Customer Reviews

Apple iWork '08 - Old Version

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Earlier this year I bought my first Mac. I was using Office 2004 with it and eagerly awaited it's predecessor, only to discover the release date had been pushed back. I'm not a rigid office suite user, just a casual one but I do work with word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations and wanted something that will also allow me to get creative. I got my hands on a copy of iWork 05 which only had Pages and Keynote 2. I played around with it but I felt it wasn't up to speed with Office. Then I got the trial version of iWork 06 and felt it was somewhat of an improvement but still too basic. I decided to take a chance with iWork 08 and I'm so glad I did. Pages now has a word processor mode similar to Word but more simple. Something it should have had from the beginning. Keynote, now in its 4th incarnation has some awesome new animation and graphic tools that blow Powerpoint right out of the water. And I can now make spreadsheets...with graphics! For email, I just use the Mail client that comes with Tiger and voila! An entire office suite at about $200 less than the standard version of Office. So for the casual desktop publisher, or publisher on the go, this is the best deal. The price is right, and it won't eat up all your system resources.

This is a great office suite at a great price compared to MS Office for the Mac. Keynote is a presentation program like PowerPoint but is a much better product. The templates which are included are beautiful and rich and can incorporate drawings, photographs, documents and tables by simply dragging or inserting them. The program also has a wonderful feature that automatically allows you to find exactly where to place such items if you want them to be, for example, perfectly centered. And of course you can open Power Point files with it and you can, if you want, save your own presentations in PPT format to share with Windows people. The spreadsheet is also terrific. It is easy to have multiple tables on the same worksheet, and has some very attractive templates ready to use. It also has some neat features which permit you to "slide" or "step" values up or down within limits you define. I prepared a retirement planning spreadsheet yesterday which permits me to consider variable yield and withdrawal rates. If you insert a chart in your spreadsheet linked to this data, it will automatically redraw your chart. It's just great. Mossberg's column criticized it for having fewer built in formulas than Excel. In fact, Numbers, which is the spreadsheet program, contains 150 built in formulas, including the ususal ones for finance, statistics, etc. If there are fewer formulas, I don't know how important they might be to you--but it has everything I need. Finally, Pages is the word processing component of the program. It looks a bit lighter than Word, but it turns out that that is only because it doesn't have the hundreds of toolbars and buttons that Word clutters up the screen with. But in my experience it does everything Word does, only in a much more attractive way. iWork does not come with a built in calendar, email, or contacts program, but that is because Macs all come with those included so you don't need another add on.

iWork will open any Office document and you can then save it as an iWork document or (if you insist or need to share) you can save it in the Microsoft format (.doc, .xls., .ppt extensions.)

All in all, a much better and cheaper mouse trap.

iWork consists of three apps, PAGES, NUMBERS & KEYNOTE.

PAGES: While being billed as a word processor, it really is a mini page layout app that has word processing features. It has dozens of classy, elegant templates from business letters to flyers to brochures. If you want to create a newsletter, other than the typing, a few clicks will bring in your photos and you are set to go. Comparing the stark ugly templates in MS Office and the fact they are weird & wonky to use is NOTHING like your new experience with PAGES. MS Office templates are is changing a tire by the freeway in the rain while PAGES is driving in a convertible on a sunny autumn day.

And to carry the pleasure & pain analogy further, KEYNOTE is flat out the best presentation software while Powerpoint is a visit to the dentist - necessary but hardly anyone looks forward to it. The only problem is that most people are stuck using Powerpoint without a choice but if you have a choice, KEYNOTE isn't just day and night but while Word is a fine app, just not very exciting, Word templates are like changing a tire in the rain ... Powerpoint is changing a tire in the rain while a thousand ball peen hammers work you over as you do it. KEYNOTE is sitting at a cafe drinking a cappucino. And on top of that, it's so classy and elegant that you can't really mess it up ... no pink and bright green templates.

NUMBERS on the surafce does not seem particularly exciting - after all, it's a spreadsheet app. It is a mini Excel, but that's not necessarily a knock if you don't need the 1,000 features of Excel & ESPECIALLY the major flaw of Excel is that its charting while plentiful are fairly unattractive looking. In NUMBERS, you can create great looking charts, place a photo underneath in about two clicks. You can also move cells as objects around just by dragging them around - again, like PAGES - elegant & classy looking are really just a few clicks away. Unlike PAGES though, you do not get that many templates - the ones included are all nice or downright gorgeous though. THERE IS NO WAY you can match the design and presentation aspects of NUMBERS in Excel and I've been using EXCEL since version 1.0. For power users, macro writers and DB front end, and major number crunchers - Excel still is the main choice but if your needs are more towards standalone spreadsheet but in particular - number oriented presentations and making checklists, NUMBERS is great. NUMBERS also requires a little learning curve (a few weeks) since it offers all of Excel's most popular features but requires a little time to learn where they are in NUMBERS. Again, like PAGES, NUMBERS is a presentation & layout app disguised as a spreadsheet.

MS Office is great for corporations, a thousand features - lots of macros and customization for the IT department. It's a fine functional app (well, other than Powerpoint) - iWork is really a subset of that - the features that a small business, a club, an organization, church group or a consultant who does presentation pitches wants that looks good, runs fast and is easy to use ... that's iWork.

But if you want to create flyers, newsletters and have access to dozens of classy & elegant templates ... and you want the best presentation app around - iWork at @$75 is a great deal.

If Apple took its cues from Microsoft, we wouldn't have merely one version of iWork. iWork 2008, in Microsoft parlance, could more aptly be described as "iWork Lite". Alternately, this version might best be billed as iWork Home. What about iWork Office and iWork School? Or iWork Superior to include all of the above? Don't count on it, at least not from iWork '08.

If the other reviews on Amazon and Apple are any indication, the only application in this trio that truly rises to the Microsoft Office challenge is Keynote. My beef with this suite pertains to my primary reason for purchasing iWork: word processing. Microsoft Office 2008 amounted to a series of alarming 1-star reviews at the time I purchased iWork 2008, and aside from that is enormously overpriced. More importantly, however, I wanted to reward any developer who dares compete with the Goliath that is MS Office by casting a vote with my pocketbook in favor of their product. Apple, after all, has been updating iWork long enough to give it time to mature. Or so I thought.

While I appreciate the beautiful templates and intuitive interface that iWork offers, what remains when all the pretties are stripped away? iWork Lite: The version you weren't bargaining on but should have expected for a mere $79.99 (MSRP).

My hope was that Pages would reference Webster's New World Dictionary, which is regarded as a superior reference in hard copy form for capitalization and proper hyphenation. While Pages approaches this level of accuracy, it doesn't quite make the grade. This calls into question its usefulness for English majors, journalists and writers of all stripes. Worse, Pages proofreader is a poor substitute for MS Word's grammar checker. As a result, Pages is also a questionable choice for teachers, students and professionals.

Other purported iWork limitations include:


* Few keyboard shortcuts (native Mac users once prided themselves on the ease with which they could zip through tasks with minimal mouse clicks);
* Cannot change the "save as" to default to an export file type;
* No auto-save/recovery;
* No auto-correct;
* Pages lacks an outline function;
* Weak on functionality: Does not support right-to-left language types. Cross references and the automatic numbering of legends, equations, references are missing. Limitations using the chart editor. "Start count at" and indentation level controls frustrate some users. No HTML import/export;
* iWork Server/Client works on an intranet using Rendezvous, but does not support Internet networking;
* Pages supports only basic citation and footnoting. Cannot use footnotes and endnotes simultaneously. Can accept Grapher/LaTeXiT services but does not support bibliographies (fails to interface with EndNote, for example);
* Opens Appleworks files only via the "import" command;
* Cannot add images -- such as company logo -- to Pages headers or footers;
* Numbers will not satisfy technical users, nor those who wish to include some of the following in a Keynote presentation: It does not support pivot tables. Cannot plot a graph with two y-axes. Will not graph error bars. Does not support Visual Basic macros. Cannot perform trendline analysis or basic statistics (t-test). Does not permit users to freeze/unfreeze panes;
* Apple reports: "Your ability to open a large Numbers file or import a large Microsoft Excel file into Numbers '08 may be constrained by the amount of memory installed on your computer. This constraint adjusts with the addition and removal of memory from the computer."
* Users porting complex Excel documents to Numbers report the need to perform numerous corrections;
* Does not include a database application. Lacks SQL database integration, among others;
* Does not support envelope printing within Pages (envelope printing is left up to Mac Address Book);
* Does not support mail merge (except from Mac Address Book);
* Cannot email a page from within an iWorks application;
* Does not include a standalone email application (relies instead on the integrated email application in OS X);
* Apparently, native iWork files are actually packages, which many web-based email servers do not support. To overcome this limitation, iWork files must be exported and/or saved and subsequently attached to outgoing web-based email messages as archives (zipped files);
*iWorks users who are borderline on system compatibility or whose machines place them at the lower end of iWork's system requirements may encounter sluggish performance (I encountered a number of pauses during which the rainbow colored beach ball appeared while working in Pages).

Do I recommend iWork? That depends on who, what, where and why you wish to use it. From my vantage point, iWork is not a Microsoft Office competitor but an entry-level trio of applications that are big on potential but small on delivery. Nevertheless, there are some users -- primarily those who require strong visuals and a template-based approach to productivity -- who may benefit from iWork 2008.

I've reviewed iWork in the past, and have always thought it was well worth the $79 asking price. However, with iWork '08, these applications have become MUCH more valuable to me.

Some context: I am a marketing executive by day, and an independent writer by night. During working hours, I use Pages to create whitepapers, sell sheets, and other items that we used to have to outsource to a designer for a few $K each. Pages makes documents look so professional, we've been able to take most of this work in house. In fact - I do it myself, and it takes less of my day to do it myself than it would take for me to manage the outsourced help. ages is just easy to use, and creates fantastic looking documents.

I use Keynote when I give presentations myself, but use Powerpoint normally (because no one else has Keynote, and I don't want to have to keep converting files). Keynote opens powerpoints fine, so I can watch/present a presentation without having to have Parallels open. It exports well to powerpoint, too, so I can work in Keynote exclusively if I want to: for example, when working on a plane and tryin to conserve battery life by NOT running windows side-by-side with OS X.

Similarly, spreadsheets open fine - but I'm a marketing guy, so I may not be the best judge of number-stuff.

For my alter-ego as a wannabe writer, I use iWork even more. I wrote, edited, designed and produced by newest novel (Cluck: Murder Most Fowl) entirely using Pages '08. For anyone who has written a book, this means not only writing 100,000+ words, but it also means re-write upon re-write. I tracked nearly thrity minor drafts of my manuscript through the life of the project. Some points about Pages:

1. It handled the large files easily. Scrolling through 300+ pages was fluid on a MacBook Pro. Even when the illustrations were put in place (27 individual 400dpi images) the file remained easy to manipulate.
2. The spelling & grammar checks work better than expected. Of course, you can't rely on these, but they are a necessary aide when dealing with massive amounts of text. The 'proofread' function was markedly better than MS Word's grammar check, although I missed an "ignore this rule" button.
3. Searching for certain words seemed to miss results on occasion, especially when the text was formatted specially or the search term contained punctuation (I submitted this as a bug to Apple, and it will likely be resolved in a future revision)
4. Pages was able to create a print-ready .pdf easily without requiring any extra software. The high-resolution of the images was preserved (I worried about this, since the app handled them so easily in-line I figured maybe they' been downsampled), ad all formatting remained intact.
5. Sepaking of formatting: I was able to design the interior block of Cluck: Murder Most Fowl with absolute precision, and I was also able to adjust the design along the way with little effort.

The bottom line is that Pages '08 is even better at producing quality, professional-looking and print-ready documents than the original Pages. Cluck is "searchable inside" (or will be, soon) so you can see for yourself how Pages can produce results.

Keynote
I also use Keynote for personal uses other than corporate presentations. Interestingly enough, Keynote '08 has been critical to me in the development of promotional videos for my book. Now, I'm no move director, but with Keynote I can:

* animate objects along a path
* chose from a variety of quality transitions
* imbed movie files (AVI files from my Flip Video Camcorder: 60-Minutes (Black) )
* add text (again, with great font handling)
* control the timing of everything
* export to .mov videos

I was able to create some great-looking (well, I am an amateur, but I think they look great) videos, with hardly ay effort (and about 30 minutes, tops). If you want to see for yourself, you can find them on YouTube is you search around for "cluck" and/or "book promo".

Overall, I would recommend iWork '08 to anyone who needs professional results but isn't professionally trained ad/or who lacks the serious $$$ required to purchase more "professional" tools. The applications are easy to use, well-integrated with the "Mac experience", and produce amazing results. All for small change.

In the business world, iWork has what it takes to bring smaller projects in-house, which could save huge amounts of budget money AND save time.

I would give this ten stars if I could.

After spending some time with iMovie '08 and writing a series of articles on it, I thought I'd use this week to explore Apple's Numbers '08, the newest addition to Apple's iWork '08 suite of office applications.

Now, I must admit upfront that I have little or no prior experience with spreadsheet applications. My basic numbers calculations have been done in programs like Quicken and the analog pen and paper method. I think in the past I may have opened up Excel or tried to use Apple's AppleWorks spreadsheet program, but not only did the programs look boring, but I had no idea where to begin in using these applications.

Leave it to Apple, however, to create yet another useful production program for the rest of us. That is, a program which is intuitive, practical, and stylish. Numbers '08 is another fine program that can help you transform the analog fashion of pen and paper calculations and create functions that can help you become more efficient with various projects involving money, data gathering and calculations.

Already I see a number of projects that I can create or improve upon using Numbers '08. For example, for the last couple of years I've been keeping a simple photography equipment inventory list in my business binder. When I make a new $[...]+ purchase I make note of it in my list. But with Numbers '08, I can streamline that data and keep a running balance on how much I've spent on equipment. Likewise, I can use the same technique for creating a better marketing plan, an equipment needs budget, a business growth plan, a couple of simple to-do check lists for long terms projects, and a few custom invoices for freelance work I do. In fact, I've already re-designed my wedding client contract using Numbers '08 so that I can use it on my laptop and fill it in right after the close of a sale. This type spread sheet method is more accurate and less time consuming than the paper format.

The templates that come installed with Numbers '08 provide a list of other possibilities that include various financial budgets plans, a home improvement plan, an event planner, grade book, and a science research report.



As with Apple's Pages and Keynote, Numbers '08 is also a graphic design application. It contains tools for adding various font styles, shapes, photos, and other media. In other words, you have the ability to tell a visual story with your facts, figures, and data.

If you have no prior experience with spread sheet creation or if you want to learn the features of Numbers '08, Apple has produced an excellent set of tutorial videos to get you up and running. The 286-page Numbers User Guide is also another useful source for getting started and learning the program.

The most challenging part for those of us new to spreadsheet development is understanding how formulas work in a table setup so that calculations can be made. Numbers '08 comes installed with over 150 formulas that will perform most all the calculations that we'll ever need. But the basic mathematical functions that you learned in high school should be enough to get your started. Basically, a formula simply provides the sum of selected cells in a table. Again, the Apple tutorial or User Guide and the installed templates will show you some really easy steps for basic functions. From there, you can study and create formula functions to fit your individual needs.

Already a third-party website called Numbers Templates has been created to share templates, tips, and tricks for using the Numbers '08 spreadsheet program.

Though I can't compare Numbers '08 with the industry standard program like Excel, Apple's program I think will fit the needs of most home and small business users. No doubt, future versions will include even more advance functions, but as with Apple's other fine programs, Numbers '08 has the simplicity and style that we've all come to expect.

Original posted at [...]

I work in a highly integrated setting with Windows/Mac and mostly MS Office generated media. I have both Office and iWork on my computer. Up to the most recent release of iWork, Office has pretty much been my workhorse because there are no document conversion issues and Office still did the job better.

Now with the most recent iWork release, I am using the Apple product for a greater percentage of my work. The conversion from Word, Excel and Powerpoint is about 90% accurate. Pages still has the most formatting foibles - mostly misplaced tabs and indents leading to unsightly spacing. Keynote does a fine job of importing Powerpoint with few formatting problems. Numbers does a great conversion of Excel files though my spreadsheet needs are limited.

As far as generating new documents, iWork has finally surpassed Office and is less bloated for features I never use. The automatic appearing, context sensitive format bars are very friendly, very Apple. I t has really matured as a stand alone product and I would convert to iWork exclusively if not for my need to seamlessly convert to Office documents. Very happy with this release and would recommend it to users who do not need to work in mixed environments.

pages and keynote are very polished products, and, if you dont need to be able to work on existing ms doc files you are safe. but, and this is a big but, you get mildly to moderately complex doc files to work on, the constant error messages that this or that does not work will be frustrating. same goes for numbers, in even a bigger way. just too many excel formattings and formulas cause numbers to hiccup.

In connection with a trial I was about to start I used Numbers to create a jury selection template. After a small bit of experimentation and some refining I was able to provide a tool that quickly entered data and helped in evaluation.

Now that may not sound like much, but I have tried for years to create an Excel spreadsheet to do the same thing.

Jury selection seating varies from courtroom to courtroom, and the ability to adapt charts quickly to the courtroom configuration is absolutely incredible. Using popup menus for standard answers (prior jury service, military service, etc) and conditional commands I am able to see the status of the venire at a glance.

This is a great product.

Coming from a PC to a mac I find it is Word that I always go to when I need to do some word processing or powerpoint. I get very frustrated trying to figure out how to do simple stuff in Iworks that just seems to come naturally in Microsoft. (IMHO) I upgraded to the new version of Iworks thinking that it may have been a bit easier to use than the previous version, but after a few attempt to navigate around it, I gave up and went back to Word. Microsoft is a bit more expensive... but for those used to a PC... Worth it.