Dspace17–laughing out loud at your reaction to the Mac. I started on a Kaypro 8088 with an amber monitor and two floppies, installed my own hard drive back when you had to do a low-level format first, used DOS and upgraded through every Windows. Looked at Macs, rolled my eyes. I was a devoted Windows user, and Windows was best.
And then came OS X, and…damn. My reaction to my first Mac, and then my second Mac, was identical to yours. You’re gonna LOVE Scrivener.
I’ve been a PC person from the get go, and frankly, am sick of them, and I have 2 at home. I have been using LSB, or at least trying to learn it, OMG, it’s overwhelming and SO Flipping complicated, but being a software person, I figured it out, with a bit of help from their Help. Friday after work I got a bug and went to Best Buy and bought myself a cute little MacBook, my first laptop, and my first MAC, I love it, it’s so easy, and FAST. I downloaded the trial version of Scrivener, now am ready to download the full version and get to writing. I’ve already copied the files from LSB into the Trial version of Scrivener and am raring to get writing, only problem is, I can’t quit playing with my macbook, I’ve been on it all weekend.
mythusmage
15 years ago
I’m running Tiger on a G3 iMac and Scrivener works fine. As does Avenir, Mariner Write, Mellel, Mute Write, Nisus, and Storyist. Nisus is paid for, Mute Write is free, it’s the rest I need to spend some currency on. Scrivener is the one I purchase in March.
You can find G3 Macs on Ebay for a dang low price. I paid about $100.00 for The Beast, and that included shipping. I’ve seen older G3 iMacs selling for about $25.00 dollars plus shipping and handling.
G4 iMacs on the other hand get a tad pricier. It’s not unusual for a Pixar (the computer animated character, not the computer animation company) G4 to fetch $500.00 or more. But as time goes by you can expect more G4s and early MacTels to go for a much lower price. Probably about the same time OS 10.6 is announced.
If you do switch to a Mac keep in mind that things are often different than on a Windows machine. More intuitive, and that can throw a fella off. But, don’t assume you don’t have to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the way things are done. There are books out there revealing the Mac’s easter eggs etc., and make sure to give your copy of the Scrivener (or Nisus, or Mariner Write, or Storist) manual a good study. It’ll make using the software tons easier.
I’ve tried LSB but was simply overwhelmed. I want to get writing done, not have to need a diploma to understand the software that is supposed to be helping it… too much potential to get sidetracked with the niggly details for me.
pugh7755
15 years ago
PolarBear, what version of LSB do you have? I first used LSB 8.1 and have to admit that it wasn’t the greatest program. However, LSB XE is totally different. It is the closest windows users will get to Scrivener without buying a Mac. I tried Page Four, and at $34.95, I would expect much more for my money. Between Page Four and MS Word, I would stick with MS Word.
yWriter is free and offers more features than Page Four.
PowerPC architectures — G3, G4, G5 — are approaching obsolescence in the Macintosh world. Macs switched over to Intel processors about two years ago. You can pick up a brand new Mini for $600 that’s going to have a lot more power than a G4 or ancient G3.
Thanks for the info. Looks like a G4 would be best. I saw a G3 for $350 last year and almost bought it, but I’m afraid it wouldn’t have worked well enough.
I tried LSB and for me personally, it didn’t work well. I did like the ability to run on a flash drive, but I really didn’t like the library structure at all.
pugh7755
15 years ago
I forgot one other detail about LSB XE. The program creator, Jesse Wall, updates the program regularly. If you have a problem, go to the yahoo group for Liquid Story Binder and you can communicate directly with Jesse himself. He is very good at taking answering any questions and also taking care of any bugs in a timely manor.
pugh7755
15 years ago
Scrivener looks very nice. However, I have a PC. For those who have Windows XP or Windows Vista give Liquid Story Binder XE a try. It has tons of features: Dossiers, Time lines, Story Boards, Outlines, Image Galleries, Builders, and much more. The best part about it is that at only 2.2 megs it can also run from flash drive, Ipod, and other removable media.
Unfortunately, it only works with Windows XP and Vista.
Was going to point you to the Scrivener forum, but Scrivener’s increasing popularity apparently tanked the site owners bandwidth. He’s looking for new hosting. You can, however, check out this post on the oldest Mac you can run Tiger on.
Scrivener requires Tiger (OS X 10.4), but should run on any box that Tiger supports. It’s quite happy on my G4 Powerbook. You might also ask on the Scrivener forum, since this topic comes up regularly.
Holly, I’m seriously tempted to look for an old Mac just to get this software. Do you have any idea how old a device I could go (to converse money) and still run Scrivener?
Lexy
15 years ago
I wish I could afford a Mac! WAAAAAHHH! Everyone I know who has Scrivener swears by it. I so want it!
🙂
Just about the only common complaint in the Scrivener forums has to do with cost. The software itself is inexpensive (actually ridiculously cheap for what it does), but then there’s the cost of the Mac to run it…
Scrivener is also coming to Linux
SCRIVENER IS COMING TO WINDOWS!!!! Beta will be just in time for Nanowrimo, and goes on sale in 1Q 2011
Dspace17–laughing out loud at your reaction to the Mac. I started on a Kaypro 8088 with an amber monitor and two floppies, installed my own hard drive back when you had to do a low-level format first, used DOS and upgraded through every Windows. Looked at Macs, rolled my eyes. I was a devoted Windows user, and Windows was best.
And then came OS X, and…damn. My reaction to my first Mac, and then my second Mac, was identical to yours. You’re gonna LOVE Scrivener.
And I might go forward, but I’ll never go back.
I’ve been a PC person from the get go, and frankly, am sick of them, and I have 2 at home. I have been using LSB, or at least trying to learn it, OMG, it’s overwhelming and SO Flipping complicated, but being a software person, I figured it out, with a bit of help from their Help. Friday after work I got a bug and went to Best Buy and bought myself a cute little MacBook, my first laptop, and my first MAC, I love it, it’s so easy, and FAST. I downloaded the trial version of Scrivener, now am ready to download the full version and get to writing. I’ve already copied the files from LSB into the Trial version of Scrivener and am raring to get writing, only problem is, I can’t quit playing with my macbook, I’ve been on it all weekend.
I’m running Tiger on a G3 iMac and Scrivener works fine. As does Avenir, Mariner Write, Mellel, Mute Write, Nisus, and Storyist. Nisus is paid for, Mute Write is free, it’s the rest I need to spend some currency on. Scrivener is the one I purchase in March.
You can find G3 Macs on Ebay for a dang low price. I paid about $100.00 for The Beast, and that included shipping. I’ve seen older G3 iMacs selling for about $25.00 dollars plus shipping and handling.
G4 iMacs on the other hand get a tad pricier. It’s not unusual for a Pixar (the computer animated character, not the computer animation company) G4 to fetch $500.00 or more. But as time goes by you can expect more G4s and early MacTels to go for a much lower price. Probably about the same time OS 10.6 is announced.
If you do switch to a Mac keep in mind that things are often different than on a Windows machine. More intuitive, and that can throw a fella off. But, don’t assume you don’t have to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the way things are done. There are books out there revealing the Mac’s easter eggs etc., and make sure to give your copy of the Scrivener (or Nisus, or Mariner Write, or Storist) manual a good study. It’ll make using the software tons easier.
Hope this helps
I’ve recently downloaded the Writer’s Café trial verion. It has everything I need, plus I love their Storylines feature. Very flexible while very easy to use.
I’ve tried LSB but was simply overwhelmed. I want to get writing done, not have to need a diploma to understand the software that is supposed to be helping it… too much potential to get sidetracked with the niggly details for me.
PolarBear, what version of LSB do you have? I first used LSB 8.1 and have to admit that it wasn’t the greatest program. However, LSB XE is totally different. It is the closest windows users will get to Scrivener without buying a Mac. I tried Page Four, and at $34.95, I would expect much more for my money. Between Page Four and MS Word, I would stick with MS Word.
yWriter is free and offers more features than Page Four.
Of course this is only my opinion.
I have to second pugh’s comment on Jesse Wall’s yahoo group. Jesse is very responsive and runs a great group for the software users.
I bought LSB but haven’t used it much. I haven’t really clicked with the program.
The program recommended for Windows users by the the Scrivener is Page Four. I’ve downloaded and installed it, and it has some nice features.
PowerPC architectures — G3, G4, G5 — are approaching obsolescence in the Macintosh world. Macs switched over to Intel processors about two years ago. You can pick up a brand new Mini for $600 that’s going to have a lot more power than a G4 or ancient G3.
Thanks for the info. Looks like a G4 would be best. I saw a G3 for $350 last year and almost bought it, but I’m afraid it wouldn’t have worked well enough.
I tried LSB and for me personally, it didn’t work well. I did like the ability to run on a flash drive, but I really didn’t like the library structure at all.
I forgot one other detail about LSB XE. The program creator, Jesse Wall, updates the program regularly. If you have a problem, go to the yahoo group for Liquid Story Binder and you can communicate directly with Jesse himself. He is very good at taking answering any questions and also taking care of any bugs in a timely manor.
Scrivener looks very nice. However, I have a PC. For those who have Windows XP or Windows Vista give Liquid Story Binder XE a try. It has tons of features: Dossiers, Time lines, Story Boards, Outlines, Image Galleries, Builders, and much more. The best part about it is that at only 2.2 megs it can also run from flash drive, Ipod, and other removable media.
Unfortunately, it only works with Windows XP and Vista.
http://www.blackobelisksoftware.com/
Was going to point you to the Scrivener forum, but Scrivener’s increasing popularity apparently tanked the site owners bandwidth. He’s looking for new hosting. You can, however, check out this post on the oldest Mac you can run Tiger on.
Scrivener requires Tiger (OS X 10.4), but should run on any box that Tiger supports. It’s quite happy on my G4 Powerbook. You might also ask on the Scrivener forum, since this topic comes up regularly.
Dang, I meant conserve money!
Holly, I’m seriously tempted to look for an old Mac just to get this software. Do you have any idea how old a device I could go (to converse money) and still run Scrivener?
I wish I could afford a Mac! WAAAAAHHH! Everyone I know who has Scrivener swears by it. I so want it!
🙂
Just about the only common complaint in the Scrivener forums has to do with cost. The software itself is inexpensive (actually ridiculously cheap for what it does), but then there’s the cost of the Mac to run it…
Oh, pity us poor Windows users! 😉
It’s just cooler than cookies, man. I love it with a deep and abiding passion. And this is software. SOFTWARE. Who loves software?
It is. It’s superb.
Mac only … 🙁
Looks really nice