Why can't someone make a word processor that uses .doc (or even .docx) format as its native format? Like it or not, the reality is that the Word formats are the standard and are extremely widely used. They are the defacto interchange format for editable files (PDF for non-readable files) and it is a real hassle to use a WP application which has to import and export to these formats. This is the ONE thing which keeps me with Word and I wish it was possible to move away.

Nisus is a good example of a missed opportunity in the real world. It's a good product to use, but its importation of Word files is slow and imperfect. And when saving I have to save two copies - one in Nisus format (to read back in with formatting intact) and one in .doc format (to send to others).

I know that Nisus uses RTF as its own format, but this just doesn't hack it as a real alternative to .doc. And I also know that this may not be a trivial challenge to solve, but that isn't the point - for any application that does address the challenge there are riches awaiting...