The possibility that not many Windows users would be ready to buy a Mac just to run Pleco's desktop version might contribute to Mac sales being poor enough. (I have no idea how many Pleco users have a Mac, how many have a Windows PC, and how many have both.)
If there was a Pleco desktop version, what would you ACTUALLY use it for?
Quite possible, yes - honestly I've gotten far fewer emails complaining about the fact that our app doesn't work on M1 Macs than I would have expected (maybe one every other week or so). Though that may also just be that not many people have M1 Macs yet and that many of them may not even know about M1 Macs running iOS apps - not something Apple has drawn that much attention to, given how poor the experience is with most of them.
I bought MDBG's dictionary for Apple Dictionary. I use it several times a day because it's faster than using my phone while I'm working, but it's lacking. I live in Taiwan and work in an all-Taiwanese company so I think my use case is very specific. I'm planning on getting an M1 Mac this year, also looking forward to it running iOS apps (especially Pleco).
LeonardoM
进士
I would have complained, cuz I'm a Mac M1 owner myself
. But I read how you developers disagree about letting consumers use the app without specific consent from the devs, since the app hasn't been adapted etc etc.But yeah, can't wait for Pleco 4 and Mac version to be out!
Writing this from an M1 machine. I didn't send an email because I had read about the licensing issues before the Mac arrived
My biggest use case for a Mac app would be adding words to my list of flashcards, and maybe organizing them better. But I guess that would only make sense after the flashcard rewrite. When I still had an iPad, the daily iCloud sync conflicts were driving me crazy; one of the bigger reasons for tossing the tablet and doing everything on my phone.
(Edit: Sorry for the negativity, I'm not blaming Pleco for the fact that iCloud doesn't seem to sync until _after_ I've used the app for a while.)
My biggest use case for a Mac app would be adding words to my list of flashcards, and maybe organizing them better. But I guess that would only make sense after the flashcard rewrite. When I still had an iPad, the daily iCloud sync conflicts were driving me crazy; one of the bigger reasons for tossing the tablet and doing everything on my phone.
(Edit: Sorry for the negativity, I'm not blaming Pleco for the fact that iCloud doesn't seem to sync until _after_ I've used the app for a while.)
I often find myself pointing my phone's camera towards my laptop's screen to use Pleco OCR.
Not to be bothered to send the text/image over for a few unknown characters, or it is not convenient because the service does not allow it.
Some websites and services do still not work well on phone.
Having a Pleco on my laptop would be very convenient.
Not to be bothered to send the text/image over for a few unknown characters, or it is not convenient because the service does not allow it.
Some websites and services do still not work well on phone.
Having a Pleco on my laptop would be very convenient.
Tatarik - 晨星
举人
I would use the desktop app to read the .txt document where I take notes for all of my Chinese classes.
Why not using the document reader on the phone app? I take all my notes on computer as it's easier to type than on a phone, plus the larger screen allows for better text editing/formatting.
For the moment, I re-download the text document on my phone app after every change - that is cumbersome though.
Why not using the document reader on the phone app? I take all my notes on computer as it's easier to type than on a phone, plus the larger screen allows for better text editing/formatting.
For the moment, I re-download the text document on my phone app after every change - that is cumbersome though.
frumpy ducky
Member
I know I'm late to the conversation, but I absolutely would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Pleco on Windows. I'm self-teaching, so when I'm studying, there's nothing like being able to sit at a desk with multiple documents open on a larger screen (I have two monitors, lol), copying and pasting easily, typing faster, it's generally far less pfaffing about. (Currently, I use Pleco on Android phone, and IPad.)
We're doing Mac first and will consider Windows based on that.
My current plan is to charge for each of those separately, though content purchases like dictionaries / readers should generally carry over - I've been going back and forth about whether or not to make Windows and Mac separate purchases but my current inclination is to do that in the hopes that that will make the Windows version make enough money to be financially sustainable for us.
My current plan is to charge for each of those separately, though content purchases like dictionaries / readers should generally carry over - I've been going back and forth about whether or not to make Windows and Mac separate purchases but my current inclination is to do that in the hopes that that will make the Windows version make enough money to be financially sustainable for us.
Awesome; how's it going? I would seriously PAY for this; I LOVE Pleco. What i'd really love is to be able to add Chinese phrases/words (latest 寻衅滋事; pinyin: xúnxìn zīshì Picking quarrels and provoking trouble), and then have them become flashcards on my screensaver!
Heh, yeah, we haven't really done anything for "ambient learning" like widgets / screensavers / etc yet and I'm still trying to sort out the best way to approach that.
macOS Sonoma allows you to use iPhone widgets on the desktop. I'm wondering whether this could be a good stopgap before the Mac app is released: little development needed + ability to control Pleco from the desktop. For me personally I just need quick look up from the desktop (typing in a phone or iPad is cumbersome and disrupts my workflow).
Actually quite a lot of development, and they don't seem to support text input well, so not really useful yet unfortunately.
BiGF00T
Member
I would use it to learn my flashcards. I normally read books and then add the entries to my list on my phone. But I'd love to be able to do the same on my pc and also use my pc for ordering/categorization and of course learning. All things that envolve typing or clicking are better done with a pc than a phone.
For me, a webpage would also be sufficient. It doesn't have to be a standalone app.
For me, a webpage would also be sufficient. It doesn't have to be a standalone app.
Shun
状元
Hi @BiGF00T,
I agree, having Pleco running on a server on the Web with good user authentication could also be efficient to use, with the possibility for keystroke commands and artificial Ajax windows inside the web page. Of course, a clear advantage of that approach would be the cross-platform nature of the Web: It could run on Windows, Mac, and Linux straight away. But unlike a desktop version, it wouldn't be usable offline. From Mike's point of view, it could also justify charging a small monthly subscription fee—it's just that many users wouldn't like that—, as it would run entirely on a server. iOS/Android's flashcard databases, user dictionaries and dictionary purchases could sync with it. If Mike opted for one of the (unfortunately very expensive) cloud services, the online app should also run fast anywhere in the world.
On the flip side, the development outlays would probably far exceed those of a Mac desktop version, desktop-optimized or not. It would surely be nice if Mike could offload most of the Web work on a good, trustworthy full-stack developer of some sort, so users could enjoy (and pay for) both. I am not one; it's too bad they're in such short supply, as most of them are now working for the FAANG companies.
These were just some “mental acrobatics”, I hope that's ok.
Cheers,
Shun
I agree, having Pleco running on a server on the Web with good user authentication could also be efficient to use, with the possibility for keystroke commands and artificial Ajax windows inside the web page. Of course, a clear advantage of that approach would be the cross-platform nature of the Web: It could run on Windows, Mac, and Linux straight away. But unlike a desktop version, it wouldn't be usable offline. From Mike's point of view, it could also justify charging a small monthly subscription fee—it's just that many users wouldn't like that—, as it would run entirely on a server. iOS/Android's flashcard databases, user dictionaries and dictionary purchases could sync with it. If Mike opted for one of the (unfortunately very expensive) cloud services, the online app should also run fast anywhere in the world.
On the flip side, the development outlays would probably far exceed those of a Mac desktop version, desktop-optimized or not. It would surely be nice if Mike could offload most of the Web work on a good, trustworthy full-stack developer of some sort, so users could enjoy (and pay for) both. I am not one; it's too bad they're in such short supply, as most of them are now working for the FAANG companies.
These were just some “mental acrobatics”, I hope that's ok.
Cheers,
Shun
BiGF00T
Member
So far, I can live with it as it is and a desktop version would be nice to have but isn't a must. I paid for my flashcard upgrade but I also don't like paying monthly subscription fees. So maybe that already excludes the online version on any cloud provider. I'm a full stack developer working on cloud projects but unfortunately, I rarely have time for side projects. With the cost of cloud infrastructure making a free service impossible, I guess a standalone app would probably be best. At least, this way, only the hosting of the installation binaries has to be done somehow (could also go into the apple and windows store). As I said, for me, the desktop thing would be a nice addition but far from a must. I mostly look up words on my phone and the only added benefit would be that I could practice flashcards on my pc or restructure them easier because I have a mouse and a big screen.Hi @BiGF00T,
I agree, having Pleco running on a server on the Web with good user authentication could also be efficient to use, with the possibility for keystroke commands and artificial Ajax windows inside the web page. Of course, a clear advantage of that approach would be the cross-platform nature of the Web: It could run on Windows, Mac, and Linux straight away. But unlike a desktop version, it wouldn't be usable offline. From Mike's point of view, it could also justify charging a small monthly subscription fee—it's just that many users wouldn't like that—, as it would run entirely on a server. iOS/Android's flashcard databases, user dictionaries and dictionary purchases could sync with it. If Mike opted for one of the (unfortunately very expensive) cloud services, the online app should also run fast anywhere in the world.
On the flip side, the development outlays would probably far exceed those of a Mac desktop version, desktop-optimized or not. It would surely be nice if Mike could offload most of the Web work on a good, trustworthy full-stack developer of some sort, so users could enjoy (and pay for) both. I am not one; it's too bad they're in such short supply, as most of them are now working for the FAANG companies.
These were just some “mental acrobatics”, I hope that's ok.
Cheers,
Shun
Shun
状元
What a coincidence! I just think that working with a desktop version of Pleco could be more efficient thanks to the keyboard, and more comfortable and adaptable thanks to windows and the larger screen. One could see more things at once, and just the way one wants, and the input would be faster. But I also already love Pleco as it is. The portability of smartphones is hard to pass up.
iPhone mirroring on a Mac works perfectly. Can copy and paste between the two. Can perform any operation in Pleco from the desktop.
This conversation of having a Pleco desktop application goes back to at least to 2007. Mike has continually weighed the pros and cons - and the input from his community - and held off on developing a desktop application in favour of using his limited resources to improve the phone app. It has long been teased by Google and Apple that phone and desktop systems will eventually be interoperable. It seems we are FINALLY getting there with Apple.
Shun
状元
Hi @Ritz Man ,
I totally get your point, there are definitely more important things in life. If we, say, content ourselves with an iPhone or iPad's screen connected over Wi-Fi, then why not simply allow the already existing iPad version of Pleco 4 to run directly on Apple Silicon Macs, with support for keyboard shortcuts added on? It would of course preclude any additional earnings for the separate desktop version, but the time and effort required to get there would be near zero, and it would most certainly create a lot of additional iOS/iPadOS sales over the long run.
Are there perhaps licensing hurdles to be overcome for this simpler solution?
Cheers and thanks,
Shun