The more I think about my work process with Scrivener, the more I realize that I don't really need a full-blow word processor. True, I know how to use Microsoft Word or Apple Pages quite well, yet I feel like I'd be less productive writing with these.
I guess it all depends of what kind of content you're writing. If you're writing documentation for software, Doxygen is the best. For a research paper, LaTeX. For a movie or TV script, Scrivener would work great. For a technical book, Adobe InDesign is amazing. For plain old prose, Byword keeps you focused on content.
Come to think about it, word processors, by trying to support everything, ends up being not very good at anything. Over time, Microsoft Word just managed to become even more bloated for things that 99% of us don't really need. No wonder why Google Docs (part of Google Drive) is so popular even though it's lacking so many features: It's easy to use, it's fast, and it's free. OK, Microsoft eventually started doing the same thing with SkyDrive, but my point is that most people don't need a full-blown word processor.
Published on October 28, 2012 at 21:25 EDT
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