2005/04/06 Nvu

Nvu is a free wep page creation/management system that runs on Linux and Mac OS X as well as Windows.

Right off the bat, I don't like these sorts of things. I stubbornly refuse to understand why people don't just write HTML with vi and eliminate all this bloat. Of course, I'm churlishly ignoring the obvious fact that tools like this make web authoring easier, allow creative people to express themselves without learning HTML markup, and aren't really as awful as I think they are. Actually, while making ugly faces and cursing softly, I tried Nvu and found myself not nearly as disgusted as I had hoped I would be. It's not half bad, and if I weren't horribly prejudiced against all such tools, I might even recommend it; especially so because of its cross-platform capability. Why limit yourself to one platform, especially if that's Windows?

I can't help taking a final nasty swipe, though. The web page says:

Now anyone can create web pages and manage a website with no technical expertise or knowledge of HTML

Ah, yes, "anyone" can, but should they? Do we need more pages filled with "&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;" sequences and repetive and unnecessary "<font>" tags?

Yes, I know. Time for a calming walk. The world doesn't want to edit web pages with vi, and the reluctance to do so doesn't mean the end of civilization. Nvu is a good tool; give it a spin.

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