Is Pages really as bad as the reviewers say?

[AussieJim]

Hi folks,
I'm new to Mac having only recently bought my first iMac, although I have had an iPad 2 for a couple of years. I have been using Pages on the iPad without any major concerns even since I had the device, but now that I have the iMac I want to purchase Pages for that machine as well.

However, I have been put off by the reviews at the App Store which are almost all scathing about the current version of the product.

Is Pages really as bad as these reviewers say? Would I be wasting my money buying the full version?

Interested in feedback and opinions.

Thanks

 

[chas_m]

No, you are not. People are mostly idiots, and hate change -- even when it is ultimately better in the end. Please see previous wailing and gnashing of teeth over: Final Cut X, iMovie 07, Lion's dropping of PPC support, Snow Leopard, iWork over AppleWorks, and indeed OS X itself (and a hundred other examples).

 

[AussieJim]

No, you are not. People are mostly idiots, and hate change -- even when it is ultimately better in the end. Please see previous wailing and gnashing of teeth over: Final Cut X, iMovie 07, Lion's dropping of PPC support, Snow Leopard, iWork over AppleWorks, and indeed OS X itself (and a hundred other examples).

Thanks Chas,
I kinda figured the product couldn't be *that* bad considering how well it works on my iPad, but just thought I'd double check. I've been a Windows/PC user since the days of Windows 3.1, so I am definitely arriving late to Macs, but I'm loving my new 'baby'.

Jim

 

[chas_m]

A short version of what happened to engender these reviews: when Apple develops a program, they tend to develop it very actively for a while, and then it gets to the point where its bloated or too complicated or is clashing with a pro-level app or whatever. Apple then sets fire to the app and reinvents it from scratch to be (ultimately) much better, but in the first stages a lot of features that were in the previous version are stripped out (to be returned for the most part later).

The entitled people (you know the type), who haven't noticed that Apple didn't overwrite their beloved old version (which they were also complaining about a week earlier), begin wailing and moaning about how fabulous the old version was and how awful the new version is. Fast-forward a two to five years, and watch the cycle repeat.

 

[AussieJim]

LOL. I always try to remember the phrase: Constant change is here to stay. And so it should be, otherwise I and millions of others would still be working with Win3.1, and that doesn't bare thinking about!

 

[chscag]

@AussieJim:

Make sure you read reviews other than from the App store. And don't believe everything you read here from folks who think Apple can do no wrong. The folks who wrote those reviews that you read at the Mac App Store are not fools although some of them are obviously dissatisfied with Pages.

Keep in mind that there are alternatives to Pages: LibreOffice (free), OpenOffice (free). If you have a new Mac or a new Apple mobile device, then you can get the latest iWork apps or iOS versions for free (Pages, Numbers, Keynote).

 

[sabrina89]

It's good

I don't think so. I recently switched from a Windows PC to Mac and I'm enjoying Pages. I honestly do not miss Microsoft Office for Windows.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

@AussieJim:

Make sure you read reviews other than from the App store. And don't believe everything you read here from folks who think Apple can do no wrong.

Amen to that!

Read those reviews with an open but skeptical mind. A lot of complaints can be unfounded, but wade through it and look for coherent feedback that detail why they don't like Pages (or why they DO like it), then assess from your own standpoint and needs if the things that bother them will be deal-killers for you.

 

[MacInWin]

It also depends on what you want to do with Pages. Simple word processing works great. If you want multi-chapter, multi-format, multi-editor, exotic page sets, etc., then the current incantation of Pages isn't going to work for you. But for 95% of us who just want to write out a simple page, letter, whatever, it's fine.

 

[chscag]

I agree with Jake. I have and use Pages occasionally for simple word processing, and since it was free when I purchased my iMac, why not use it. But for most of my work which involves a more in depth employment of word processing, I use Mac Word 2011.

I just want to stress the point that because reviews from the App store do not necessarily agree with your opinion(s) or defense of Apple whatever, that's no reason to label them as "idiots and that they hate change".

 

[dtravis7]

Bloated? Pages was NEVER bloated! Everything there was needed and wanted by many.

 

[vansmith]

No, you are not. People are mostly idiots, and hate change -- even when it is ultimately better in the end.

You make it sound as if every change Apple makes is for the best. You're not actually saying that though are you?

The entitled people (you know the type), who haven't noticed that Apple didn't overwrite their beloved old version (which they were also complaining about a week earlier), begin wailing and moaning about how fabulous the old version was and how awful the new version is. Fast-forward a two to five years, and watch the cycle repeat.

Just because someone is critical doesn't make them entitled. You'd have to be holding a really broad paintbrush in your hand to make that claim. Because really, there are many legitimate critiques of Apple's software offerings (here's two).

 

[AussieJim]

Thanks for all the comments and feedback. I should have explained that my iMac was bought second hand and didn't have the standard apps like Pages and Numbers installed, which is why I had to buy Pages separately. Today I downloaded the app, and immediately began transferring Pages files from my iPad to my iMac. Everything has been going smoothly and I am not anticipating any major issues.

Thanks again for responding.
Jim

 

[chas_m]

I just want to stress the point that because reviews from the App store do not necessarily agree with your opinion(s) or defense of Apple whatever, that's no reason to label them as "idiots and that they hate change".

I was referring to users generally, not just those I may (or may not) disagree with.

Nowhere in my posts in this thread did I say or imply that Pages is perfect and the best tool out there.

I was asked if it was as bad as the reviews say. It isn't, and that's how I replied. As people on this forum should well know by now (but apparently forget sometimes), roughly 80 percent of the issues we see here (and on other Internet sites) are user-caused or user-exacerbated. That's not the same thing as saying any program is flawless.

You make it sound as if every change Apple makes is for the best. You're not actually saying that though are you?

Apparently you didn't read my second post, or the first one. In both I said "ultimately" better, which implies that they are often NOT better for a while, but yes -- Mac OS X was, after an awkward period, better than OS 9. Intel chips, after a fairly smooth transition, turned out to have WAAAAY more of a future than PowerPC chips. iWork (all versions) is superior to AppleWorks in all the comparable areas. iMovie '11 is far superior to iMovie HD. Final Cut X is the standard of the industry after a year of wailing and moaning. And so on, and so on, and so on, there are plenty more examples.

Apple takes risks, and sometimes those risks don't work out (plenty of examples of that, as well). But just like the stock price, the line of Apple's progress is more or less continuously upward. In addition to my opinion on this, numerous other factors -- popularity, sales, adoption of newer versions and so on -- support this conclusion with facts.

Just because someone is critical doesn't make them entitled.

Very true. Good thing I didn't say that then, isn't it. I said (quoting) "The entitled people (you know the type), who haven't noticed that Apple didn't overwrite their beloved old version ..." which -- pretty clearly -- suggests a subset (actually, two subsets) of "all people who are critical of the latest version of iWork." Sorry if I didn't spell that out enough for you, but I can't write to cover every possible misinterpretation.

 

[chscag]

I was referring to users generally, not just those I may (or may not) disagree with.

That makes your statement about "idiots and hating change" even worse because that widens the field of those whom you're referring to.

Nowhere in my posts in this thread did I say or imply that Pages is perfect and the best tool out there.

Really? Maybe we got that idea from your past posts in defense of everything Apple.

 

[MacInWin]

Now, now, boys, play nice. Don't make me come out there and sort it out...

 

[Lifeisabeach]

You know chas, if you have to go to that great of a length to clarify who you are insulting and why (and by "clarify", you actually muddied things because I can't even follow that garble), then maybe you need to step back and re-consider your entire delivery. I mean geezus man, even at my crankiest, I don't believe I've ever been as condescending as you are to anyone who dares question the Doctrine of Apple.

 

[harryb2448]

Please guys this is a friendly forum.

AussieJim I am in the minority and do not like Pages. When running a Bulletin type magazine very hard to use and a fan of Microsoft Office.

 

[chscag]

Thanks for the "encouragement" Jake and Harry, but I think the Staff has a handle on this thread.