MARC NOTHROP  A great addition for the growing list of Core Image compatible editors; can't beat the price and these Units add useful and sought after effects (e.g. one of the simplest effects, Drop Shadow is missing from a lot of Core Image apps.)  
(Version 1.1.5)

MARC NOTHROP  One reason may be if you're behind a firewall that prevents IMAP/POP traffic.  
(Version 1.60.2)

MARC NOTHROP  The latest Kestrel (9.5 alphas) have greatly improved Opera's rendering and performance; it's a very respectable browser, in some areas offering greater standards support than Firefox and the fast improving WebKit. Mac compatibility is improved (now supports VoiceOver), and the interface is improving, but still not as Mac-like as it could be.  
(Version 9.5b1)

MARC NOTHROP  SwiftPublisher piqued my interest when first released, and it's steadily improved. For fairly lightweight layout app it's pretty impressive, it may not be InDesign, but not everyone needs that!  
(Version 2.2)

MARC NOTHROP  At last year's OpenOffice conference it was announced that Thunderbird/Lightning would be pressed into action, for just the reasons you outline.  
(Version 2.2.2 patch 1)

MARC NOTHROP  I was disappointed that Disk Mode disappeared from the iPhone/touch -- at this price it's worth grabbing now, even if this is a feature that *should* show up in iTunes, if we're not going to be given Finder-level access.  
(Version 1.2)

MARC NOTHROP  Try the 9.5 alpha then... it's not not perfect, but getting there... slowly.  
(Version 9.24)

MARC NOTHROP  It is an interesting idea, but as others have said, it's hard to judge the utility of this app -- I guess that means I'm not the target customer! : )  
(Version 1.2.2b)

MARC NOTHROP  A handy little view on your memory usage in the dock, right next to the CPU meter! :) Does exactly what it says, unobtrusively. Good one. :)  
(Version 1.2.4)

MARC NOTHROP  if precision of Word compatibility is your top priority then NWX could be improved, if you're looking for a great writing tool, then Nisus is really the best option out there.

No argument that the features trail Word, and even Mellel in places, but development is very active, and new features are coming thick and fast. Definitely worth a look.  
(Version 2.7)

MARC NOTHROP  Keeps getting better, and at a good pace.  
(Version 2.7)

MARC NOTHROP  Suggest you look at ContactCreator. ; )

It's a system service, so operates on almost all text you can select (all Cocoa, and some Carbon apps.)

It's not quite as sophisticated as Anagram (nor the good ol' Apple Data Detectors from way back), but it gives some of what you want.

CalendarCreator will do the same for events (select some text and create a new iCal event.)

AddressService goes in the other direction to ContactCreator; select a name and it'll search your Address Book and insert their name and address or phone no.

Nothing against Event Maker! Trying it now. : )  
(Version 0.3b3)

MARC NOTHROP  It is absolutely ridiculous to claim that ANY developer could basically clone Word in 6 months -- it really doesn't bear any more discussion, it's ludicrous.

Nisus has been maturing over time, and continues to improve. Sure it's easy to complain about the state of third party applications compared to the massive resources of Microsoft Corporation, but short of convincing Nisus, Redlex and Mariner to merge as a single competitor, face it, by choosing a non-Microsoft product, you are deliberately accepting limitations.

Having said that, there ARE reasons to choose, and support, these smaller guys, and being much more responsive to your requirements, is a big part of it.  
(Version 2.7b2)

MARC NOTHROP  The latest version is a big release, this app has matured quite a bit, it's well worth a look. It's true that there was a potentially nasty undo bug, but I was lucky not to see it too much, and it's gone in the latest version. The addition of tabs, FTP/STP/WebDav, working with external FTP apps, etc. etc.   
(Version 3.6)

MARC NOTHROP  FYI as of 4.1, the Freeways are universal.  
(Version 4.1)