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Appleworks Update in April?
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Are you one of those people who like to say things like "(Insert software here) is:
a) still beta
b) not finished
c) not ready for prime time
without actually knowing anything? Keynote has been released, it is a finish v1.0 product. As with most other 1.0 products it has bugs that need fixing. However, it IS A FINISHED PRODUCT. Learn to accept this.
a) still beta
b) not finished
c) not ready for prime time
without actually knowing anything? Keynote has been released, it is a finish v1.0 product. As with most other 1.0 products it has bugs that need fixing. However, it IS A FINISHED PRODUCT. Learn to accept this.
indeed
indeed. Keynote is a fabulous program. I hear it has some bugs on one model of ibook though. I hardly think that's cause to say it's not a 1.0 program.
One time, my Finder crashed. Maybe it's not ready for primetime.
indeed. Keynote is a fabulous program. I hear it has some bugs on one model of ibook though. I hardly think that's cause to say it's not a 1.0 program.
One time, my Finder crashed. Maybe it's not ready for primetime.
The only problem I have had have been some font and formatting changes in Powerpoint (not to mention some transitions, which I expected). Word and Excel are great when changing platforms.
Why use any new Apple Apps right away?
Since switching to the Mac for over a year now, all I've heard is how slow and buggy Apple applications are. I have had absolutely no problems with my applications (iMovie, iCal, Keynote, iTunes, iPhoto and Safari). Now I have a PowerBook G4 667Mhz and a Powerbook G3 500. Both have a gig on memory. Everything works on them. (Better than Dell and Gateway .. IMHO).
Everyone should just wait about 2 or 3 months ( or years ) after a new application comes out to see what the reviews say about the look, feel and especially performance. THEN decide if you want to buy it.
The more you complain, the more you are hurting Apple. If you find a better app that does the same job with better performance, then use it. Stop complaining about it and hope everything gets fixed by complaining. Better yet, install the Developmental tools and build them yourselves.
Grow up for heavens sake.
( And yes, there is major sarscasm in this post )
CheekyGit
Since switching to the Mac for over a year now, all I've heard is how slow and buggy Apple applications are. I have had absolutely no problems with my applications (iMovie, iCal, Keynote, iTunes, iPhoto and Safari). Now I have a PowerBook G4 667Mhz and a Powerbook G3 500. Both have a gig on memory. Everything works on them. (Better than Dell and Gateway .. IMHO).
Everyone should just wait about 2 or 3 months ( or years ) after a new application comes out to see what the reviews say about the look, feel and especially performance. THEN decide if you want to buy it.
The more you complain, the more you are hurting Apple. If you find a better app that does the same job with better performance, then use it. Stop complaining about it and hope everything gets fixed by complaining. Better yet, install the Developmental tools and build them yourselves.
Grow up for heavens sake.
( And yes, there is major sarscasm in this post )
CheekyGit
Re: Better translators, PLEASE!
I've had nothing but crashes and font problems trying to transfer spreadsheets between Excel and Appleworks. And they are simple spreadsheets, too! No macros - in fact, I don't think there are even any formulas!
I thought about icExcel but haven't run across anyone who actually used it. You have? WDYT?
I've had nothing but crashes and font problems trying to transfer spreadsheets between Excel and Appleworks. And they are simple spreadsheets, too! No macros - in fact, I don't think there are even any formulas!
I thought about icExcel but haven't run across anyone who actually used it. You have? WDYT?
PC to MAC and back
I share Word documents with my PC friends all the time. The major problems we run into are fonts. I'll have a 2 page document filled to the last line that has to stay at 2 pages. Then it gets on a PC. Some document borders, same font, but its over 2 pages! Also, characters in symbol font always disappear between platforms. These are anoying problems, but I doubt they will ever go away completely. I imagine the same will be true of any Apple app that tries to open MS apps. It may work 99% of the time, but proofing and tweeking will always be needed.
I've used Appleworks from the MacDraw/MacWrite days. I don't use the word processor anymore because it doesn't link smoothly with Endnote. The draw program is still good for many simple graphics, but it was better when it could export EPSF and when the alignment tool was easier to use repeatedly.
I would love to have Appleworks evolve ala Keynote.
I share Word documents with my PC friends all the time. The major problems we run into are fonts. I'll have a 2 page document filled to the last line that has to stay at 2 pages. Then it gets on a PC. Some document borders, same font, but its over 2 pages! Also, characters in symbol font always disappear between platforms. These are anoying problems, but I doubt they will ever go away completely. I imagine the same will be true of any Apple app that tries to open MS apps. It may work 99% of the time, but proofing and tweeking will always be needed.
I've used Appleworks from the MacDraw/MacWrite days. I don't use the word processor anymore because it doesn't link smoothly with Endnote. The draw program is still good for many simple graphics, but it was better when it could export EPSF and when the alignment tool was easier to use repeatedly.
I would love to have Appleworks evolve ala Keynote.
I personally don't think we will see only one package, but two. AppleWorks will stay in the same integrated package as it is now (with major impovements, of course). But I think that there will also be dramatically more powerful, more robust applications like Word and Excel. Those two and Keynote will be part of an Office-like suite, will cost less and be far better than MS Office. I'd like to think about $250 for the three applications together, $99 individually. Of course this is a bit of wishful thinking, but no one really expected Keynote, did they. I also don't think it will be released in April, unless there is a special press event. Most likely MWNY- big mac-loving crowd for Steve to show off the products, and rub it in MS's face!
AppleWorks is not Excel. I think the question was wether anyone had problems between PC and Mac versions of Excel.
Importing a Word or Excel file from AppleWorks tends to be a little awkward. It seems to work best if I open up AW6, open up a document, tell it to look just for Word (or Excel) files, and then open it up. Otherwise, if I just click on the .doc or .xls file, it doesn't always translate, and then a bunch of garbage comes up on the screen.
However, I haven't seen any problems transferring Word files between Macs and PCs. I just transferred a few in the past day, had them modified, and sent back without any obvious problems.
AW6 doesn't do too bad of a translation, though, as long as the document isn't too complicated. If there is an image in the Word document, it won't translate (at least I've never had an image translate).
Oh come on, don't be ridiculous. Nobody is going to care if you share your software around your family. Everyone does it, and I don't know a single person who buys more than one copy of a program because they've got two computers or whatever. Think of buying a toaster - all the people in the house use it. Someone from down the street taking it's a different issue of course, just like copying your CDs for friends.
Hopefully that all made sense! And don't flame me please
MANY Office Alternatives Coming (die, Microsoft, die!)
For those of you who hate MS Office... well, OK, for everyone then, here are some OS X alternatives to Office. You all know about Keynote. And of course, there's the apparent AppleWorks. But check these out too:
http://www.openoffice.org/
http://openosx.com/office/
http://www.thinkfree.com/
http://marinersoftware.com/siteproduct.php
http://www.besoftware.com/
The majority of these are in beta, so right now there are very few options. But in the near future, the options are seemingly boundless.
I'm guessing that this might pan out like the browser deal, where there are now like eight great browsers for the mac, but we can expect many to go away with the advent of Safari.
Rumors have circulated that Apple is working on a full Office competitor... not necessarily just AppleWorks. Check out the Jan 20 installment of http://www.macosxrumors.com/ for example. I don't know what to think. If Apple does do a full Office suite, then what will become of all those nice projects listed above?
For those of you who hate MS Office... well, OK, for everyone then, here are some OS X alternatives to Office. You all know about Keynote. And of course, there's the apparent AppleWorks. But check these out too:
http://www.openoffice.org/
http://openosx.com/office/
http://www.thinkfree.com/
http://marinersoftware.com/siteproduct.php
http://www.besoftware.com/
The majority of these are in beta, so right now there are very few options. But in the near future, the options are seemingly boundless.
I'm guessing that this might pan out like the browser deal, where there are now like eight great browsers for the mac, but we can expect many to go away with the advent of Safari.
Rumors have circulated that Apple is working on a full Office competitor... not necessarily just AppleWorks. Check out the Jan 20 installment of http://www.macosxrumors.com/ for example. I don't know what to think. If Apple does do a full Office suite, then what will become of all those nice projects listed above?
There is also the rule of thumb that when a new .0 product comes out, wait until at least the .1 release if you don't want to take the initial plunge. Also there is the rule to wait until the 3.0 release...but that's Microsoft we'd be talking about. Notice how they started the NT series at version 3 and not version 1. Also another note, Windows XP is just Windows NT kernel version 5.1, whereas W2k is 5.0. I thought that was kind of interesting...slap a new, Crayola-inspired interface and call it a new OS...oh, and charge the professional users $200 just to upgrade. Yes, Apple was trying to challenge M$ in the ridiculous upgrade prices, but still, XP Pro upgrade alone was $200. One could buy a 5 pack of OS 10.2 for that! And, hey, I got the 10.1 upgrade for free since I already had 10.0.
Let the flaming begin!
Oh, is that so? And just because 'everybody else' is using toilet paper (or Microsoft, whichever you find nastier), then I should use it, too?
Just kidding of course.
However, if you do look at what most license agreements state, you are allowed to install one copy of the program on one computer at a time. There are exceptions, but generally not within the highly commercialized world. Yes, plenty of 'sharing' goes around, especially since not everyone has a spare $200 or $500 or $600 laying around to buy the latest MS Office or Photoshop, or whatever. Some of those programs are just WAY over priced.
Now one can take a program like Mathematica, which is probably the leader in its field, but they also have a conscience to offer a very reasonable academic price. It normally costs $1888 for Windows or Macs (~$3000 for UNIX, however), yet the academic price is $139. How is that for a deal? Less than a tenth of the original price!
But software companies might start cracking down a lot more on people to force them to install the software on only one computer, a la the registration methods of Windows XP or Mathematica. But if that happens too much, my guess is that people will start moving in faster droves toward Linux and other free software.
And for a final note, I think Apple did the smart thing by allowing a Family Pack installation for OS 10.2. 5 licenses for $200. Hey, that's not too shabby of a deal, I suppose. And then you can get that warm glow, knowing that you legally own that software.
But if the FBI wanted to crack down on software piracy, they would probably just have to break into anyone's house who owned a computer. "So, sir, you are on day 671 of your evaluation...haven't paid for it yet, have you?!"
Originally posted by Nermal
Oh come on, don't be ridiculous. Nobody is going to care if you share your software around your family. Everyone does it, and I don't know a single person who buys more than one copy of a program because they've got two computers or whatever. Think of buying a toaster - all the people in the house use it. Someone from down the street taking it's a different issue of course, just like copying your CDs for friends.
Hopefully that all made sense! And don't flame me please
Oh, is that so? And just because 'everybody else' is using toilet paper (or Microsoft, whichever you find nastier), then I should use it, too?
Just kidding of course.
However, if you do look at what most license agreements state, you are allowed to install one copy of the program on one computer at a time. There are exceptions, but generally not within the highly commercialized world. Yes, plenty of 'sharing' goes around, especially since not everyone has a spare $200 or $500 or $600 laying around to buy the latest MS Office or Photoshop, or whatever. Some of those programs are just WAY over priced.
Now one can take a program like Mathematica, which is probably the leader in its field, but they also have a conscience to offer a very reasonable academic price. It normally costs $1888 for Windows or Macs (~$3000 for UNIX, however), yet the academic price is $139. How is that for a deal? Less than a tenth of the original price!
But software companies might start cracking down a lot more on people to force them to install the software on only one computer, a la the registration methods of Windows XP or Mathematica. But if that happens too much, my guess is that people will start moving in faster droves toward Linux and other free software.
And for a final note, I think Apple did the smart thing by allowing a Family Pack installation for OS 10.2. 5 licenses for $200. Hey, that's not too shabby of a deal, I suppose.
And then you can get that warm glow, knowing that you legally own that software.But if the FBI wanted to crack down on software piracy, they would probably just have to break into anyone's house who owned a computer. "So, sir, you are on day 671 of your evaluation...haven't paid for it yet, have you?!"
...finally
Finally, some news which might be indicating that AW7 (or whatever it might be called) might be arriving finally. I've been waiting for this for quite awhile. I think AW6 has stood completely unchanged (not even a .x.x release!) since Autumn 2001. That's quite a long time with no improvements.
But I've suspected that Apple has probably been doing something since I saw a while ago some job postings for people to work and test AW. Seems a little odd to have such postings yet see no work being done on AW.
Also, with the end of the Apple-M$ 5 year contract and the release of Keynote and Safari, it seems like Apple is ready to take the ball back into its own court and start showing Microsoft who the boss is in Mac-land.
I think the two major features I'd like to see is to be able to save spreadsheets in HTML format, and to be able to convert Excel and Word documents better. Also, get rid of Draw and Paint, and combine them into an über program. Now, it doesn't need to be as hi profile or complicated as Photoshop or Illustrator, but I would like something in between Paint's and Photoshop's capabilities.
macosxrumors has an interesting rumor that there might be a new office app release every 6 months, and then finally combined. Interesting idea, but Apple needs to be careful in not over pricing things. If they stay at the same pricing as AW6, and really beef up the program, then they will have better luck in blowing MS Office away, especially if they also make a PC version. It is kind of sad how there is a PC version of AW, yet I've never seen it pushed, advertised, or even used on a PC. If AW7 can become a hit, a PC version might be their ticket on converting a few people...maybe not entirely away from the PC, but if they can get a full Office suite for under $100, compared to the outrageous pricing for MS Office, then I think that might be attractive to a lot of people, and even more so if the translation is very good.
Finally, some news which might be indicating that AW7 (or whatever it might be called) might be arriving finally. I've been waiting for this for quite awhile. I think AW6 has stood completely unchanged (not even a .x.x release!) since Autumn 2001. That's quite a long time with no improvements.
But I've suspected that Apple has probably been doing something since I saw a while ago some job postings for people to work and test AW. Seems a little odd to have such postings yet see no work being done on AW.
Also, with the end of the Apple-M$ 5 year contract and the release of Keynote and Safari, it seems like Apple is ready to take the ball back into its own court and start showing Microsoft who the boss is in Mac-land.
I think the two major features I'd like to see is to be able to save spreadsheets in HTML format, and to be able to convert Excel and Word documents better. Also, get rid of Draw and Paint, and combine them into an über program. Now, it doesn't need to be as hi profile or complicated as Photoshop or Illustrator, but I would like something in between Paint's and Photoshop's capabilities.
macosxrumors has an interesting rumor that there might be a new office app release every 6 months, and then finally combined. Interesting idea, but Apple needs to be careful in not over pricing things. If they stay at the same pricing as AW6, and really beef up the program, then they will have better luck in blowing MS Office away, especially if they also make a PC version. It is kind of sad how there is a PC version of AW, yet I've never seen it pushed, advertised, or even used on a PC. If AW7 can become a hit, a PC version might be their ticket on converting a few people...maybe not entirely away from the PC, but if they can get a full Office suite for under $100, compared to the outrageous pricing for MS Office, then I think that might be attractive to a lot of people, and even more so if the translation is very good.
Consider yourself flamed
Yes, yes, I know I'm being ridiculous. Is this the part of my post where I get to ask you if everyone jumped off a bridge would you follow?
Listen up, everyone is NOT pirating software. It's part of my job at work to ensure we're compliant with our licenses. It's a hard job as people think since they have a cd they can install it wherever they want to. My neighboring school district was recently fined over $500,000 for license violations where somebody thought they could install Photoshop and FCP on an entire lab worth of computers.
If you think it's "ok", then give me your address and I'll call the bsa on you for a "strip search" of your computer. I'm sure you'll enjoy prison.
Yes, yes, I know I'm being ridiculous. Is this the part of my post where I get to ask you if everyone jumped off a bridge would you follow?
Listen up, everyone is NOT pirating software. It's part of my job at work to ensure we're compliant with our licenses. It's a hard job as people think since they have a cd they can install it wherever they want to. My neighboring school district was recently fined over $500,000 for license violations where somebody thought they could install Photoshop and FCP on an entire lab worth of computers.
If you think it's "ok", then give me your address and I'll call the bsa on you for a "strip search" of your computer. I'm sure you'll enjoy prison.
Originally posted by Nermal
Oh come on, don't be ridiculous. Nobody is going to care if you share your software around your family. Everyone does it, and I don't know a single person who buys more than one copy of a program because they've got two computers or whatever. Think of buying a toaster - all the people in the house use it. Someone from down the street taking it's a different issue of course, just like copying your CDs for friends.
Hopefully that all made sense! And don't flame me please
i pay for all the software I use, and I use more than one computer. My wife and i both own legal copies of jaguar. I'm not trying to be pious, but just if you want to obey the law you can, it's not hard. just save your bucks.
All I need in appleworks is Office suppor (better compatibality) and grammar check...
For everything it is fine on. But I need grammar check and like everything has it, just not Appleworks.
For everything it is fine on. But I need grammar check and like everything has it, just not Appleworks.
Re: Consider yourself flamed
Sounds like a fun job, but I guess someone has to do it so large companies decide "Hey, we don't have enough money...lets go bully around some little guys and get the rest of our money!"
Okay, installing one copy of PS on a bunch of computers isn't a good idea, but it seems like that some of those companies might make it a little easier to give large bulk discounts on licenses. What seems really ridiculous, though, is how some companies keep charging people a fee over and over again. What's up with that? Isn't paying for it once already enough? That's like an appliance store coming to my house and telling me I have to pay them again for it.
Sounds like a fun job, but I guess someone has to do it so large companies decide "Hey, we don't have enough money...lets go bully around some little guys and get the rest of our money!"
Okay, installing one copy of PS on a bunch of computers isn't a good idea, but it seems like that some of those companies might make it a little easier to give large bulk discounts on licenses. What seems really ridiculous, though, is how some companies keep charging people a fee over and over again. What's up with that? Isn't paying for it once already enough? That's like an appliance store coming to my house and telling me I have to pay them again for it.
Wow, you really butchered that one.
I think that if they're going to release an app package, they won't include Keynote on it unless you purchase some sort of Professional Edition or something, like with Office on PC. They may have a Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Paint/Graphics editor thats integrated well with all the apps in the bundle (and Keynote as well), but NOT Keynote.
I just have this gut feeling that Keynote won't be included. I think that Keynote and a more professional graphics editor (not as good as Photoshop as to not step on Adobe's toes), but better than the basic graphics editor that comes with the Word Processor application package.
I think that if they're going to release an app package, they won't include Keynote on it unless you purchase some sort of Professional Edition or something, like with Office on PC. They may have a Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Paint/Graphics editor thats integrated well with all the apps in the bundle (and Keynote as well), but NOT Keynote.
I just have this gut feeling that Keynote won't be included. I think that Keynote and a more professional graphics editor (not as good as Photoshop as to not step on Adobe's toes
), but better than the basic graphics editor that comes with the Word Processor application package.You've got to be kidding me. Why don't they just get rid of the word processing component as well!
Personally, I like MS Office vX. There are some things missing that I wish it had, but there are also some cool things that it has that the Windows version doesn't.
On the other hand it is a professional suite and I'd very much like to see a new version of AppleWorks that captures the magic of ClarisWorks. Early versions of ClarisWorks had an advantage in that the potential for being more efficient than Word/Excel/Office at the time was astronomical, and the development team at Claris did a phenominal job...remember when ClarisWorks could run off a single floppy? I was refurbishing old Mac SE computers for college students to use instead of buying new Macs and Word/Excel/Office.
Now the potential for efficient use of the computer is not as valuable. My B&W G3 runs Office vX at more than acceptable speeds.
On the other hand being an efficient application from the user's perspective is where a new AppleWorks could kick booty. Price is of course a huge factor. Enabling the user is another, and ease of use combined with power is always a difficult mix that Apple has a history of pulling off spectacularly.
I'm sure the new version will look much, much better.
There are also areas for new functionality that could be really strong selling points. HTML capabilities could make this a strong competitor in the low-end GUI HTML editor category...pretty much anyone not doing Websites full-time professionally, or those of us who live in the world of BBEdit.
Also, I'd imagine greater integration with relevant iApps and .Mac.
All said, it's not hard to take a look at AppleWorks and see what needs to be done to make it a winner again.
Re: Consider yourself flamed
Saying you'll call a jackboot organization like the BSA says a lot. They sent me a note a couple days ago saying they would give 'my' company an 'amnesty' audit. But if I don't by Februrary I can expect no mercy.
I knew they were a con when they tried to infer that a companies' licensing agreement determined what your copyright usage rights were. Con-artists and criminals in their own right, that they are.
Of course, the software they are interested in isn't owned by any company - I just always fill in my company on any software I get. The software is registered to me. Heck, the company they are referring to is a family business trust company - the only software it owns or uses is MYOB AccountEdge.
If I hear back I plan on stringing them along as long as I can - every minute and dollar they waste with me is one they can't use to harrass someone else with less time and less perverse sense of humor
Saying you'll call a jackboot organization like the BSA says a lot. They sent me a note a couple days ago saying they would give 'my' company an 'amnesty' audit. But if I don't by Februrary I can expect no mercy.
I knew they were a con when they tried to infer that a companies' licensing agreement determined what your copyright usage rights were. Con-artists and criminals in their own right, that they are.
Of course, the software they are interested in isn't owned by any company - I just always fill in my company on any software I get. The software is registered to me. Heck, the company they are referring to is a family business trust company - the only software it owns or uses is MYOB AccountEdge.
If I hear back I plan on stringing them along as long as I can - every minute and dollar they waste with me is one they can't use to harrass someone else with less time and less perverse sense of humor
OK, I've managed to change the topic of this thread from AppleWorks to piracy. As it happens, yes I do have pirated software, but I've got lots of legal software too. I'm currently on a PC but I've bought an iBook and I'm just waiting for it to arrive. Changing platforms is going to give me a good opportunity to legalise everything. Having lots of useful apps bundled with the system is a good start.
Anyway, can we get back to the AppleWorks topic please?
Anyway, can we get back to the AppleWorks topic please?