Namo Webeditor 5
for Windows 95/98/2000/NT/XP
by Jasc Software
Reviewed by Bayle Emlein
Download Price $139.00 -- Boxed Price $149.00
Namo, Jasc told us at the Comdex demo, was it's name in the old country (Korea) and they didn't change it's name when they bought it. They didn't know what, if anything, "namo" means in Korean. Though it's totally unnecessary to the program, I think it would be nice if this bit of information were included with the package
Installation is from a single CD. I chose to install all the clip art, without knowing what it is, in anticipation of making the upcoming chore easier. This gave me enough time to make a phone call and move a load of laundry from the washer to the drier. Does my choice of vocabulary give you a hint about my attitude in approaching the "upcoming chore"? For some reason, building web pages has never grabbed my interest. I've composed a few that are languishing on various servers somewhere or deleted in a meltdown. I did it then because it seemed like "I should know how to do this." I 'm doing it now because my supervisor said to. He doesn't care about the tools, just the results. Namo was billed as the easiest way yet of getting a web page up and running. The promise of simplicity caught my ear immediately, especially since Jasc has set the benchmark for ease of use in graphics programs with Paint Shop Pro.
Getting started: The Readme file turns out to be a summary of the manual. It's lower on the Install menu than program installation, so of course I opened it after I'd installed Namo. First thing it says is "read this before installing." I wish that files that really mean this would at least give me a clue before I opened everything else. So far however, no problems that are unique to Namo or that interfered with its operation.
Moving right along in the installation process, I tried everything I could to complete the online registration so I could get in and get started. It wouldn't let me past the registration screen until I got all the right answers at the same time. So I retyped the 26 character CD License Key several times. No luck, no suggestions about how to contact tech support in order to get the tech support that is reputed to come with registration.
Onward, zooming in on the chore at hand: Refocused after 2 days of trying to register so I could open the software. Every time it didn't like what I typed it reverted to blank entry boxes, not giving me a clue which entry was wrong or displaying my keyboarding for me to review for correcting. Also, no clue what to do if I can't connect to the internet. I guess the assumption is that if I'm building a web page, I'll be doing it at the computer from which I'll be uploading it and so have a connection that is functioning at every moment I need or want it. Another inaccurate leap of faith. However, with extra help at last both the license key and serial number got into their respective boxes at the same time and I figured I was off and running.
I haven't gotten there yet, and I don't think Namo is going to get me there. The 363 page of documentation provide a very, very thorough tour of the menus and the tools they invoke. However, the whole thing is like reading a dictionary in alphabetical in order to learn a language. I imagine it would be a great tool if I were already fluent and just looking for ways to improve my presentation and direct it more effectively to different audiences. But the manual didn't provide me with any suggestions about the sequence in which to access the features other than the order in the manual. I also looked, in vain, for guidance about why I might select one kind of feature over another. For example, are some kinds of frame decorations and lines more formal and business-like, while others convey a more friendly and informal tone to the viewer? I realize we might be skating toward culturally thin ice here, but since the Web doesn't have borders, tools to use it need to be multi-cultural as well. Not a word in this area, giving me another dose of feature description without addressing the relationship to other program capabilities or acknowledgment of the world beyond the Web. Using completely inconsistent logic, I was also looking for reference to accessibility guidelines and help in meeting (US) Federal ADA access requirements.
The manual starts off with a painfully careful explanation of how to Copy (highlight material to copy, go to the Edit menu, select Copy, etc.) and Paste. Based on the Forward note that "this manual has been designed especially to meet the needs of first-time users and those with limited experience in Web authoring" I inferred that the entire process would be guided at this level of instruction.
Wrong.
While there are occasional examples of how to use a specific feature in Namo, they are not consistently presented for every item and there is no link or transition from one item to the next. I did not see any particular logic that made it evident to me why some functions were accompanied with samples (the dictionary equivalent of using a word or phrase in a sample sentence) and why other functions -- which seemed no less complex or arcane -- were not. The promotional assumption is that Web design with Namo is intuitive. That should have been my first clue, because I consistently find that I do not belong to whatever species has the "intuition" to perform any designated digital task intuitively. Look up "intuition" in a dictionary. It does not mean "lacking in clarity, depth, or completeness" although the way the word is used in computer documentation, you'd think it means "lacking in explanation and/or explicitness."
In reading the Namo manual, I came across a couple of the kinds of awkward uses of English that led me to the conclusion that the manual has been translated. Is computer instruction so different in Korea that someone who needs step-by-step help in Copying or Pasting would probably be able to set up Web sites without any guidance? Was I supposed to have gone somewhere and downloaded some sample files for practice? Since a Net connection is assumed, it would be logical to have a few practice pages and sites at Jasc, along with a clue about how to download them for instructional purposes.
In reading the Namo manual, I came across a couple of the kinds of awkward uses of English that led me to the conclusion that the manual has been translated. Is computer instruction so different in Korea that someone who needs step-by-step help in Copying or Pasting would probably be able to set up Web sites without any guidance? Was I supposed to have gone somewhere and downloaded some sample files for practice? Since a Net connection is assumed, it would be logical to have a few practice pages and sites at Jasc, along with a clue about how to download them for instructional purposes.
In summary, Namo Webeditor 5 may or may not be a wonderful Web editing tool. However the learning curve is steeper than the verbal and written promotions imply and the documentation proved to be a higher barrier than I have the patience to climb in my spare time.
Copyright © April, 2002 by Bayle Emlein
Editor's Note:
$139 download, $149 in a box from Jasc
and various retail outlets.
Try before you buy: fully functional 30 day free trial
downloadable from Jasc.
More try before you buy: the evaluation version of
Paint Shop Pro 7 comes on the Namo CD also.