Back when we travelled to places other than the grocery store I owned a 12” MacBook. I loved almost everything about it. The size and weight was perfect for me. It was like carrying a macOS powered iPad.
It was somewhat frustrating, however. I could live with the one port, and that it was underpowered. The biggest problem was the keyboard. The MacBook was the first to use the hated butterfly keyboard. I knew before I purchased the keyboard was a compromise. It wasn’t the reason I sold it, but it didn’t help. Still, I have always thought that the 12″ MacBook would be great with an improved keyboard.
Now, if the rumors are correct, Apple is resurrecting the MacBook. This time, powered by Apple Silicon. This mythical MacBook will have 15 hours of battery life and be more powerful than some current MacBook Pro models. Seemingly an improved keyboard as well.
I know this is just a rumor, but if this turns out to be true all I can say is:
Submitting your app to Apple for sale on the Mac App Store is always a roll of the dice. You never know if your app will sail through the App Store review process in a matter of hours, or if you’ll be dealt a setback that takes you days to resolve.
These days App Store review delays and outcomes are pretty good. There’s still the occasional significant setback, if Apple decides to disallow the use of certain system resources that were previously permitted. Finding replacement solutions and rewriting your code can be non-trivial. But mostly there are minor changes to make, if any.
During a recent App Store review, we were given a strange request: please submit a video of your app using the Touch Bar. In all the years we’ve been releasing on the App Store we’ve never been asked for any kind of video before.
We do indeed support the Touch Bar in Nisus Writer, but its basic usage is obvious; you press buttons to take built-in actions like creating a new document tab. Some of our available Touch Bar items are actually straight from Apple and macOS, like the ability to fix spelling mistakes in your text. It didn’t make any sense that Apple would need a video to confirm this. They could simply test the Touch Bar during review like any other feature.
The only aspect of Touch Bar support in Nisus Writer Pro that’s more involved is a unique feature that lets you create custom Touch Bar items. You can turn any menu into a new Touch Bar icon.
This is nice if you have certain commands that you want to access frequently.
Whatever the reason for Apple’s unexpected request, there was no getting around it. You can’t release an app on the App Store without approval. We were going to have to make this video.
I don’t currently have access to a MacBook with a Touch Bar, now that I’m working from home full time because of COVID-19. Luckily there are other ways to interact with the Touch Bar, like the simulator in Apple’s developer tools, or the Touché utility app that allows anyone to use the Touch Bar on any Mac.
Ultimately it didn’t take long to produce the video and pass review, but it was strange. Jumping through Apple’s hoops and satisfying their fancies is just something you have to accept if you’re developing apps for their devices.
There are times, for whatever reason, that you need to find the license for your Nisus app. For example, you would like to upgrade to the latest version of Nisus Writer Express or Nisus Writer Pro. Perhaps you’re moving to a new computer and you need to install a fresh copy of InfoClick. How do you find your license?
Our Nisus License Lookup Tool, located on our main support page, will allow you to find your license and have it emailed to you. You just need the email address you used when you purchased your Nisus application and you will receive an email containing your license.
I guess I’m an old timer because as long as I’ve been a Mac user (almost 30 years now) I’ve known about TidBITS. However, there is plenty I did not know, and Adam Engst’s appearance on The Talk Show podcast fills in quite a few of those gaps.
Congratulations to Adam and Tonya Engst for 30 years of TidBITS.
Lorem ipsum is the standard text placeholder that typesetters, web designers, and other weirdos use to test text layout. It dates from the 1500s, when an unknown typesetter jumbled pieces of Cicero’s De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum (“On the Extremes of Good and Evil”) to use in a type specimen book. Things didn’t work out so well for Cicero, but lorem ipsum has survived for several centuries.
Lorem ipsum is fine for general use. If you are a Nisus Writer Pro user we offer a macro that will let you produce all the scrambled Latin your heart desires. However, if you’d like to add some zip to your ipsum, there are several variations to spice things up a bit.
Are you kidding? This one is great. All the bacony goodness you can stand. Here is a sample: “Bacon ipsum dolor amet drumstick filet mignon jowl, shoulder corned beef brisket ground round beef ham ball tip andouille flank tenderloin.“
Since I chose one with meat it’s only fair I chose one for vegetarians: “Veggies es bonus vobis, proinde vos postulo essum magis kohlrabi welsh onion daikon amaranth tatsoi tomatillo melon azuki bean garlic.“
Hipsters. They really do exist. They even have their own ipsum generator: “Etsy truffaut yr sartorial, ramps cray pour-over farm-to-table cred authentic meh retro salvia put a bird on it artisan. “
Pretty straightforward here. Everything you have ever heard in every meeting ever. Try to stay awake while reading this: “Cloud strategy market-facing message the initiative or player-coach nor can you champion this that jerk from finance really threw me under the bus.“
If you have a cat, you know this is what they are thinking when you think they are being adorable: “Lay on arms while you’re using the keyboard spread kitty litter all over house cats woo paw at your fat belly hunt by meowing loudly at 5am next to human slave food dispenser.“
Legal gibberish, just like the End User Agreements we never read: “To make sure the software is provided in the code itself as the Maintenance section of LPPL to apply to the terms and conditions of Section 2.1 with respect to a third party.“
This is another favorite. Choose between seven different classic literature passages: “They now walked on in silence, each of them deep in thought. Elizabeth was not comfortable; that was impossible; but she was flattered and pleased. His wish of introducing his sister to her was a compliment of the highest kind.“
Monocale ipsum is… well, just look at it: “Monocle ipsum dolor sit amet winkreative sleepy exquisite international Fast Lane Melbourne first-class quality of life cosy.“
Now we are talking. All the cheese with none of the crackers: “Cream cheese stilton macaroni cheese. Cheesecake pecorino taleggio cauliflower cheese fondue cauliflower cheese pecorino croque monsieur.“
Yet another favorite of mine. Yes, it’s silly, but it’s Chuck Norris! “Chuck Norris doesn’t read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants. There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live. The quickest way to a man’s heart is with Chuck Norris’ fist.“
This is just a small sample of the many interesting takes on lorem ipsum. If you have any favorites please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.
I recently came across a copy of the COVID-19 economic relief explanation letter being sent out by the White House here in the United States:
What was interesting to me was not the contents of this letter, but rather the spacing after each period.
You can see that there are two spaces after nearly every period. That standard is passé now (so much so that Microsoft Word is now flagging two spaces after a period as an error). The use of two spaces was not surprising. What is unexpected is that sentences starting with the letter “A” don’t appear to be preceded by two spaces:
In the above comparison you’ll see that the bottom two sentences have less space after the period, before the letter A. It looks like a single space to me. Only sentences beginning with the letter A have this reduced spacing.
These spacing differences could be explained by kerning if they occurred within a word. Fonts usually customize the space between adjacent printable characters based on the actual letter geometry, so everything looks nice and neat. But I don’t think kerning can account for the big differences seen in this letter, especially considering the spacing variations occur for whitespace, not printable characters.
Ultimately this is pretty strange. I’ve never seen a single document intentionally use both single and double spaces after a period.
Sometimes the most exciting thing about an iOS update is all the new emojis. In recent history the new emojis in iOS 13.2 included several interesting characters:
What does this have to do with line wrapping? We’ll get to that. First let’s explain a technical detail about emojis. Most Unicode characters and emojis have a distinct Unicode code point (aka character code). Each code tells software what character to display. The number 127823 is an apple, while 129411 is a turkey. But sometimes a new emoji will not have a new code. Instead the emoji is designated using a composite of existing codes. For example, the female chef emoji does not have a distinct code. Instead it combines the woman emoji with the frying pan emoji:
How does does an emoji do that in text? By using a zero-width joiner character between its constituent characters. That way software knows to display all the codes together as a single glyph or image on screen. This joiner trick is used for a variety of purposes like skin tone and gender modifiers.
Now to the part where we explain how the zero-width joiner character can help your writing. In certain situations you might consider inserting a joiner character to change where line wrapping occurs. The joiner acts as a signal to the text layout engine that the adjacent characters should be joined. You can think of the joiner like a glob of glue that keeps its neighbors together. The characters won’t display a single image as with emoji, but rather they will be kept together on the same line.
Consider the following example text:
The page margins may cause an undesirable wrapping point at the slash, so the words “when” and “if” are split across lines like so:
To prevent that you can place the insertion point after the slash character and insert a zero-width joiner character. That instructs text layout to keep the slash character together with the “i” in “if” like so:
Are you having trouble figuring out what day of the week it is? I know this sounds like a joke, but with the days all seemingly the same it really is hard to tell.
We have a solution for that. Our helpful What Day Is It page will correctly tell you what day it is. No more guess work, just the correct day of the week.
At some point you’ve probably forgotten where a particular menu command is located. The good news is that you can quickly use Nisus Writer’s Help menu search to find it. Just open the Help menu and type a word or two into the search field like so:
The above screenshot shows a search for the word “hyphenation” which turns up the relevant menu commands. You can do two things with the list of matching menu commands:
1. Let your mouse pointer linger over the command to see its location in the main menu structure. A large arrow indicator appears like so:
2. Click the command to activate it, as if you’d used it normally.
For an app like Nisus Writer Pro that has a full user guide you will also see a list of associated help topics in the search results. If you click any of those results you’ll be taken directly to the associated help topic in your web browser (Safari by default).
You can use this Help menu search in any macOS apps that support it. It’s relatively standard and nearly all apps from Apple provide it, including Apple Mail, Numbers, Finder, etc.
While we are settling in to the new normal, there is going to be quite a bit of advice, both good and bad. Our friends at Take Control Books are attempting to cut through the noise by releasing a new book, Take Control of Working from Home Temporarily.
The book is completely free (one per customer, please) and there is plenty of good, solid advice. If you have never worked from home, this is all new and the book will help you navigate the current situation.
I understand that perhaps the book was written and edited in a certain word processor (Nisus Writer Pro). I’ll work to confirm this TidBIT.
Apple needs to fix those keyboards. They are impossible to write on — they’ve gotten worse. It makes me want to go back to PCs. Because PC keyboards, the bounce-back for your fingers is way better. Hands up who still uses a PC? You know what I’m talking about. It’s a way better keyboard. Those Apple keyboards are horrendous.
Taika Waititi speaking to the press after winning an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
A few weeks ago Catalina, or macOS 10.15 was released. Since then, it seems like mayhem has followed. Catalina breaks from the past in significant ways. Speaking of breaking, it also breaks some apps. Security has been tightened. There is quite a bit going on here that users should know. Since this is on a Nisus blog, we’ll start with Nisus apps.
Nisus Writer and Catalina
Nisus Writer Express 4 and Nisus Writer Pro 3.0.3 and above are compatible with Catalina. All previous versions of Nisus Writer are not compatible with Catalina and will not be updated. If you are planning on upgrading your Mac to Catalina, you will need to update and purchase a new license.
Catalina and Other Applications
Another issue is that we are now living in a 64 bit world and much like bell bottoms, 32 bit applications are out of fashion. To be fair, Apple has been warning users for years that 32 bit apps weren’t long for this world. Now it is a reality and these older apps either need to be updated or you need to find others apps that work similarly. I can say that all of our apps are 64 bit and have been for quite a while. If you need help with this, there is a great utility called Go64 from St. Clair Software that scans your app folder to find these 32 bit applications.
If you are an Adobe user you may want to read this first and take the appropriate steps.
In any event, you may want to check with developers of apps you rely on and make sure they will work with Catalina before you upgrade. It will save you quite a bit of work.
Security
Lastly, there is a big focus on security in Catalina. It’s a different world now and the security changes are welcome. Here is an article that explains some of the new security features. Basically, Catalina is more secure by default. However, these new features are either helpful or annoying, depending on your point of view.
Look Before You Leap
These a just a few of the changes. You should also keep in mind that point zero releases of a new operating system can be buggy. Recently there was a supplemental update to Catalina that fixed a few issues. Since then there was a new release of the supplemental update. I’m not giving advice here, but I normally wait a release or two before I upgrade. By then most of the major bugs have been fixed. Let’s hope that is the case with Catalina.
All of this prose is to say that with Catalina you need to look before you leap. Make sure you know what you’re getting into before you upgrade. There are plenty of great Catalina reviewsoutthere. Read a few and then decide.
If it’s Winter (or close enough) then it’s time for WinterFest. That’s right, it’s here, we’re happy, and you should be too. That is, if you like to save money.
Get the tools you need at a terrific price, for a very limited time. Use this special link to save 25% on Nisus Writer Pro. To save 25% on other excellent WinterFest software, please visit the WinterFest 2015 page.
WinterFest 2015 ends on January 6, so don’t wait. Order today and save!
El Capitan, or OS X 10.11, has been released and we know many of you are already using it. So it is probably a good time to talk about compatibility with our apps.
The latest versions of Nisus Writer Express and Nisus Writer Pro are compatible, apart from one issue. Hopefully Apple will fix that bug shortly.
The current version of InfoClick (1.1) will not by default detect email in El Capitan. We currently have a workaround but a newer version of InfoClick (1.2) will fix this issue. We hope to have InfoClick 1.2 released very soon.
Nisus Thesaurus is compatible with no reported issues.
If you do find a problem please let us know by sending an email to support or through the feedback reporter (Help > Send Feedback) within our apps.
To celebrate the beginning of Summer we are happy to announce that we are once again participating in the SummerFest promo. For a limited time eight awesome artisanal apps from eight awesome developers are discounted 25 percent.
Get the tools you need at a terrific price, for a very limited time. To save 25% on one or all of this excellent SummerFest software use the coupon code SummerFest2015 during checkout.
You can learn more about this collection of exceptional software from the SummerFest 2015 page.
As our friend Adam Engst of TidBITS wrote “ If you take your writing seriously, do yourself a favor and invest in the tools and training that let you focus on the best way to convey your ideas to the world.”
The SummerFest promo ends on June 30, so don’t wait. Order early and often.
As I write this it’s less than an hour before the WWDC keynote. This is Apple’s Developer Conference, and it’s kind of a big deal for us. It means massive amounts of speculation on what will be announced. I know the rumor mill is churning with many predictions, some involving new hardware. Honestly, I don’t care about that.
You know what I would love? An temporary end to new featuritis with an eye on fixing many persistant bugs in OS X and iOS. Especially OS X. I don’t care what they call it, just fix the crap that’s been broken since Lion. Is that asking too much? I don’t think so, but Apple may have other ideas. Whatever… just fix it already, Apple.
I really hope this happens, but I have my doubts. I have a wonderful track record of incorrectly predicting many, many things at these Apple events. I hope to break that streak, but the chances of that are probably not good.
I finally had a chance to use a MacBook at the local Apple Store. I’ve been wanting to try it and the Apple Store gives me a good opportunity to check it out without being pushed into buying one.
I had read the comments and reviews from Jason Snell for Macworld, Ars Technica, and this review from Marco Armet (spoiler alert: Marco really hated the MacBook), but I wanted to check it out for myself to see if it was as good as I thought it might be or as bad as Marco says it is.
To my surprise it isn’t slow, in spite of its supposedly slow processor. It is quite quick, though I didn’t do anything more stressful than surfing the web and write with it. The screen is beautiful, which in itself is reason to seriously consider it. To my eyes, it’s the best of the retina screen Macs. That’s saying something.
However… that keyboard! I like the big keys, and the fact that it is full sized. There is very little travel, though, and that bugs me. I suppose I could get used to it, but it reminds me very much of typing on an iPad. I got used to it, but I can’t say I like it. I guess I was spoiled typing on those Apple Extended Keyboards. Everything else feels inferior to me.
That got me to thinking about the MacBook in a different way. Is the MacBook a the upgrade from an iPad? One thing that stuck me watching the March keynote is the way the MacBook looks very much like an iPad. The back of it certainly does, and from a distance it looks like an iPad with a keyboard. There are other little touches here and there that subtly remind me of an iPad Air. Plus… colors! It’s all very iPad like. Seeing one up close only reinforces that feeling.
Perhaps Apple has determined that the iPad isn’t the productivity machine it’s made out to be. In other words, maybe this is supposed to be the upgrade from the iPad for those iOS users who need more. I tried to love the iPad as a productivity tool, but I just couldn’t do it. Even with a bluetooth keyboard it wasn’t for me. I know some of you feel differently and have made the iPad work for you. Not me, sadly.
I suppose at some point I will own a MacBook since I am a fan of small and light computers. I’m typing this on a MacBook Air, a machine I’m quite happy to own. The single port won’t bother me, but right now the price does. Maybe in a year or two it will get cheaper. The keyboard might be a deal breaker, but I’d have to really use one for a while to figure it out.
What do you think? Is this a computer that could appeal to a writer? Or is the MacBook a tool for the fashion conscious CEO?
Now that Pro 2.1.1 is out, I’d like to talk about other things we are working on here at Nisus.
First up is InfoClick. Version 1.2 is now in beta testing. The focus of this version was adding a few highly requested features along with fixes and enhancements. InfoClick 1.2 should be released in weeks, but that’s dependent on how long the beta period will last. You just never know with these things.
Nisus Writer Express 3.5 should also be out fairly soon. This new version gains OS X Auto Save and Versions like its big brother, plus the usual bug fixes and enhancements. This also should be released soon, so stay tuned.
Lastly, I’d like to write about the Mac App Store situation. At this point, we are still working with Apple to get Pro 2.1.1 into the store. There are a few technical hurdles to overcome, and I can’t even begin to guess when Pro will be approved by Apple. Hopefully it will be soon, but we have no idea at this time.
Stay tuned to this blog or subscribe to our newsletter for more updates.
We are sad to report the death of a longtime devoted supporter of Nisus Software Inc, and an active participant in our forum, raising good questions and offering sage advice.
My colleague Mark Hurvitz and his wife had the opportunity to meet Anne in September of 2010. She graciously took them around her neighborhood in the old town of Zurich. Anne was widely knowledgeable and deeply thoughtful. She will be sorely missed.
Today we lost Leonard Nimoy. You can read obits here and here.
I was affected by it, no question, but I’m not quite sure why. I’m not a huge Star Trek fan, nor was I particularly inspired by him. I do think he was a great actor, and a pretty stand up guy (the less I say about his music career the better). So I can’t quite figure out why news of his passing saddened me.
Maybe it’s because, despite having been typecast to a certain degree as Spock and supposedly resisting it (the man wrote a book called “I Am Not Spock“) he later embraced it (he wrote another book called “I Am Spock“) and was able to laugh at himself and enjoy his life.
In the end, I think Leonard Nimoy was a nice man and maybe why that his passing makes me sad. There aren’t too many nice guys in his chosen business, or in the world in general, and we need more of them in this day and age.
