Are power users supposed to just 'go away'?

Have a problem? A question? This is the place for answers from other Express users.
Post Reply
garyniem
Posts: 2
Joined: 2003-07-30 09:09:53

Are power users supposed to just 'go away'?

Post by garyniem »

As someone whose entire publishing workflow depends on using the much-vaunted Nisus tools (specifically find & replace and macros) to embed tags in text documents for importation into Quark, I have to share my disappointment and dismay over this new version of Nisus.

My office bought version 1.0 of Nisus (back then it was "Paragon Concepts" -- and every upgrade since then. I attended training sessions at the Nisus headquarters in San Diego, and even helped a bit with their marketing campaign. I know some of the long-term employees at Nisus by name.

Before this new version emerged, I had thought that I was close to the "core user" of Nisus: someone who enthusiastically jumped in, mastered the find & replace, and went on to fully develop thousands of macros in all their powerful glory. Nisus was the lynchpin of a robust publishing workflow.

But it seems that Nisus is looking for a new type of user as they transition to OS X, and it surely isn't the power user.

With the find & replace feature woefully crippled, and the macro facility largely gone, it seems like an era has passed. If Nisus thinks I'm going to dump 10 years worth of macros and start from scratch on Perl or AppleScript, they are utterly mistaken.

At least with the previous versions, Nisus had a trump card: all the search & replace power you could handle, and macros whose usefullness was only limited to your imagination.

Who's going to buy this program now? Does Nisus think that by gutting the pro features & attaching a pretty interface that its appeal will somehow be broadened?

What we're left with is a quirky little program with no underlying power. For my business, it's useless. My only option is to keep a workstation running OS 9 and keep using an older version. I fail to see how that helps Nisus's bottom line in any way.

Finally, I'd like to know why it is that a program as complex as Adobe Photoshop can be ported to OS X without the loss of a single feature, but, because of Nisus's small size, we're supposed to accept this candy-coated carcass as "the best they could do?"

If Nisus had at least given us some hope that full macro functionality (and convertibility from previous versions) will be included in a near-future release, I might not have to Express this kind of dismay.

But what do I know? I'm just an "end-user," "customer," "loyal follower from Day One," who's only focused on my narrow little concerns, like using "your product" to make a living. I would have gladly paid $100-200 a year to keep the pro features intact and in development. But no one asked me.

Perhaps nothing good lasts forever. If the Nisus we love -- and I did love it -- is indeed well-and-truly gone, thanks for the memories -- it was a good run.
jwx1
Posts: 35
Joined: 2003-05-12 08:48:44

Agree, but . . .

Post by jwx1 »

I'm willing to give them (the gurus at Nisus) a chance to present a new, greater OSX version of the great word processor we all admired in OS9. It ain't there yet. They know it.

I voted 'keep going' by paying for the new OSX version, to help finance the ongoing effort. I wanted to encourage the effort.

I ask every Nisus supporter to have faith, and to pay for the upgrade.

John
mook
Posts: 5
Joined: 2003-05-14 05:09:59

Competitive upgrades would help

Post by mook »

I just sent an e-mail to Nisus sales. The thing is, I never used Nisus before, always made do with Word as that was what I wrote my PhD thesis in (v5.1, the last decent version). I need the compatibility, and made do with the upgrade to 98.
Now with the move to X I really do not want to pay the excessive upgrade fee to get access to wordprocessing. I am willing to invest time to switch to a new app provided it allows good exchange with the office, either via word-files or via good RTF.
I bought Mellel, I bought Mariner Write. Great apps, with great value for money. I have Appleworks, also great value for money, since it was free...

I would pay for Nisus, to support the development which I admire. I own licenses to other Nisus software, and I care for the smaller developers.

But the entry fee for Nisus Express is too high. Not the absolute sum (Mariner is slightly more even), but the value for money.

Adding a competitive upgrade option would certainly help. And Nisus has always had that for the classic version, so why not for express? It is better to earn 11 dimes than 4 quarters, certainly with downloadable software.

Anyway, just my feelings
mook
Posts: 5
Joined: 2003-05-14 05:09:59

Re: Competitive upgrades would help

Post by mook »

[quote="mook"]I just sent an e-mail to Nisus sales[/quote]

Interestingly: I never got an answer, not even a polite bugger off...
Post Reply