iWork or MS Office

[Guitarius]

So. I'm going to pre-order Tiger. As I was surfing around the Apple Store, I got to thinking. I thought "You know, I need an office suite. Neo Office, though good, just doesn't have that 100% compatibility that I need." And I was looking at either iWork or MS Office, and I was wondering what you guys think I should go with. iWork will save me a good deal of money, but since I'm one of three Mac users I know, MS Office may be a safer thing to go with.

What would you all suggest?

 

[sjpetry]

Get MS Office it is far superior than iWork.

If you're a student you can get the Edu. discount.

 

[Logik]

I'd go with MS Office, if you'er a student, check with your university or college and see if they offer any different pricing. I got Office 2004 for $45 at my uni, as opposed to the $130-150 for the educational box. Do some research on pricing before ya buy.

 

[mkrishnan]

Ditto on the recommend for Office 04, especially since you mentioned compatibility as your main concern. Also ditto on the looking for site-licenses. At my previous school, it was $80, as opposed to the $130 student edition (this was for Office.X around Dec 03). The only caveat is that you probably will not be able to re-sell it, should you ever want to (my cds say "not valid for retail" on them, and something about requiring a separate license).

 

[rainman::|:|]

I choose the Apple product every time, because I love Apple, but go with Office. iWork is not just there yet, if it ever will be.

 

[Steven1621]

I have both and nothing in iWork makes me want to change. I'm very pleased with MS Office.

 

[dorqiekat]

MS office is so worth it, it's even nicer and has more to offer than widows does.

 

[deral]

I use both. I've always been in love with Keynote, so I hardly-never use Pages. I can't stand Microsoft PPT, but can't live without my Mic Word.

Sure, Mic Office seemed the most safest, so get that. But if you have zero-to-no budgeting skills get both.

 

[grapes911]

Keynote is amazing. IMO its a hair above powerpoint. But...iWork is not a word processor. People use it as such, but its really for layouts. Also, there is nothing like excel.

 

[Leareth]

For word processing go with Office but if you do alot of presentations
get a copy of Keynote it is far superior to PPT , easier to use, and nicer looking. Pages is good for playing with layout after you have typed out the text. I use both Office ( Student Disc. ) and iWork , just depend on what you need it for.