Mellel 5.1 update

[Nathan Parker]

NB released an update that resolved some of the bugs I was having on a Mac, so I’ve temporarily put DevonThink and BookEnds on hold at least until I’m done with my dissertation (so I don’t have to learn any new apps this late in the game).

 

However, I’m still watching to see what happens with CrossOver and Apple Silicon support once Apple phases out Rosetta 2 support. That could throw a huge kink into Nota Bene, and if that happens, I’ll purchase BookEnds and DevonThink right away (if I haven’t already have purchased them by then). In the meantime, I still may at least take a trial of them once my dissertation is finished so I can get the feel for them.

[Frank Jones]

8 hours ago, Nathan Parker said:

NB released an update that resolved some of the bugs I was having on a Mac, so I’ve temporarily put DevonThink and BookEnds on hold at least until I’m done with my dissertation (so I don’t have to learn any new apps this late in the game).

 

However, I’m still watching to see what happens with CrossOver and Apple Silicon support once Apple phases out Rosetta 2 support. That could throw a huge kink into Nota Bene, and if that happens, I’ll purchase BookEnds and DevonThink right away (if I haven’t already have purchased them by then). In the meantime, I still may at least take a trial of them once my dissertation is finished so I can get the feel for them.

 

I have to confess that there is still a soft spot for NB in my heart but have thought for years that its days are coming to a close. Too many hurdles to jump over with the increasing OS technologies. I left Windows for Mac years ago so it might work great on that platform. At that time, I left Windows mainly for hardware quality (plastic laptops and poor battery longevity) after using the iPhone 3. I even cheered on NB by joining its Friends program a couple of years back.

 

I have set up Mellel with my default templates and have workable system. Bookends; and if you want Orbis replacement DT, function as an equivalent substitute for NB. I would say, much better. I had a lifetime subscription to Mellel which I just gave up in order to do my small part of supporting its development.

 

Nathan, if you are that far along in your dissertation I would not change either from NB. However, I would start playing with importing that doc into Mellel If you are going that direction. Changing from one format to another is a pain. I don’t know the topic but in the future you might want to re-edit it into a book form for the church.

[Nathan Parker]

Great points! I’ll definitely be assembling the final form of the dissertation in Mellel. I didn’t want to rely in NB’s assembly feature for this, and Word is way too much of a pain to assemble the document. So my dissertation will be in Mellel format on my machine in addition to having copies in NB, Word, and PDF formats.

 

Next year I need to seriously decide do I use NB as my primary academic word processor on the Mac moving forward, or give BookEnds and DT a try alongside Mellel for future academic projects. I’m involved enough in NB’s ecosystem where it’s comfortable to use for academic writings, but watching CrossOver on Apple Silicon will be one major decision factor for me. Right now, CrossOver apps run well on Apple Silicon, but what if/when Apple pulls the plug on Rosetta 2?

 

In the meantime, I have moved to Mellel as my primary everyday word processor (plus using it to assemble my dissertation). I certainly prefer it to Word, and I even like it better than Nisus Writer Pro (a good app, but I just like Mellel better). That’ll allow me to continue to get comfortable with Mellel that in the event the writing is ever on the wall for NB on Mac, moving to BookEnds and DT alongside Mellel should be pretty painless.

 

I also am staying put on a Mac moving forward. Tried both Windows and Linux. A good learning experience (as least I came out of the experience with good knowledge on both), but I belong on a Mac and Apple devices. Even then, after reading Newport’s Digital Minimalism, I’ve been going through streamlining my workflow since I’ve been suffering from a major case of digital burnout.

[Frank Jones]

Nathan, as a former engineer and techie, I think that you go through phrases. 1) I wanted to try everything. 2) Settled on a mass of programs. 3) I have now narrowed down to just a few excellent ones and want to master them. MacOS is where I am at and will be in the foreseeable future.

[Nathan Parker]

Indeed. I’m trying to settle on a handful of apps and trying to eliminate as much overlap in my workflow as possible. Accordance has been a big help in that area. Pivoting to it as my primary Bible app has allowed me to focus on a quality Bible study library without fluff.