Our days are "numbered" by Numbers, I don't think so.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Yesterday Apple released Numbers, the long-awaited spreadsheet module to iWork. Not coincidentally I received about 100 calls from colleagues and friends (ok, maybe 100 is an exaggeration!) asking what Mariner was going to do. My answer to all of them?
Nothing.
Mariner Calc has been around for more than a decade. We've seen spreadsheets come and go, and yet, we are one of the only few that have stuck around. We will continue on with our goals of revamping Calc (and Write) and continue supporting our thousands of customers. I don't really know how Numbers stacks up as we are still testing it internally but, if I were to guess, it's probably going to be perfect for some, but come up short for others. One of the things we have learned over the years about spreadsheet users is that they are a fickle bunch. Let's face it, there's not a lot of sex appeal or "wow factor" when it comes to spreadsheets (excluding some graphs which can be impressive). There's only so many gui improvements one can make with a cell or a column! That being said, if anyone can turn a spreadsheet into a jaw-dropping piece of software, it's Apple. But, for most regular spreadsheet users, I would guess that's one of the least important components to a spreadsheet.
We'll keep everyone in the loop on our thoughts with our opinions on Numbers as we move forward.
thanks
Mike
Nothing.
Mariner Calc has been around for more than a decade. We've seen spreadsheets come and go, and yet, we are one of the only few that have stuck around. We will continue on with our goals of revamping Calc (and Write) and continue supporting our thousands of customers. I don't really know how Numbers stacks up as we are still testing it internally but, if I were to guess, it's probably going to be perfect for some, but come up short for others. One of the things we have learned over the years about spreadsheet users is that they are a fickle bunch. Let's face it, there's not a lot of sex appeal or "wow factor" when it comes to spreadsheets (excluding some graphs which can be impressive). There's only so many gui improvements one can make with a cell or a column! That being said, if anyone can turn a spreadsheet into a jaw-dropping piece of software, it's Apple. But, for most regular spreadsheet users, I would guess that's one of the least important components to a spreadsheet.
We'll keep everyone in the loop on our thoughts with our opinions on Numbers as we move forward.
thanks
Mike
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posted by
Michael Wray
at
5:51 AM
2 Comments:
Mike -
What is the current status of Mariner Write & Calc?
Unless I'm completely mistaken, it appears that neither of those apps have been updated in at least a year. And even since then, there hasn't been much development on either application since 2004 or 2005.
In my search to find an alternative to MS Office products, I tried a variety of word processors and spreadsheets. I tried out Mariner Write several years ago, and it was decent, but it felt too much like an older Classic app that had been ported over to a Mac OS X world.
Mariner Write & Calc certainly could be that one-two punch to attract customers looking for alternatives to the norm, but I feel that both products need to be continually in development and continue to improve and breathe.
At this time, I use Nisus Writer Express for my word processor, and Tables for my spreadsheet.
Hi Chad-
You are not mistaken. For the past few years we have intentionally slowed down development on both products to focus on some of the other product line.
As a small company, development bandwidth is always a challenge. We have, however, started to ramp up development on both Write and Calc and do hope to introduce long-overdue major revisions to both in 2008.
thanks,
Mike
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