Office 2011?

It's light years better than 08

 

Well,

1) No, it doesn't run as well as iWork '09. iWork' 09 is an Apple product, and it run seamlessly on the Mac OS. But Office 2011 has more features than iWork '09, and it is fully compatible with Microsoft Office files. Although some people challenge the claim that Office has more features than iWork, it is the undeniable truth. Perhaps you don't need them, but they are there.

2) Office 2010 is way better than Office 2011. Office 2011 for Mac replicates most of the functionality of Office 2010 for Windows, but is is much more sluggish. Word 2010 for Windows takes 50 MB of RAM, while Word 2011 for Mac would easily consume 150 to 200 MB. A memory hog. A slow and buggy memory hog. And Office 2010 is a great piece of software, and it runs like nothing else on Windows. In addition, the interface in Office 2010 for Windows is clearer and lighter. Despite all these drawbacks, Office 2011 is useful if you want to replicate Office functionality on the Mac.

3) Kind of. It does a better job in that department than the previous versions of Office for Mac.

I would recommend installing it. It's among the best-selling piece of software for Mac. If you want to do real work, better not count on iWork. You should use this or a Windows version running on Parallels.

 

It probably comes down to what you are used to, but I gave Pages a shot and didn't last too long. I've since installed Office 2011, and fine the Word works extremely well. I have no complaints, and I feel right at home in it (i.e. works close enough to the windows version).

1. Runs just as well, I don't notice any difference.
2. Same deal, I don't notice any difference in performance.
3. Yes, feels native. Has nice full screen support and tweaked styling vs. the windows version.