Re: Laptops, Mac-to-Windows

[Frazer Wright <frazer -at- OLIVER7 -dot- DEMON -dot- CO -dot- UK>]

wrote in your Email of 1/3/99:


>I'd also like to hear from free-lancers who use a Macintosh (either desktop
>or laptop) exclusively. How painful are the cross-platform conversion
>headaches, and is it worth it? (Please note that I am *not* seeking
>comments on the merits of Windows and Mac. I use both daily. I'm simply
>seeking input on Mac-to-Windows conversion problems, an area in which I
>have little expertise.)

I have used a Mac exclusively for 3 years as a freelance journalist,
technical writer and editor. I switched from MS Word to NisusWriter because
the MS product was becoming too bloated. NisusWriter is nicer to use,
easier to customise and has an invaluable user List, which has solved any
problems that have arisen for me.

NisusWriter also has excellent text to speech facilities, as I always use
Victoria, one of the Mac's built-in voices to read my copy back to me. The
search and replace engine is far better than MS Word and you can do
contiguous selection (idea for changing odd chunks here and there to italic
etc.)

NisusWriter has a few drawbacks, but I wouldn't dream of going back to
Word. I have had the occasional cross-platform headache, but very little
that NisusW couldn't solve. Ideally, I would have MS Office 98 AND
NisusWriter on the same machine and guarantee no such problems.

I think you can get a time limited, but fully working demo of NisusWriter
from their web site: from memory (but please check) www.nisus.com. Apart
from anything else, they are pleasant and professional people to deal with.

I haven't used a Mac laptop for some years, but I loved my old PowerBook
230, which, with a dock, was my main working machine for some time. I still
keep the laptop "just in case" but the G3 I have now blows everything in
the past away. Its a dream machine.

Frazer Wright


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