When I had to submit papers to professors, they had to be in a docx format so it was a lot easier using Word. I still have pages, but only use it once in a blue moon.
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Why do people buy Microsoft Office for Mac when there's a better, shinier iWork?
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Back in the day when I was a student iWork 09 was a pain to use because it lacked a lot of features.
For example, in Pages theres no formula builder.
No way to insert a single landscape oriented page into the portrait oriented document.
No bibliography/reference management tools.
No hyphenation for my language and it doesnt understand the soft-hyphen char either. (While TextEdit.app does both things well).
No way to rotate text in a table cell.
Pages is unable to split a cell on a page break.
Lots of problems with numeration and lists.
In Numbers theres no Solver. It also lacked some simple functions, but I cba to look up which were those now havent used the program for a long time.
Whats good about iWork is that it looks native to OS X, its cheap and works pretty fast.
For example, in Pages theres no formula builder.
No way to insert a single landscape oriented page into the portrait oriented document.
No bibliography/reference management tools.
No hyphenation for my language and it doesnt understand the soft-hyphen char either. (While TextEdit.app does both things well).
No way to rotate text in a table cell.
Pages is unable to split a cell on a page break.
Lots of problems with numeration and lists.
In Numbers theres no Solver. It also lacked some simple functions, but I cba to look up which were those now havent used the program for a long time.
Whats good about iWork is that it looks native to OS X, its cheap and works pretty fast.
We all know Microsoft Office is crap, especially PowerPoint. I have never seen how ugly my presentations are until I switched to iWork. However, I noticed that my colleagues buys Microsoft Office and some of my friends and family members. For some reason, I believe that Microsoft Office for Mac is selling better than iWork even if iWork is so much better. Now, why is that?
iWork sucks in the real world.
#1) most people have office and windows
#2) Pages is horrible. Write a thesis in word with automatic table of contents, complex tables and formatting. Save it. Then open it in Pages.
Now try making the same document in Pages.
Good luck.
#3) I have no idea what you're talking about PowerPoint. It can do the same. A good presentation is a simple one. Have you ever seen an Apple keynote?
Yes, I have seen an Apple keynote and used it for a long long time. It's amazing. The magic move is unbeatable. My presentations became shocking. The audience said so themselves.
PowerPoint doesn't have Magic Move, do they?
Maybe iWorks is flashier and has some nice features (have never used it, don't even own a Mac yet). The thing is that MS Office is THE industry standard. Once you start working with a larger group or within a corporate environment, academia or really pretty much any place where real work gets done - with the exception maybe of a few strictly creative places - that's what it is. Like it or not.
And let me tell you this from the receiving end: there is nothing more annoying and unprofessional than getting a text document, power point presentation or -worse - a spreadsheet in a non-standard format or non-functioning parts, such as silly old quick time elements in a power point presentation.
I'm actually looking into the issue myself at the moment since I'm considering switching to Mac at home (mostly for photo editing and audio recording). I rely heavily on Office 2003 for my day job. Looks like even Office 2011 for Mac won't cut it. So I may have to run Windows in Parallels or Boot Camp for the few times I'll be doing work at home on my own machine and not via remote connection in the office.
iWorks and Office for Mac are great looking tools for folks who mostly work on their own stuff. And there is always Open Office also which has served me well several times with its multi-language support for translation projects. Having those language features in MS Office costs a lot of doe. Not sure if Apple offers something for that problem. Just babbling on here to give some real life examples and problems that go beyond writing a final paper in grad school.
And let me tell you this from the receiving end: there is nothing more annoying and unprofessional than getting a text document, power point presentation or -worse - a spreadsheet in a non-standard format or non-functioning parts, such as silly old quick time elements in a power point presentation.
I'm actually looking into the issue myself at the moment since I'm considering switching to Mac at home (mostly for photo editing and audio recording). I rely heavily on Office 2003 for my day job. Looks like even Office 2011 for Mac won't cut it. So I may have to run Windows in Parallels or Boot Camp for the few times I'll be doing work at home on my own machine and not via remote connection in the office.
iWorks and Office for Mac are great looking tools for folks who mostly work on their own stuff. And there is always Open Office also which has served me well several times with its multi-language support for translation projects. Having those language features in MS Office costs a lot of doe. Not sure if Apple offers something for that problem. Just babbling on here to give some real life examples and problems that go beyond writing a final paper in grad school.
No. I didn't say "keynote" as in the App. I meant an Apple Keynote, as in when they present products. There aren't any magic cheesy animations. It's just straight forward.
Magic Move aahahahahaha
. What a troll.Anyway. Of course you can make a magic move with PowerPoint. It's just not called "magic move". MS lets you create yourself not just click on Pre made apple templates.
As far as choice of animations and building your slide, PowerPoint wins over Keynote, not to mention the remove background tool is far superior. If you want cheesy pre-made Apple effects, get keynote. If you want to build a professional presentation use PowerPoint like the rest of the world. I can take my ppt file and have it work in any computer. What are you going to do with a keynote file that nobody can open? Schlep your MacBook everywhere? What if something goes wrong and the MacBook wont show an image in the projector? Are you going to cancel your presentation? Oh I know. You'll let Apple upsell you on an iPad and get keynote for that.
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Just because your usage of office doesn't make use of stuff iWork can't do, it doesn't mean that others don't.
iWork / numbers can't even link to external data via ODBC for a start..
iWork / numbers can't even link to external data via ODBC for a start..
You don't have to use the pre made affects, you can create your own in Keynote as well. I've done it a number of times.
As for carrying your MB everywhere; I take my MBA with me to meetings all the time. I'm also prepared, so I have any/all necessary dongles if needed. However, most the projectors now connect wirelessly, and have had no issues at all.
All of your comments are generalizations, and insults...
Microsoft Office is simply easier for many students to use, most notably those who are new to OS X. I'm not sure about college, but most high schools prep students to write essays in MLA/APA format (etc) using Office.
Students must also prepare word documents and power points that will be readable on their school's computers, and will find it much easier to finish what they began in class at home with the same program. Even when you save a Keynote presentation as a power point document, the translation to Windows PCs often doesn't work well since fonts, character sizes, slide transitions, and other formats are easily lost or totally messed up. I had to save my Keynotes presentation as a PDF for my senior project at the expense of my slide transitions (though not a big deal at all).
Even if you prefer the iWorks suite, it's nice to have the option especially if you're involved in a work environment that involves changing between Macs and PCs on a regular basis. It can be as simple as a matter of preference really.
Students must also prepare word documents and power points that will be readable on their school's computers, and will find it much easier to finish what they began in class at home with the same program. Even when you save a Keynote presentation as a power point document, the translation to Windows PCs often doesn't work well since fonts, character sizes, slide transitions, and other formats are easily lost or totally messed up. I had to save my Keynotes presentation as a PDF for my senior project at the expense of my slide transitions (though not a big deal at all).
Even if you prefer the iWorks suite, it's nice to have the option especially if you're involved in a work environment that involves changing between Macs and PCs on a regular basis. It can be as simple as a matter of preference really.
All I am getting from this is that Pages makes a viable alternative to coloured paper and crayons. People who work in business do a lot of mundane things in Word and Excel that iWork does not even pretend to tackle.
Presentations, whether on Keynote or Powerpoint, are by far the most dispensable part of any office suite and can be ignored. Pity, that Apple decided to spend most of its iWork development time on that.
I don't create presentations, so Keynote is of no use to me. After that all you're left with is Pages and Numbers and they aren't even close to being on the same level as Word and Excel in both market acceptance (important when you are sending files to other users) and features.
Outside of being cheaper there is really no appeal to iWork for me.
Outside of being cheaper there is really no appeal to iWork for me.
Analyse this!
I'm sorry but I personally think this is a stupid question. Does that mean it IS a stupid question? Not really, because that's subjective. The bottom line is that it's my emotionally-charged opinion, which summarises what I think about the question: it's the OP's emotionally-charged opinion.
After all, you say "We all know Microsoft Office is crap..." yet you concede that many of the people you know buy it. Therefore, we don't all know errr, think Microsoft Office is crap.
Have you tried applying for a job by sending a Pages document? How many accountants do you know crunch with Numbers? Have you ever tried to take FULL advantage of corporate email systems running on Exchange by using Apple Mail?
Before you ask why people buy Microsoft Office when "we all know it's crap", you should ask, "Why do people spend so much money on a Mac and then invest in VMWare Fusion or Parallels so they can run Windows?" The answer is simple: because of compatibility and the functionality it allows them! They buy Office for the same reason they buy any other software package: because they either need or want it! Simples.
Or, maybe your beef with Office is simply because it's a Microsoft product...
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I couldn't have said it better. As I said, I think it's a fundamentally stupid question driven by nothing more than Apple-lust. Sorry if that offends anyone but I can't see much else in the comment about Office being "crap" and iWork being some kind of holy grail.
We all know Microsoft Office is crap, especially PowerPoint. I have never seen how ugly my presentations are until I switched to iWork. However, I noticed that my colleagues buys Microsoft Office and some of my friends and family members. For some reason, I believe that Microsoft Office for Mac is selling better than iWork even if iWork is so much better. Now, why is that?
I'm sorry but I personally think this is a stupid question. Does that mean it IS a stupid question? Not really, because that's subjective. The bottom line is that it's my emotionally-charged opinion, which summarises what I think about the question: it's the OP's emotionally-charged opinion.
After all, you say "We all know Microsoft Office is crap..." yet you concede that many of the people you know buy it. Therefore, we don't all know errr, think Microsoft Office is crap.
Have you tried applying for a job by sending a Pages document? How many accountants do you know crunch with Numbers? Have you ever tried to take FULL advantage of corporate email systems running on Exchange by using Apple Mail?
Before you ask why people buy Microsoft Office when "we all know it's crap", you should ask, "Why do people spend so much money on a Mac and then invest in VMWare Fusion or Parallels so they can run Windows?" The answer is simple: because of compatibility and the functionality it allows them! They buy Office for the same reason they buy any other software package: because they either need or want it! Simples.
Or, maybe your beef with Office is simply because it's a Microsoft product...
----------
I couldn't have said it better. As I said, I think it's a fundamentally stupid question driven by nothing more than Apple-lust. Sorry if that offends anyone but I can't see much else in the comment about Office being "crap" and iWork being some kind of holy grail.
iwork vs Office
used word and excel version 1 on Mac back before they ran on PC's. great product used it later on pc's great for compatibility. Left corporate world. Could not justify cost of Excel/Word upgrades. used other products until iWork came along. Easy to use did all I wanted. used PDF to send out documents or export in office formats.
But Apple have now introduced Versions removed SAVE AS and changed the workflow in iWork making it difficult/impossible to use.
I have now moved on NeoOffice to get my job done.
Microsoft Office I do not like the layout and all the buttons at the top. not intuitive.
cheers elo
used word and excel version 1 on Mac back before they ran on PC's. great product used it later on pc's great for compatibility. Left corporate world. Could not justify cost of Excel/Word upgrades. used other products until iWork came along. Easy to use did all I wanted. used PDF to send out documents or export in office formats.
But Apple have now introduced Versions removed SAVE AS and changed the workflow in iWork making it difficult/impossible to use.
I have now moved on NeoOffice to get my job done.
Microsoft Office I do not like the layout and all the buttons at the top. not intuitive.
cheers elo
I use Office for Mac 2011 and I am really happy with it.
My job is partly rooted in scientific research and I have to write a lot of papers. Most of my supervisors and people in my institution use Office, the iWork suite is simply not good enough with regard to compatibility.
Furthermore Endnote blends seamlessly into Office. It is essential to keep my bibliographies organized.
On meetings and congresses it is easiest to show up with a Power Point presentation. It is less likely to cause any compatibility issues.
I was able to purchase Office for Mac 2011 for 69 Euros (approximately 85 Dollars), which is pretty much of a bargain. I don't use Outlook though, since I am really fond of Apple's own mail application.
Even though I am deeply rooted in the Apple environment, I don't hate everything Windows or Microsoft.
I really hope Office will be available on the iPad, I will be first in (the virtual) line.
My job is partly rooted in scientific research and I have to write a lot of papers. Most of my supervisors and people in my institution use Office, the iWork suite is simply not good enough with regard to compatibility.
Furthermore Endnote blends seamlessly into Office. It is essential to keep my bibliographies organized.
On meetings and congresses it is easiest to show up with a Power Point presentation. It is less likely to cause any compatibility issues.
I was able to purchase Office for Mac 2011 for 69 Euros (approximately 85 Dollars), which is pretty much of a bargain. I don't use Outlook though, since I am really fond of Apple's own mail application.
Even though I am deeply rooted in the Apple environment, I don't hate everything Windows or Microsoft.
I really hope Office will be available on the iPad, I will be first in (the virtual) line.