When will Scriv3 for Windows be released?
I have read the forums and blog and there are numerous iterations of this question. There are also numerous responses that follow some variation on the same theme: Quit whining and app development is complex and it will not be released until its ready and (my personal fave) L&L has quite smartly not announced a specific date.
There is nothing smart about not announcing a date. No deadline looming large = no particular intensity necessary in the development. Why rush? There’s no date pushing anyone. This is not a strategy for winning and keeping customers.
…and here’s the reason why (at least one reason)…
Writing generates a ton of files, comprising not just story and character elements, but great many other things, as well. When I sit down to work on a piece of writing (and I don’t think I’m unique) I launch a common set of tools to do the work. It doesn’t necessarily matter whether one of them is Scrivener or not–the point here is the tools being selected and used.
After a surprisingly short period of time, I have invested enough time and effort in my work product and related artifacts that switching to a new tool to do the work is not a light switch transition process. Files are stored in a given format. The content of the files are formatted a certain way. The files are organized using some strategy and/or tool. And at some point, switching to a new tool just isn’t worth it.
I’ve been hanging in there for about a year now, waiting for the release of Scriv 3 for Windows. I have historically been a Mac user and have enjoyed using the Scriv3 version for the Mac. In the last several months, though, my Mac has begun to show its age.
I’m facing a decision point.
I really don’t want to spend the premium dollars necessary to buy a new Mac. In fact, I just simply cannot afford to do so. This means if (when) I upgrade my hardware, I’m faced with losing the ability to use Scrivener.
“Wait! Wait”, you say. “You can export your files and…”
Yes, I know that. And I have no interest in converting all my projects to run in the current version of Scriv for Windows. The reason is that Scriv for Windows is feature poor and clumsy to use. Who would want to make that transition? Seriously.
If there’s a transition to be made, it will be to reduce my dependence upon a company that cannot even accomplish the common courtesy of providing a firm release date for their product.
Release dates help customers make solid plans for their continued progress on their projects over time. And right now, it does not look like there is any clear idea of when Scriv3 version will be released (if ever). And while I wait, I continue to not be able to collaborate with my Windows-using writing partner and I continue to have no guidance from L&L on when I can expect them to release it.
SOooo…
As much as I love Scrivener 3 for Mac, I am continually being pressed to just dump it entirely, as I make my eventual hardware transition from a Mac machine to a Windows machine.
It’s sad, really. But the choices are damned few: wait and hope for a Win release of Scriv3 or bite the proverbial bullet and just move on to using something else–even if that something else is a hodgepodge of other tools.
A hodgepodge that works is better than an elegant solution that doesn’t.
P.S. - The current version of Scriv for Win is not a hodgpodge. It’s a less than half-baked product. Want proof? Look at Scriv3 for Mac. A hodgepodge in my use context is a collection of solidly built, easy to use, and elegant solutions within the scope of their product’s intended use and purpose.