MeshWrite for Mac1.5.4

I bought this program awhile ago and thought it was somewhat useful as a free-writing program, though I think there are several far superior outliner/writing/planning programs available such as OmniOutliner which can more gracefully do everything this program can do plus many additional things MeshWrite cannot do. The main problem now is that it appears the developer has gone out-of-business and the program is no longer supported. The developer's website, along with all the online program documentation, vanished a few months ago without a trace. I've done several online searches and there is no further contact information available. So, apparently MeshWrite is now a dead program.

The frequency of version updates seems a bit absurd. It seems like every week or two a new version of Meshwrite shows up on Macupdate, but the changes from version to version are actually don't amount to much. Meshwrite thus enjoys a degree of visibility on this website that is incommensurate with the value of the product. Perhaps the developer could make the latest builds available for download on the product website (for those who want frequent updates), but official new versions could be released according to a more modest schedule, with would also been more substantive development from release to release.

Overall: Grossly over-priced for what it does, which is nothing more than a dressed up notepad, and it is VERY bug ridden (more like an Alpha release candidate instead of a production version). The Good: It looks nice The Bad: - The price borders on the ridiculous for what this thing does. A person with Windows Notepad could do the same thing (except the pretty backgrounds). - The hotkeys for performing menu actions do not work. I have two PC's on my desk and have installed it on both, but with the same outcome - using the hotkeys does NOTHING - After using the menu option to fit more lines on the page, I decided to decrease the lines on the page after I had typed some data, but the menu item did not even work then. Restarting the program did not help. Recommendations to developer: 1. Stop using the general public as your testers - this really pisses people off, and wastes time that is short in supply anyway. When it gets to me as a user, it should be without bugs and things should just work the way they are supposed to. 2. To make this an attractive application, really go with the notebook metaphor, and instead of having a scroll bar, when the user gets to the end of the page, have it flip over to a second page like a real notebook. Otherwise, what is the real difference between this application and MS Notepad, other than screen decoration? Before you do this however, download one of the applications for the Mac, like NoteBook or Omni Outliner, and see how it supposed to be done and what works.

I stumbled across this page while looking for other software and I found some of the reviews really odd. I have been using this software for quite a while now and I love it! I admit it took me a while to figure out the projects window but now that I have a single click takes me to my shopping lists, my Christmas lists and I just love dropping notes in different colors. I take photos of things I think should be on each list and drop those in too. It's fun to use. I don't use the twitter stuff myself. I don't get the point of twitter at all but I've just upgraded to 1.3.4 and it added putting notes behind the pad. What's the point of that I thought. Then my boyfriend came in and I was doing christmas lists (I know, how early am I!) and I pushed some notes behind the pad and he came and read my list for my family and commented on it. Not sure if that is what it's meant for bur it sure worked for me! I would recommend my friends to try this out and see if it works for them. A fun app for a serious task.

Got a lot more price-slashing to do before this thing is even viable.

Six months later I re-downloaded this app to see how things have progressed. The price has fallen significantly. There is still no search of any kind. It is designed by people who seem to have never used a Mac in their lives. There are no standard keyboard shortcuts. There are no keyboard shortcuts of any kind. They don't seem to understand what every other Mac application in the known universe does with the Preferences. They have not figured out what the escape key is for They have lovely mysterious commands in the menus that do nothing: More Lines or Less Lines anyone? They have a bug ugly implementation of Full Screen. Obviously the makers of this app have spent no time researching basic Mac formats and commands. They've certainly never researched the competition who make better apps for less cost.

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Even 38.00 dollars is to much for this application. There are so many applications of this kind out there that so many of us that already have something similar in our toolbox are not going to pay this much for another one of these! I think developers need to know that many of us out here would like to keep supporting them through these hard times, but if they don't realize things are tough and lower their prices, then it will become tougher to support them.

10 years! So bring back WordPerfect.

In response to NOWODU: The Searching algorithm. The idea is to be able to do some nice associative searching so that you can link ideas that are not using exact word matching. Unfortunately, this project is taking the guys longer than they originally thought so we're going to put normal searching in soon in the meantime. Sorry for the delay. The trial just starts up a bit slower over time. It counts the days up it has been installed. There is no direct time limit nor are there any crippled features. Also, if you try it out but feel it's not feature rich enough for you yet then go ahead and try it again later once features are added. Your trial date will of course reset to the time from the latest version. If you decide to support us by buying the application then we promise to never charge you an upgrade fee for any new feature that we add, ever. We are not a large company and have a small team so we rely on our customers and their honest feedback to help drive the product forward. Our aim is to produce a really useful fun app that people will be able to use for a long time. I try to write up the new features and what we are working towards on a blog at http://meshwrite.blogspot.com/ Please feel free to give us feedback and request features at http://meshwrite.com/suggestions.php

$38 now. Well, at least for Christmas by the look of the offer on their web site. That's a bit more like it. At that price I decided it was worth a punt and downloaded it. I've not been disappointed. It's enjoyable to use. Yes, some bits aren't quite there yet but I think it's fun and when I'm doing productivity stuff anything that takes the tedium out is cool by me. Roll on the upgrades...as and when they materialize I'll be only too happy to let you all know how this app develops.

I'm willing to give this a try, but I'd a like a little more info before downloading. 1.) Is there a trial period? If so, what are the terms? 2.) Can the developer tell us more about their "PhD team working on a new way of searching".

I'm not sure the developer's comments really hold water. The comments seem way over the top. Yes, IF the software lasts 10 years, then $6 a year is a great price. But why would anyone trust that a brand new app would actually last 2 years, much less 10? This is, apparently, a brand new company without any identifying info at their website about the developers and without any track record. Thus "trust me" doesn't hold water at this point. I hope the app grows and does well. I'm not really commenting on the app itself (though it seems kind of clunky right now), but much more towards the argument regarding pricing the developer was trying to make. Put in another perspective, if OmniGroup did the same thing, then I'd buy right away! But that's because OmniGroup has a track record of excellence, and thus I'd have concrete reasons to believe they could and would deliver on their promise.

Using Writeroom for writing and pen&paper for sketching ideas. 62 USD, no way.

Why is it not like a normal application? MeshWrite is not for writing letters. It's not a word processor. It's about thinking, blotting out everything else and spending a few minutes in a high productivity environment. It's a love or loathe application. Early days yet which is why there will never be an upgrade charge for anyone who buys MeshWrite. There will not be a "pro" version that charges you extra. Everyone's feedback gets folded in for everyone's benefit. Why does it not support X and Y? This has so far centered on why is it not like a normal Mac/Windows application. Well, MeshWrite is designed for both Mac and Windows. Getting that right has been our first priority. We are now moving onto supporting specific Mac and Windows features. We hope you understand and will join us. Why does it have no search/find? Because, as of 1.0.1 it's not ready. Our customers are not Beta testers. Every feature should be right and ready before being rolled out. You might be surprised that something so simple as search should be considered a feature requiring researching. Well, ask Google about that. When you search in most applications it is a linear search. First word, then next word then next. Your mind doesn't work that way. That's why word association games are so powerful. We have a PhD team working on a new way of searching. And it's just not ready yet. But when it is you'll get it for free. Why does it cost $62? I'll let you into a secret that most software companies don't want you to know. Good software isn't really about buying something off the shelf. It's not a bar of chocolate that you take a minute to eat and then go on your way. It's not a book that you read and then you've read it. It's a commitment to support. Now apply that to MeshWrite. Be with us over the next ten years. That's 6 dollars a year. Buy most software and after a year of two there is a version 2. Yes, it looked cheaper. It was 49 dollars. But that's now 25 dollars a year to use it. Doesn't look so good now. Yes, you bought the latest and best version until the pro version was released a week later. 6 dollars is not a lot to ask to treat early adopters with the support they deserve. As we develop features in MeshWrite there may be a split as is common between a lite and a pro version. Everyone will get the pro version for free. Are we Mac centric or Windows centric. I'll tell you now. Neither. We are user and customer centric. That's our promise. Read about our progress at http://meshwrite.blogspot.com/

Poor support for standard keyboard shortcuts - none listed at all in the non-standard menus and while apple-n will get a new notepad, apple-w does nothing, apple-f gets you to full screen not find... oh, that's because there's no Find. So, if you have an idea, you better remember it because there's no way to search in this app. Non standard close dialogues - transparency wow! - makes you wonder if these folks have spent any time on a Mac. But you know, lined paper! For $13 LESS you can buy CircusPonies Notebook and that has lined paper too... and searches as well as a whole lot more.

Ouch! $62? I'll use pen and paper, thanks.