Mariner offers a Mac app for Windows users

Minneapolis-based Mariner Software makes swell Macintosh software, including a full-featured word processor and a spreadsheet along with specialized apps for screenwriting and blogging/podcasting.

It's faced a bit of an uphill climb, though, because it competes semidirectly with Apple's iWork and iLife software.

The answer? Make Windows versions of its products. It has just announced one such PC version, and I hope more are on the way. I'd like to see a Windows version of Mariner Write.

Of course, Mariner now also competes with Google. Oy.

Update: Mariner's Mike Wray follows up:

We hope to ship (WinJournal) in April. It seems pretty solid but you never know what these Windows users might find!

FYI -- you know, we started doing a Mariner Write port back in 2004 and literally have it 60% completed but decided to back out because of the competition.

It might see the light of day some time in the future, you never know. Unfortunately, or fortunately, we have about a dozen really cool product ideas that we are also considering!