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why buy iWork vs. each program separately?
- Thread starter seedman76
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Good Question
I have wondered the same thing ever since they deployed the App Store. I bought iWork (as a package -- retail CD) because my colleagues think Pages is good and Keynote is RAD (which it is... the goofball with his quip about Office is better... why buy iWork... is probably missing a few facts). When I saw it, I asked one of my pals that works at Apple (on the retail side) and he kind of laughed it off and said they're doing a few funny things like that to test the waters of the App Store. For example, compare Aperture's price in the App Store vs. retail packaging.
Bottom line: the App Store is a less expensive means of distributing the apps. And, beyond that, Apple is adding "goodwill" pricing on some of their apps to encourage folks to buy through the App Store. You're not "losing anything" by doing what you propose. There's no sweet 200-page User's Guide in the retail box. It's very "Apple" in that there's pretty much nothing -- except for maybe a little color brochure about all the cool things iWork will do -- in the box.
That's my understanding, at least.
I have wondered the same thing ever since they deployed the App Store. I bought iWork (as a package -- retail CD) because my colleagues think Pages is good and Keynote is RAD (which it is... the goofball with his quip about Office is better... why buy iWork... is probably missing a few facts). When I saw it, I asked one of my pals that works at Apple (on the retail side) and he kind of laughed it off and said they're doing a few funny things like that to test the waters of the App Store. For example, compare Aperture's price in the App Store vs. retail packaging.
Bottom line: the App Store is a less expensive means of distributing the apps. And, beyond that, Apple is adding "goodwill" pricing on some of their apps to encourage folks to buy through the App Store. You're not "losing anything" by doing what you propose. There's no sweet 200-page User's Guide in the retail box. It's very "Apple" in that there's pretty much nothing -- except for maybe a little color brochure about all the cool things iWork will do -- in the box.
That's my understanding, at least.
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Like taylortm said, Apple is just having some fun with the pricing to get people into the store. The only reason I can think of to buy the iWork box is to get the CD. If you need the retail CD then this is the way to go, otherwise go for the App Store version.
Why even pay. . .Libre Office is freeware.
Sorry to the term buy Office; would be smarter to say just buy Word, and Excel. Again sorry if that offends some of you, but. . .
Sorry to the term buy Office; would be smarter to say just buy Word, and Excel. Again sorry if that offends some of you, but. . .
Why even pay. . .Libre Office is freeware.
Sorry to the term buy Office; would be smarter to say just buy Word, and Excel. Again sorry if that offends some of you, but. . .
Not sure what you are trying to say there.... but Word and Excel are often over-featured and difficult to use for most of what most people need. Why pay that much?
I use NeoOffice (free - Mac version of OpenOffice) and the iWork suite in my business. These work fine for me. The added cost of MS Office wouldn't give me anything that I can't do in iWork - for what I need to do.
So, no offence taken if you are recommending Word and Excel - but it may not be good advice in these circumstances.
From what I've seen you can buy each program separately cheaper then as a package in iWork. Am I missing something?
At first glance it seems strange but at second glance it still seems strange. The App store distribution is relatively new compared to the same software, iWorks 09, when it was released on disk - that was how I bought it and I really like it. But back then it was not available a la carte`.
What is even stranger is Aperture 3 costs $199 on disk but only $79 at the App store. It is exactly the same thing and the disk version after installed will still be need to be updated to the latest and greatest version. I bought A3 shortly after they launched the App store because I feared it would not last but it did.
the only difference, aside from price, is how you update it. If it is purchased from the App store it gets updated through the App store, if on disk then it gets upgraded with regular system upgrades. -- I could be wrong but that I believe that is the only difference.
At first glance it seems strange but at second glance it still seems strange. The App store distribution is relatively new compared to the same software, iWorks 09, when it was released on disk - that was how I bought it and I really like it. But back then it was not available a la carte`.
What is even stranger is Aperture 3 costs $199 on disk but only $79 at the App store. It is exactly the same thing and the disk version after installed will still be need to be updated to the latest and greatest version. I bought A3 shortly after they launched the App store because I feared it would not last but it did.
the only difference, aside from price, is how you update it. If it is purchased from the App store it gets updated through the App store, if on disk then it gets upgraded with regular system upgrades. -- I could be wrong but that I believe that is the only difference.
Well, when I bought iWorks on disc it was cheaper than buying each application individually. Like someone stated, people want the physical media. Otherwise, it is not advantageous to buy the iWorks suite.
Now, whether Libre Office, NeoOffice, Microsoft Word, or Pages is a better value is subjective, as experiences vary from user to user.
Now, whether Libre Office, NeoOffice, Microsoft Word, or Pages is a better value is subjective, as experiences vary from user to user.
This is my experience too, with iLife '08 (preinstalled) and iMovie '11 (purchased through the App Store).
Buying from the App Store is less expensive, especially if you have more than one Mac. It may be possible to buy a family pack for less than $60 but it does limit the installation to be on no more than five Macs at a time.
If & when Apple ever releases new version of the iWork apps, I will be buying them from the App Store.
If & when Apple ever releases new version of the iWork apps, I will be buying them from the App Store.
Update to new mac
As an addition to this question, I think it's best to buy from App Store, but what about in two years when I update computer, will I be able to transfer these on to the new computer? Or will I have to purchase again?
What about if I buy a 2nd computer (for my son next year), is the App store a single licence product?
Thanks in advance for any help.
As an addition to this question, I think it's best to buy from App Store, but what about in two years when I update computer, will I be able to transfer these on to the new computer? Or will I have to purchase again?
What about if I buy a 2nd computer (for my son next year), is the App store a single licence product?
Thanks in advance for any help.
You can install Mac App Store apps on any computer you can running OS X 10.6.6 or higher using the same Apple ID.