Schreiben - 5.5

I Love this app, but haven't been able to update it since version 5.0. I know if I download this version here and replace my 5.0 version with this, it will take it bake to trial.

Admittedly, I have searched Leopard vs. Tiger 10.4, and find nothing new in Leopard (as for my uses) that justifies the cost in $ or hardrive for Leopard. I'll check "Snow" Leopard someday.

Previously, with Tiger I used Schreiben for a while. Speaking of ease and simplicity for writing legal documents and for a lawyer, for writing simple letters, for all the important, frequent, and basic uses, I am more than satisfied with an alternative called "Bean" ( named after coffee bean and those of us who work late at night and rely on a cup of java). Bean is simple pleasure to use and gives no problems.

If Schreiben is really that better, I would think the author would include the few adaptations that would enable it for use on Tiger.
Before passing judgment on any simple processor, you owe it to yourself to download and try Bean.

Tough to make a buck charging for a small footprint, quick opening word processor when you have freeware like Bean which handles, among many other formats, .doc, .docx, .odt and .xml.

I've tested a few versions of Schreiben. This version is out only a day, so an extensive review of it will follow. Disclosure: I am not a paid or unpaid shill for the developer, but I have gotten to know him a bit through email exchanges. In fact, we've had a couple of friendly arguments.

I echo msidoric's remarks almost completely. But Schreiben is no replacement for that bloated, poor-performing, but feature-laden thing known as Word. Word has more functionality—features that make it a lousy page-layout program (placement of images, etc.)—than Schreiben, but this is so BY DESIGN. Schreiben is supposed to be fast, possessed of a clean interface, and easy as hell to use. This is not to say that if it lacks a feature you need, then you're out of luck. The developer updates the program frequently, and features and improvements are almost always driver by user feedback, which the developer is highly sensitive to. In this sense, Schreiben is among my default writing tools. All my other default writing tools come from the same developer: Briefe, Schreiberling, and perhaps, MyWord. I can't decide, because in some cases these programs have mutually exclusive features, by design. But they are constantly evolving, and, I suspect, our comments will shape what they become. What they will never lose are their fast performance, gorgeous interfaces, ease--of-use AND, yes, their amazing price points. $7 for well-built, incredibly useful app? The best value out there.

And know this: when you buy this product, or any of MOAP's products, you're truly buying an experience that includes a relationship with the people behind it. Support is swift and complete. By "support" I mean responsiveness to feedback, in that so far, I've found no issues with the program, meaning bugs or how-to. I have no doubt that the issues posted here are true. But with my PowerPC G4 and Leopard 10.5.6, I've had no problems whatsoever. I'd like to see some features that are most likely ones that suit only my idiosyncratic needs, but I don't consider this to be a flaw in the application. The design philosophy on the MOAP's sister website myAPP is something like "doing.more.with.less. That pretty much sums it up. Leverage productivity with a smaller, "better" app. This jibes with Leo Babuta's book "The Power of Less" (Disclosure: I have nothing to do with Mr. Babuta other than being a fan), which is what we're all going to have to do as the economy implodes and transmogrifies into something better. (We hope.) We lose nothing by shifting to simplicity and elegance. We require Word only once in a while. And unlike Word, built by committee and a thing that forces you into working within the developerS poor understanding of user experience, Schreiben, and all the MOAP apps, show a keen sensitivity to how users actually use applications. It's now about UX (user experience) and this developer has been ahead of the curve in this regard.

Everyone is different and what we like is axomatic, not to be argued with. I love Schreiben and almost everything MOAP. So much so that I urge everyone to download the demo and to give it a spin. I've never done something like this before. I've worked in Mac IT support for many years and collect apps for a hobby, and whether or not you'll like this app as much as I do, you should note that my enthusiasm is somewhat informed. Check out Schreiben.

I would welcome hearing about your experience. Strong, good, well-intentioned arguments are welcome, because I spend time writing software reviews and care a lot about what's out there. I've learned that most often, if you offer objective feedback, and your comments are well put, you can effect changes in a product—changes that everyone benefits from. It's more difficult to do this than to carp unconstructively (I charge no one here with doing so), but it's a service to the community and you just might end up getting an app custom-tailored to your specific needs and likes.

Evan Mitchell Stark PhD
me at evanmitchellstark dot me

...is there a reason the Leopard demo won't work on a 10.5.2 Intel system (iMac Core2 Duo)? Every time I try to launch the demo, I get an error telling me that the app cannot run on "this version of MacOS X."

Looks interesting. I'd like to check it out.