Word processing - Pages vs. Office

Just switched (back) to Apple after a long absence....for those who have done the same - whats the verdict - should I get office for the mac, or try the iwork package with pages? I mainly need it for word processing and powerpoint-like presentations (simple) - dont use spreadsheets much at all. Any advice will be appreciated!

I believe that it comes as a demo with every new Mac so you get a good chance of trying it out. I actually rather like it, though Pages takes a little while to get used to if you're expecting a Word clone. It can get great results but it works a bit different from your average word processor, it's a bit of a DTP/WP hybrid but good designs can be made.

That way you will be able to better judge if iWork (Pages and Keynote) will suit you or if Office is the way to go.

Vicky

Do you need absolute compatibility with MS Office or are you working in a mixed PC - Mac environment? If so, I'd say spring for Office.

If not, then iWork would be fine but as lil said, Pages does take some getting used to. It works sort of like a word processor and sort of like a page layout program but not enough like either to make it so simple to use.

I echo Schweb, if you must have absolute compatability with Word then pay for the Mac version. If it is just mostly non critical then go with Open Office V2, which will work just fine for most people. Very good compatability and gives you all the features you will probably need in word processing, graphics, database, spreadsheet, presentation, and it's free...

While Pages is a nice program it still needs some work to become an "Only word processor. I bought it, i like it, but i went back to Open Office for daily work...

Thanks to everyone for the input!

I like both, although I use them for different things. When I need to right a research paper it's all about Word, but when I am making some flyers, I prefer Pages. The two products work very differently, and I suggest searching reviews for each of them on Google.

I do believe however that Keynote is much better than PowerPoint. I haven't had the opportunity to make a presentation for school yet with Keynote, but I look forward to wowing everyone with the great things that it can do.

-Taylor

I'm not a big fan of Open Office. It looks fugly and doesn't at all look like a Mac program. On top of that it doesn't natively run on OSX and requires X11.

I don't see Open Office as a viable Mac solution until the Open Office group decides to actually start coding for the Mac.

schweb said:

It looks fugly

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We won't tolerate that kind of language here mister.

iWhat said:

We won't tolerate that kind of language here mister.

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How about it looks like the deformed child of an OS 2.0 and Windows 3.1 marriage with a bit of Bride of Frankenstein thrown in for good measure?

schweb said:

How about it looks like the deformed child of an OS 2.0 and Windows 3.1 marriage with a bit of Bride of Frankenstein thrown in for good measure?

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You used the same analogy describe my baby pictures; I thought you were complementing me.

Or maybe it's just the love child of a deceased IBM OS2 incestuous affair?

Just to prove how ugly it is...I'll attach an image. And I'd like someone to please tell me exactly how this looks at all like a slick Mac app?

schweb said:

I'm not a big fan of Open Office. It looks fugly and doesn't at all look like a Mac program. On top of that it doesn't natively run on OSX and requires X11.

I don't see Open Office as a viable Mac solution until the Open Office group decides to actually start coding for the Mac.

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That is why for poor people who can not afford Microsoft Office Mac I tell them NeoOffice as it least it runs as an OSX app without X11 and is a bit more integrated into the OS but still not as nice as a real OSX app, but it gets the job done for free. I really like iWorks but it does take a bit to get used to at first, but once you do it is quite a capable program. Schweb, what do you use? You probably already said but I am lazy!

dtravis7 said:

Schweb, what do you use? You probably already said but I am lazy!

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I mainly use MS Office 2004 and iWorks and switch between them depending on what I'm doing. I have Office for work stuff since I need complete compatibility. For design stuff or when I want to show of slick transitions I use Pages or Keynote.

For my personal stuff I mainly use Pages.

I agree, Pages is very nice for page setups like a newsletter or flyer, but I don't think it is all that great for everyday word processing, which is what most people do. It is lacking in that area, though i don't doubt that one day they will upgrade it to cover it's short commings. And when you compair the looks of Open Office to something like Pages, i would say pages comes up short looking like they forgot something.

I see your example of Open Office the old v.1.1, have you seen the latest version, version 2, it looks quite a bit different. They cleaned up some of the clutter of the early 1.1 and now have the database on the menus where they should have been long ago. A much improved program and they are working all the time improving it.

I too would rather use a native OS X version, rather than using X11, but they just aren't improving NeoOffice with any speed. And, i see no speed loss using X11 on my system, maybe some stressed out older systems might, but not on mine. Or maybe if i could type faster than 60 wpm i would see some lag.

But what ever, different strokes for different folks. The formost advantage of OpenOffice is very good compatability, easy to use and free. I will take that most times over those over priced buggy commerical programs that are always being pushed.

I agree. If you do not want to spend the money on Office for the Mac, Neo Office works great. I looked on apples website though, and iWorks does support words .doc file extension. :mac:

I believe TextEdit also supports .doc files.