We will find out Monday if Sun CEO and long-hair Jonathan Schwartz was overly optimistic, or right on the money.

At a Sun event on Wednesday, Mr. Schwartz said “This week, you’ll see that Apple is announcing at their Worldwide Developers Conference that ZFS has become the file system in Mac OS X.”

What does this mean to you and me (thanks, Scott!)? I suppose we will find out Monday. However, this Macworld article explains what ZFS is, and perhaps how Apple could add it to Leopard without causing pain to its users.

Currently playing in iTunes: Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush

We had hoped to have released the final version of Pro by now, but as you can tell, that hasn’t happened yet. So, within the next few days, there will be a new public beta to replace the current version, which will expire on June 11.

When it is released, I will post about it right here, in our forum, and on our RSS feed.

Now if you will excuse me, I have to catch up on my Paris Hilton news.

Currently playing in iTunes: Eleanor Rigby (Strings Only) by The Beatles

Lately, we have been receiving a lot of mail asking us if Express will be updated. It’s a fair question. Express hasn’t been updated in a while, since most of our resources have been devoted to Pro.

However, once Pro is released, we will turn our attention to Express. I can’t really disclose too much at this point, but I will talk about a few things.

I can reveal that Express 3.0 will include the following features:

• Glossaries
• Text wrap around images
• Widow and Orphan control
• Small Caps support

There will also be the usual bug fixes.

As for pricing, I can say that it probably won’t differ too much from what we are charging currently. There will be an upgrade price, but I am sure it won’t break the bank.

That was my long winded way of saying yes, Express will be updated. Hope you didn’t fall asleep while reading …

Now that the Nisus Writer Pro public beta is out those users interested in exploring our macro enhancements can do so. However, we thought that we should let those users know that there will be additional macro commands available by the time we release. Probably the most needed of these extra commands are those that allow introspection and manipulation of the current selection.

This blog post by Wil Shipley accurately sums up how I feel about the delay of Leopard until October. Without breaking my NDA, let’s just say that the delay is a good move. Tiger is still working, the sun will come up in the morning, and the fuzzy bunnies will still be around and multiplying faster than you can shoo them away from your yard.

In other Leopard related news, MacFixIt has an article on some of the troubleshooting-related changes that will be taking place. One change that caught my eye was this one:

“The Software Update mechanism in Leopard will force the user to quit all open applications before applying most updates. This change is made in an attempt to obviate problems that can be caused by other processes occurring while new software is being installed.”

I can remember back in the OS 9 days when Apple updates required you to quit all of your active applications. Sounds like we are headed back in that direction.

If this information is true, it’s back to the future yet again.

Every so often I try to use the mouse that came with my computer. I like the idea of the Mighty Mouse, but for whatever reason, it just frustrates me. I can never seem to click it properly, especially the “secondary button”, as Apple calls it.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some things I really like about it. The scroll ball is pretty cool, and surprisingly usable for me. I even like the side buttons. There is just something about it that bugs me, but I just can’t pinpoint it.

Do any of you use this mouse? Are there any tricks to using it? Should I just not use it, and go back to the MS Mouse that I have been using?

I am very happy to announce that the Nisus Writer Pro Public Beta is now available.

You need at least Mac OS X 10.3.9 and a PowerPC G3, G4, G5 or Intel-based Mac. The beta will expire in 60 days.

Now for the disclaimer: Please remember that this is beta software, and is still in development. Please take appropriate caution. Use copies of important documents, for example. Read the release notes before using the software.

Also, note that we do not provide technical support on beta software. There is, however, a Nisus Writer Pro forum, so you can ask questions there.

If you would like to send us feedback, please use the “Send Feedback” feature, which is located under the Help menu in Nisus Writer Pro.

Enjoy!

We had hoped by now to have released the Nisus Writer Pro public beta. However, development is taking longer than we had hoped. It happens, but personally I am not happy about it. In the end, it will result in a better word processor, but for now it is just frustrating. It’s this reason that Apple executives, when asked when Leopard will be released, say things like “the first half of 2007”.

Having said that, since the announcement of Pro we have added a few new features. For a lot of people, adding “Any Attributes” to Find and Replace will make their writing life a lot easier. Small Caps are now supported, faked or included in the font. Strikethrough colors and Shadow attributes are now supported. You can now adjust when a footnote is split between pages. MathType fans will note that you can live-edit equations pasted into Pro. That is to say, you paste an equation into Pro, you double-click on it, MathType opens, you make the changes. Save it, and the changes are automagically updated in Pro. It is very LinkBack-like. Finally, Pro now works on the latest developer build of Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5).

I realize that these are not huge changes, but we decided to add them now to make life easier for us (since we were going to add them at some point anyway) and to give our users the best possible experience.

Features are now frozen, and now it’s about fixing bugs. Private beta testing is underway, and we are getting closer to having a beta release that is good enough for public consumption. When will that be? I am reluctant to say, since engineering does not know at this point. When I ask, the answer I usually get is “when it is ready.” If I press the issue, the answer is “two weeks”. I have been hearing two weeks now since January.

So, the real answer is I don’t know. I would love to be able to say March. That’s what we are hoping for. But the best answer at the moment is “when it is ready.”

“I get lots of email attachments that are Word documents. Why do they change to Nisus documents? What are you doing to my files?” This is probably the single most asked question we get in support. Actually, some of the emails are … uh … less friendly than that.

First, you should know that we do not do anything to encourage this behavior. The finder does this, not Nisus. I just want to make that clear before we move on.

Since Nisus Writer Express opens “.doc” files, the Finder has to choose between the two applications to open this file. How does the system determine which application to open these files? Something called Launch Services looks at, among other things, the file extension to determine which application to use to open these files. The official Apple explanation of this phenomenon can be read here.

Note that the system changes the icon only, not the file itself. In other words, nothing has been changed except the icon.

To change the association from Nisus back to Word, simply choose a file that you want to change, then go to the Finder and from the File menu, choose “Get Info” (or Command-I). In the “Get Info” window, find “Open with:” and from the pull down menu, choose “Microsoft Word” and that document will be associated with MS Word. If you want all documents of that type to open with Word, click the “Change All…” button. “Get Info” picture here.

Nisus Writer Express can still open those documents, but you will have to drag it to the Nisus icon in the dock or use the Open dialog in Express.

By the way, you can find this and other interesting stuff in our FAQ section.

Way back in the old days, before Rip, Mix, Burn and iLife, I didn’t bother to backup. It won’t happen to me, says I. Right. Of course, it did happen to me. My hard drive died, and everything on it was gone. Thankfully, nothing of value was lost, including my mind.

I have since learned my lesson, and I backup everyday. But, I will bet that a great number of you do not. Trust me, do not screw around with this. Backup your stuff.

In that vein, for those who want to backup but do not know what’s out there, or how to get started, our old friend Joe Kissell has updated his Take Control of Mac OS X Backups book. It is pretty thorough, and highly recommended by both myself and my Bookie.

The normal cost is $10.00, but if you buy through our our special link, you can save 30 percent, which brings the cost to only $7.00. It’s $7.00 well spent.

Don’t be like me, thinking that nothing bad will happen, because it will. And when it does, will you be prepared?

Let’s hope so.

Pocky fever goes unabated here at Nisus. We love those biscuit sticks dipped in chocolate, we really do!

Think we are the only ones? Ha! I laugh at you. There are actually Pocky fansites*, where fans of their beloved snacks gather to share their love of this Japanese treat.

Oh Pocky, fetch me a dream!

*Thanks to Rick (you know who you are) for the link

I have blogged about the Get A Mac ads previously. I like them, but I can see how they could be annoying, especially to those who do not live in the USA. Now Apple has produced some Get A Mac ads specifically for the UK.

These ads appeal to me simply because I like the two actors portraying the Mac and PC, Mitchell and Webb. We see them here in Peepshow on BBC America.

So do these ads actually help people to switch, or do they just annoy? I know that here in the US, Apple Stores are pretty busy places. Heck, I know a guy that is using a MacBook Pro as his Windows laptop! When I go to a coffee shop, I see more MacBooks than almost anything else.

Clearly, something is driving these folks to buy Apple computers. What do you think?

These are a bit old, but I am still catching up, so forgive me if you have already seen these articles.

Mark Kellner of the Washington Times has a nice mention of Nisus Writer Pro as does Mary E. Tyler on Ars Technica (scroll down a bit).

This proves that people actually do know who we are and what we do.

So Macworld is done, but the speculation over the iPhone is just beginning. It won’t even be released until June, so I think I will be completely sick of it by February.

Apple demonstrated Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5) but only the things that are on the Leopard Sneak Peek page. I suppose there will be a push at some point, but I honestly think that there won’t be a better opportunity to talk about Leopard while jabbing at Microsoft Vista than at Macworld. I mean, the whole world was watching! Well, I am sure there will be a big announcement when Leopard is released.

I enjoy Macworld, but I am glad when it is over. It’s a very busy time for us. I go to meetings, user conferences, informal get togethers with other Mac developers, and other assorted Mac gatherings. Or, I just sleep. Either way, I learn new things. Meanwhile, Mark just works his tail off. I have never seen anyone work a booth like he does. He will talk with one person, spy another, get him to join the conversation while looking for more to join in the fun. I have seen him with six or seven people explaining Nisus Writer Express in terms even I understand. Now he will have to do that with Nisus Writer Pro as well. He will love it.

In the meantime, I try to stay out of the way.

In spite of that we work well together. It’s fun, and we meet a lot of interesting people.

So, if you were at Macworld and came by the booth, thank you for stopping by.

Now, about that iPhone … nah, nevermind.

I am currently sitting in the Microsoft Blogger Lounge, which is a great idea if you get a thought while walking around the show floor. Kind of like I did now, which is why I am here.

I haven’t had the chance to get out on the main floor much as Mark and I have been very busy. Well, Mark is busy. There is a ton of interest in Nisus Writer Pro. So much so, in fact, that we are running out of materials to give away. That sounds bad, but it is good in lots of ways. We are able to show it to folks who are, quite frankly, very impressed by the new features. Bookmarks are a huge hit, as are Glossaries and Pro’s long document support.

Most are asking how much it will cost and a release date. We don’t have an answer for that yet. We will probably announce pricing when we release, if not sooner.

We have also been faced with some negativity. For example, we were surprised to learn that Pro will be Leopard only. That’s news to us, but many have told us that it is true. That’s just not the case. Some are upset that they will have to pay an upgrade price. We haven’t charged for one update of Express. That’s 3 1/2 years. Not that I am counting. Anyway, there will be an upgrade path. I know that will bother some people, but development costs money.

Some are also upset by our advertising. We have never claimed that Pro is all new. Just looking at it should confirm that fact. Omni does the same thing, does that mean their advertising is false? I don’t get this complaint.

The fact is, Express was conceived as a fairly simple to use word processor. Pro is the logical next step. More “professional” features, like more control over footnotes, Classic-like macros, the long document tools (TOC, Indexing, Cross References) and Bookmarks. Not to mention the attribute sensitive Find and Replace. The name Express just doesn’t fit with all of these new features. The name Pro makes more sense.

Anyway, enough negativity. Things at the Nisus booth are very positive. Good vibes, as it were. Hey, we are in hippy central, I can say things like that.

If you are in the area, you have one more day to bug us. Come on by, say hello, and have a look at the new software.

Oh, and bug Mark. He really likes that.

Everyone here at Macworld is still buzzing about the iPhone. On the train into the city, it was all anyone could talk about. On the train out of the city tonight, even more people were talking about it. Talk about mindshare!

It’s too bad you can’t actually play with one of these phones. Apparently, there are only 3 in existence. Steve Jobs has one, and the other two are at the show, both in a glass case. There are huge crowds there, taking pictures. Amazing.

What’s even more amazing is that there was no iLife update or iWork. An updated Airport Extreme came out and people barely noticed. AppleTV came out, and hardly anyone talked about it. Today was iPhone day, make no mistake. I am sure cell phone manufacturers at CES are just thrilled.

As for Nisus, we were busy all day. Everyone who came by it seemed wanted a look at Nisus Writer Pro. There were some pretty nice comments, some feature requests, and a few negative comments. Mostly though, people are happy that their favorite features are coming back. Believe me, we are happy to have them back.

The first thing I noticed when walking to Moscone Center to set up are the TV Trucks parked outside of the hall. More than I can remember at any time, that’s for sure.

When I got in this morning the local news hacks were all yacking about Macworld and how this one will be the biggest ever, attendence-wise. They expect more than 45,000 people to attend. If you are one of those folks, look for us at booth 4028, We will be showing the newest member of the Nisus family.

People I talked to are getting the feeling that this show is one of the biggest ever for Apple. I would be surprised if Steve Jobs didn’t talk about Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5), though I am pretty sure it won’t be released at the show, nor will a shipping date be announced. There may be new iPods of the video variety, and maybe even a new Mac or two. But, I think that something else is coming. Something that ties up the iTV device, your iPod, TV, and … well, I don’t know. It’s just a feeling, and I might be completely wrong.

For all I know, the iPod phone that everyone seems to want might be the big thing.

But, something big is up. Thankfully, tomorrow we will all know what the big deal actually is.

I have a fever, and the only thing that can cure it is … more Pocky!

As some of you know by now, a plethora of Mac developers are participating in Mac Santa. Like Nisus, for example. Every developer participating is offering a 20 percent discount on their products.

So if you need the full version of Nisus Writer Express, please feel free to use the coupon code “macsanta” in the shopping cart and save some cash!