From: "Thoma Mattox" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Ready to upgrade a few programs and have a question:
What should I use for Word Processing, etc. In the past I have
relied on A=
ppleWorks. However, this is no longer supported.
You have a wide variety of options. While Appleworks is finally being
phased out, it is still widely available (still comes on most new
consumer Macs) and continues to do a very nice job for most people.
You can safely stick with it for a while yet, but I commend your
wisdom in seeking alternatives now before you HAVE to.
For most basic word processing, I use the simple TextEdit program
found on every OS X-running Mac. It can save files in (and read
files) in MS Word format. Of course I should also mention that
AppleWorks can read both Word and Excel files (and save in those
formats) and has been able to do so for years now.
Indeed, it's actually hard to find a word processor that DOESN'T save
in Word format anymore, though it's usually not the default option.
As a writer, I've been very fond of MarinerWrite ($70), but there's a
bucketful of other programs that range from free to $50 that various
audiences appreciate.
What about iWork or NeoOffice? iWork doesn't have any form of
spreadsheet,=
but appears to be more stable than NeoOffice...Will both (or
either) of th=
em open Word Documents (.doc) or Power Point Presentations?
iWork 06 has a limited form of spreadsheet in both Pages and Keynote
(the two programs that make up iWork) -- a "Table Editor with
Calculations" which produces spreadsheet-like tables, and a "chart
data editor" which produces stunning-looking charts.
http://www.apple.com/iwork/pages/features/tables.html
http://www.apple.com/iwork/pages/features/charts.html
http://www.apple.com/iwork/pages/features/compatibility.html
I my limited experience with iWork 06, the MS Word compatibility is
pretty good but not perfect. I haven't missed Excel thus far, but I
don't do a lot of that sort of thing.
Pages will open MS Word documents generally without issue, and
Keynote will open Powerpoint presentations without issue as well.
Keynote can read and write Powerpoint format, though some of
Keynote's fancy (and beautiful) transitions are usually lost when
down-saving to Powerpoint.
As for NeoOffice, the program is maturing at a healthy pace and
offers most non-hardcore users a really viable alternative to MS
Office, all for free. It's primary drawback is that it's
compatibility with MS Office files are also only "pretty good" rather
than "perfect," and of course it's huge size (124MB download!!),
which puts dialup users right off. At $79.95, iWork is a great
alternative to Office if your primary need is word processing,
Powerpoint-type presentations and limited spreadsheet/table/chart usage.
iWork is -- by several orders of quantum magnitude -- more slick, but
for many NeoOffice's less-polished look is actually more comfortable
if they were used to the PC version of Office in all its horrific
ugliness. If you've got the disk space, it's worth having them both
around.
Cheers
Chas
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