses, whereas one fee (currently lower than the annual subscription rate for Ulysses) will get you lifetime access to Inspire Writer.
In my experience, Apple environment apps are generally more polished in their design and UI. And they usually have have apps for both MacOS and iOS, making them more universally available. But you pay a premium for this, both for the hardware involved, but also for the software licensing.
What is key here is that each operating environment provides an alternative to the other. I would hate to be forced to use Windows only. And it appears others feel the same about Apple. That’s why it is also nice that Linux is available.
Steve Z.
Posted by Dormouse
Apr 20, 2022 at 03:01 PM
Stephen Zeoli wrote:
>- You can’t concatenate sheets in IW as you can in Ulysses.
I’m not sure what you mean by that. afaics IW enables a lot of what I’d call concatenating.
What exactly is it that Ulysses can do that IW can’t in this regard?
Stephen Zeoli wrote:
The Ulysses/Inspire Writer comparison is instructive in illuminating the
>differences between the Apple and Windows environments.
I’m not sure about that. IW is not a typical Windows program, it’s not well known and can’t have anything like the sales of Ulysses. It’s also afaics a direct imitation of Ulysses even to the idiosyncratic and somewhat dysfunctional syntax. I think it first emerged in 2017, and I doubt it has taken on many of Ulysses developments since then. It has had upgrades, and has some features that Ulysses doesn’t. But I’m sure Ulysses is fuller featured and more capable. otoh, I think it’s a remarkable achievement because attempting to port a Mac program to Windows is very hard, even when you have and understand the details of the Mac code - as Scrivener keeps discovering. Mac programs tend to rely on inbuilt services that don’t exist in Windows and solutions need to be found to each one. And the Mac works differently both in design and expectations. A typical Windows program is built on Windows expectations and features.
But I think IW is a good enough imitation to allow Windows users to catch the flavour of Ulysses. And it is actually a nice looking and functional program.
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Apr 20, 2022 at 03:16 PM
By concatenating I mean that you can select multiple sheets in Ulysses and view them as if they are one document in the editor. I don’t think you can do this in Inspire Writer.
Posted by Dormouse
Apr 20, 2022 at 03:36 PM
Stephen Zeoli wrote:
By concatenating I mean that you can select multiple sheets in Ulysses
>and view them as if they are one document in the editor. I don’t think
>you can do this in Inspire Writer.
>
You can: Select, Export, Preview. No need to export, it’s just a reading view.