amykhar's Full Review: Apple iWork '06 for Mac (MA222Z/A)
When I recently bought my first Mac, I decided I needed a native Mac word processor. I understood that OpenOffice.org was available for me to install for free, but wanted something that was designed specifically for OS X. So, I went with iWork, which includes Pages 2 and Keynote.
In reality, Pages 2 is not so much a word processor as it is a desktop publishing program along the lines of Microsoft Publisher. But, it has spell check, the ability to type documents and do basic formatting such as bold and italics. That’s all I really need for most of my work. And, the $79 price tag was much better than paying for Microsoft Office.
If all I did was write basic documents like product reviews, news stories, essays and such, Pages 2 would be sufficient. And, $79 isn’t a bad price to pay for a stable, solid word processor. But, Pages 2 is much more than just the ability to crank out basic documents. It’s the ability to create pretty documents. And, it has sucked me in.
My first foray into desktop publishing on a Mac was a birthday party invitation for my boss. I was asked to put something together that we could email out.
I found a colorful, bright template that allowed me to drop in pictures, change the text and produce a sharp-looking invitation for an adult party. I saved it as a PDF file, and then converted that to an image, using Preview, Apple’s PDF reader application that ships with OS X.
The company secretary inserted the image in the email, and out it went. And it looked good. So good that I’m dying for my younger children to have to do a book report for school,. I want an excuse to make a pretty document again.
Pages 2 lets me put in shapes, charts, basic spreadsheets and images with ease. The included templates mean I can crank out something that looks pretty cool in a matter of minutes. And, the free-form tools let me create my own, more complex layouts when time permits.
The second half of iWork is Keynote – the presentation package similar to PowerPoint.
I don’t do presentations. It’s just not something I need for work or for home. But, in my playing around with Keynote, I find it easier to work with than PowerPoint. Furthermore, the included templates are much more attractive than PowerPoint’s.
But, I would be much happier if iWork offered the ability to save presentations in PowerPoint format. Presentations are typically shared with others electronically as well as being presented on a screen. Most businesses and colleges use PowerPoint. It would be a tremendous asset to be able to send office users a Keynote presentation – and watch them drool over how much prettier Keynote presentations are than anything they’ve ever produced with PowerPoint.
With Pages 2, exporting to PDF is sufficient if I want readers on other platforms to view my work, But, it makes collaboration in a mixed environment tricky.
My final recommendation is that iWork is a great, affordable package for home use. You’ll be able to crank out fliers, slide shows, book reports, newsletters and more. But, if you need something that will allow you to collaborate with other users who don’t necessarily have a Mac, iWork is not the way to go.
iWork 06 features two powerful applications for creating everything from school newsletters to business presentations. With Pages 2, you can quickly c...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
iWork '06 includes Pages 2, a powerful word processor that's perfect for everything from letters to newsletters to brochures, and Keynote 3, next-gene...More at eBay
Create eyecatching three-dimensional charts, tables with calculations, freeform shapes and photo. Pages 2 includes mail merge, auto-correction, and ne...More at Amazon Marketplace
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2010 Shopping.com, Inc.