iWork '05 Productivity Suite?

MacRumors · Dec 31, 2004

Continuing its series on Macworld Expo, Think Secret now reports that Apple will introduce a productivity suite named iWork '05, the application code-named Sugar in the previous report.

The suite will include Keynote 2 as well as a word processor named Pages, once known as Document.

According to the report, iWork '05 will use a software serial number, require a 500MHz system or better, run on Mac OS X 10.3.6 or later, and will likely come with most new Mac models, including the rumored Headless iMac.

Pricing is unknown, although Think Secret speculates that iWork '05 is likely to cost more than iLife ($49) since Keynote alone is currently $99 and AppleWorks is currently $79. The Appleworks 6 suite, which is now five years old, has components for word processing, drawing/pagelayout, painting, spreadsheet, database, and slideshow/presentations.

Chatter surrounding iWork--then called iWorks, as it was speculated to be the successor to AppleWorks--first emerged almost two years ago. Since then, iWork has become a perennial rumor favorite, as AppleWorks 6 continues to show its age and lack of refinement associated with Apple's applications today. Steve Jobs introduced AppleWorks 6 during Macworld Expo San Francisco in 2000, making the application a dinosaur in software years by today's standards.

Littleodie914 · Dec 31, 2004

Hmm... Sounds good! Hope Apple isn't shooting themselves in the foot by taking on easily the largest production suite in the world!

Edit: I know I'll buy it though!

Photorun · Dec 31, 2004

Cool. But if it isn't compliant and/or compatable with Microshaft Orface files it's going to be rather useless to many of us who have to deal with peecee lusers on a daily basis. Hope Apple has their ducks in a row on this one.

macridah · Dec 31, 2004

woo hoo. Maybe I could have M$ free machine ... what a great start for 2005 if this is true.

applemacdude · Dec 31, 2004

serial number.....ycuk

Waluigi · Dec 31, 2004

This macworld is becoming more hyped then when the G5 was released at WWDC 03!

The way apple has been chugging along, this could be yet another step in their climb back to the top.

Darwin · Dec 31, 2004

Well something does have to be done about AppleWorks

I just hope it can work out, that is it if it shows up

Sweetfeld28 · Dec 31, 2004

bout time. i too hope it integrates with bunk Office X better than AppleWorks does.

Sir_Giggles · Dec 31, 2004

So at MWSF, Jobs will introduce?:

iPod mini 5GB
iPod flash (iPod sport, iPod play, iPod micro, etc)
Asteroid
iMac mini (iMac media, xMac, uMac, cMac etc)
Pages
iWorks

geez, sounds like quite a handful..

other possibilities include:
updated PowerBooks (been 8 months since last refresh)
updated PowerMacs (been 6 months)

seems like alot of announcements. I wouldnt be surprised if only 2 of the listed products actually are announced.

adam1185 · Dec 31, 2004

Sir_Giggles said:
So at MWSF, Jobs will introduce?:

iPod mini 5GB
iPod flash (iPod sport, iPod play, iPod micro, etc)
Asteroid
iMac mini (iMac media, xMac, uMac, cMac etc)
Pages
iWorks

geez, sounds like quite a handful..

other possibilities include:
updated PowerBooks (been 8 months since last refresh)
updated PowerMacs (been 6 months)

seems like alot of announcements. I wouldnt be surprised if only 2 of the listed products actually are announced.

don't forget ilife 05 and a tiger release date!

~Shard~ · Dec 31, 2004

This is going to be quite the MWSF, looking forward to it! If iWork is true, then I might be able to get away with having no MS software on my Mac whatsoever!

Oh, and I submitted this news story once it came out, but didn't get credit, so I assume someone else beat me to the punch... next time...

zamyatin · Dec 31, 2004

where the puck is going

Forget Microsoft Office, it's dead in the water. OpenOffice is rising and going to dominate. This product needs to used OpenDocument formats as its defaults. "Skate to where the puck is going, not where it is."

~Shard~ · Dec 31, 2004

adam1185 said:
don't forget ilife 05 and a tiger release date!

... As well as Sugar, Slingshot, Longbow, Crossbow, Catapult and Trebuchet!

Mord · Dec 31, 2004

i'll buy it (if it's under £100 if not i'll pirate it) and use it

~Shard~ · Dec 31, 2004

Hector said:
i'll buy it (if it's under £100 if not i'll pirate it) and use it

Well, I'm sure Apple at least appreciates your honesty. As do their lawyers...

rainman::|:| · Dec 31, 2004

a replacement for appleworks. thank god.

serial numbers? apple's moving away from their "trust the user" concept... but then, if the headless iMac rumors are true, they're moving away from a lot of things.

paul

Mord · Dec 31, 2004

when i say pirate i mean my dad will buy it and i'll install it on like 5 macs.

2x cubes
2x ibook's
1x friends g3

~Shard~ · Dec 31, 2004

Hector said:
when i say pirate i mean my dad will buy it and i'll install it on like 5 macs.

2x cubes
2x ibook's
1x friends g3

Good cover up...

Doctor Q · Dec 31, 2004

I was surprised that Keynote wasn't given a lower price all along, given that it is but one component of a typical suite. It appears that iWork will be positioned as a mid-priced (not bargain-priced) suite, more than AppleWorks but much less than MS Office.

Students usually get good bargains on productivity suites, and I would expect iWork to replace AppleWorks as the free software that comes with consumer Macs, so it should very quickly develop a large base of users.

arnette · Dec 31, 2004

zamyatin said:
Forget Microsoft Office, it's dead in the water. OpenOffice is rising and going to dominate. This product needs to used OpenDocument formats as its defaults. "Skate to where the puck is going, not where it is."

I can't believe you wrote that. MS Office is dying off?? HA!

ifjake · Dec 31, 2004

interesting rumor. i don't know what kind of mac user wouldn't be interested in Apple's take on productivity applications. sure it won't be as much of a bargain as iLife is, but still, compared to MS Office i'm sure it will be. maybe this also means that iCal will see some improvements that some people have been clamoring for.

this is why i like Apple's niche position. they can outfit their hardware with some top notch software, and because they have only a small percentage of the market, they can get away with it. though, i think the only issue is whether or not it comes preinstalled on new machines (similar to windows media player or internet explorer, which are the two that have caused microsoft problems).

Chaszmyr · Dec 31, 2004

~Shard~ said:
... As well as Sugar, Slingshot, Longbow, Crossbow, Catapult and Trebuchet!

iWork is Sugar

TylerL · Dec 31, 2004

I sure hope that I can shoehorn this to work on the 300 400MHz iMacs I run...

Mudbug · Dec 31, 2004

according to Ryan @ Think Secret regarding the codenames:

I believe Crossbow is Keynote 2 and Slingshot is Pages. Not enough evidence to go on the record with that info, however. But we do know that Sugar is the name for iWork '05 that encompasses those other apps, just like Sphere is the code-name for iLife '05. Just wanted to clarify that since in your previous post about Road to Expo you made it seem (as did we) that Sugar/Crosssbow/Slinghsot were 3 new apps, when it appears that they are 1 suite and 2 apps.

Thataboy · Dec 31, 2004

Hot hot hot.

This is going to be one HELL of a keynote!!

And apparently a very consumer-oriented one (iLife, iWork, cheapMac).

I don't think we will hear a peep about the pro line.

iWork '05 Productivity Suite?

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