Ted Landau's User Friendly View - iWork '08, AppleWorks...and the New iMacs || The Mac Observer

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Ted Landau's User Friendly View - iWork '08, AppleWorks...and the New iMacs

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August 24th, 2007

iWork '08 is out. The software suite consists of three applications: Pages (for word processing and page layout), Keynote (for presentations), and a new spreadsheet application called Numbers. The addition of a spreadsheet has led to an obvious question: How well does iWork stack up against the other major productivity package for the Mac: Microsoft Office?

It's an interesting question, but I am more intrigued by another one: How well does it stack up against AppleWorks? Yes, AppleWorks. I explored this topic once before, after the previous version of iWork was released. Here, I return to it again for an updated assessment.

AppleWorks (for those of you unfamiliar with this gem) is an integrated software package, originally called ClarisWorks, that was a spectacularly successful product for Apple back in the 1990s. With the advent of Mac OS X, Apple pretty much abandoned the software (although it's still available from the Apple Store for Education).

Its most recent and likely final upgrade was in 2003. If you run it in Tiger, it works—but it has a clunky feel reminiscent of taking a 1940s car out for a spin on today's Interstates. Yet I have continued to use it. Why? Because it still does a few things better than any alternative.

For one, I have used AppleWorks for spreadsheets. Yes, I could have used Excel, but I preferred the simplicity of AppleWorks for the mundane tasks I generally needed done. Second, I used its Draw module for creating simple layouts, such as for the landscape redesign of my backyard. My wife even prefers AppleWorks as a basic word processor, although I long ago gave it up for Microsoft Word. The major problem with continuing to use AppleWorks for any task is that its joints get creakier every year and those joints will never be repaired.

That's why, each time a new version of iWork comes out, I put it to the AppleWorks test: Is this the version of iWork that will finally let me retire AppleWorks for good?

The answer for iWork '08 is, at last: Yes.

Let's look at Pages first. My biggest objection to previous versions of Pages is that it was too much of a page layout program and not enough of a word processor. It was great if you were trying to create a newsletter. Not so great if you simply wanted to write an article.

Apple finally seems to have realized this and now offers two modes for Pages: Word Processing and Page Layout. In truth, the differences between the two modes are minimal. But they exist. For example, in word processing mode, the default is for typed text to be placed directly onto the document page. In Page Layout, text is entered into a separate text box, that can be moved around the page like any object. The overall effect is to create a more pleasant environment for using Pages as a text-oriented word processor.

An unexpected bonus is that Pages '08's word processor adds the ability to track editing changes. This is a critical feature for professional writing, where multiple people are likely to be editing a document and need to be able to quickly see the changes made by the other(s). Previously, Microsoft Word was just about the only Mac program that provided this feature.

Pages '08 is also an adequate substitute for the Draw module in AppleWorks. To use it this way, open a blank Page Layout document and choose from the Shapes options to place objects on a page. You can then manipulate the objects via the Graphic Inspector and the Arrange menu. Minor improvements make Pages '08 an even better draw program than the previous version. For example, by default, an inserted shape can be freely moved around the page. In the previous Pages version, the default was to have a shape inserted inline with the document text. One continuing significant omission: you can't layout pages horizontally (so as to accommodate objects that are wider than can fit on one page).

Numbers is clearly superior to the spreadsheet module in AppleWorks (and you can easily import your AppleWorks files to Numbers). It's especially well-suited for "page layout" style spreadsheets, using multiple charts and tables, as opposed to one simple row-and-column sheet. Professionals will still prefer Excel, but casual users will find Numbers less intimidating and easier to use. You can't embed a Numbers spreadsheet in a Pages word processing document, as you could do in AppleWorks. Instead, Pages has its own Tables component that should suffice for most requirements of this type.

As for the rest of iWork, it's easy to summarize. For page layout tasks and slide presentations, iWork always was and continues to be far superior to AppleWorks. AppleWorks does have database and paint modules, still missing in iWork.

These are of minor concern for me, and I suspect for most other users as well. If you want a database, such as for a recipe file or a CD catalog, you are better off getting one of the many excellent and low cost programs specialized for those tasks. For many database tasks, you can probably use Numbers. AppleWorks' Paint module is too primitive to care about losing it.

Bottom line: iWork '08 can handle almost all of the tasks that might otherwise lead you to hang on to AppleWorks. In almost every respect, it handles those tasks either as well or better (often much better) than AppleWorks. This is finally it. If you haven't already done so, the time has come to put AppleWorks in the dust bin.

A word about the new iMacs

The same day that Apple announced iWork '08, it also announced a new iMac line-up. The new iMacs are thinner, faster, and better looking than their predecessors. Aside from a reflective glass screen (which I have never much liked, despite its many advocates), the new machines have a lot to recommend them. As an upgrade from the previous iMacs, however, my overall reaction is to yawn. If you weren't about to purchase a new iMac anyway, there is little in these new machines to change your mind.

While watching the Special Event where Steve Jobs revealed the new iMacs, I had the impression that even Steve was less than excited. Certainly, there was none of the energy that he generated when talking about iPhone in keynotes at Macworld Expo or WWDC. Actually, although I may be misinterpreting body language here, it looked to me as if Steve was never running on all cylinders throughout the entire talk. I started to wonder if he might be ill.

The iMac situation reminds me of a recent visit to a department store, where I happened to pass the aisle displaying pocket calculators. I was surprised to see that Texas Instruments was still selling essentially the same calculators, even using the same model names in some cases, as were available 15 to 20 years ago. One can only assume that either there is no way to improve these calculators or there is no longer any incentive to do so. Either way, the calculator market is stagnant.

The same situation apparently exists now with desktop Macs. Either there are no dramatic improvements or exciting new features possible right now—or Apple is too busy with its iPods and iPhones to spend the time and energy needed to come up with any. I suspect it is some combination of both.

Ted Landau is the founder of MacFixit, and the author of Mac OS X Help Line, Tiger Edition and other Mac help books.

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Close Name:geoduck Posts: 1721 Joined: 30 Dec 2003
Fri Aug 24, 2007 11:02 am Subject:

I'm also very impressed with iWork: Pages is great, it looks vastly better than Word for page layout, I'd switch in a second. Numbers is interesting, my spreadsheet use is minimal so it should do for me, assuming I can unlearn my Excel habits.
But...
I'm waiting for the last two parts, the basic drawing module and a database. The latter especially is keeping me from making the jump.

BTW It was Appleworks on the Mac before it was ClarisWorks. Actually the name goes all the way back past the earliest days of the Mac to the Apple II days when AppleWorks was one of the first intigrated Office Suites. We used Appleworks to plan our wedding and send invites/thank you's on an Apple IIc in 1987

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View Name:Guest
Fri Aug 24, 2007 11:54 am Subject: Nice thing about new iMacs...

Close Name:looper Posts: 15 Joined: 21 Jan 2002
Fri Aug 24, 2007 12:48 pm Subject: Importing AppleWorks files? ... and glossy screens

You say that "you can easily import your AppleWorks files to Numbers" -- via export to .xls, .txt, .csv, etc., or directly? I had heard that iWork was not able to import AppleWorks files directly, from any AppleWorks format to any iWork program. I've got a lot of .cwk files lying around on my hard drives, though most of them are version 5 since I started using email more often than typing letters before version 6 came out... I guess I can just store those alongside my WordPerfect 3 documents, and continue to read them via SheepShaver, if AppleWorks quits working in a future version of OS X!

And I have to concur with you about the glossy screens. I am happy with my new MacBook, but we recently decided to replace our 2002-vintage Power Mac G4/933 with an iMac, and after looking at those vast glossy screens reflecting the overhead lights in the Apple Store we decided to get a refurbished instance of "last month's model" with the matte screen. I can relocate or reorient my 13" MacBook screen to get rid of glare, but that would be awfully difficult to do with a 24" behemoth sitting on a desk in a room with lots of windows.

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Close Name:geoduck Posts: 1721 Joined: 30 Dec 2003
Fri Aug 24, 2007 1:25 pm Subject:

Quote
looper wrote:
after looking at those vast glossy screens reflecting the overhead lights in the Apple Store we decided to get a refurbished instance of "last month's model" with the matte screen.

I wonder how long it will be before someone comes up with an aftermarket way to "matte" the glssy screens. A thin layer of matte plastic, a thin coated piece of glass, or something. Call it a screen protector. Just knock the glare down a bunch and I suspect it will sell like hotcakes.

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View Name:Guest
Fri Aug 24, 2007 1:40 pm Subject: Touch Screens Will Be the Next Mac Breakthrough

View Name:Guest
Fri Aug 24, 2007 2:33 pm Subject: Looper, Numbers imports .CWK directly

Close Name:Sir Harry Flashman Posts: 627 Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Fri Aug 24, 2007 2:34 pm Subject: iTouchScreens and iWork

Quote
Guest wrote:
Don't you think? The touch interface is our next step up-obviously Apple is working on this, and though Surface is a 'bigass table,' it's pretty similar to Microsoft's other rushed to market me too products; surely they are working something more usable too. Recycling issues aside, the glass cover on the screen is better for a touch based interface. Mark my words: this is what we'll all be using in ten years. The displays will be next, and more and more of this technology will be integrated into OS X. Just you watch.

I was thinking the same thing. Not as a total replacement for keyboard and mouse input or input devices, but as an option. Kid games, finger painting programs, kiosks, that sort of thing where you need easily clean the monitor surface.

The only thing I would need iWork is for Keynote. I do page layout and use InDesign a lot, for a short note or letter I use TextEdit. I will probably buy iWork and maybe get away from Excel. I have and use Excel as part of Office, but I not for crunching big spreadsheets. I never use Word for creating stuff; only to open a doc sent by a client and clean out the Word turds before putting the copy into InDesign.

I am using FileMaker as a data base, but a couple of versions behind the latest. I would love to see a FileMaker lite as part of iWork.

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View Name:Guest
Fri Aug 24, 2007 6:46 pm Subject: Not ready to say goodbye to AppleWorks

View Name:Guest
Fri Aug 24, 2007 8:20 pm Subject: Appleworks is essential for my business

For the past 21 years I have operated, as a "one man shop" a school fundraising company. I run my business on AppleWorks and Quickbooks... period... oh yes.. with PowerMail for email. Most of my business work on AppleWorks is in the database. For example, I do the parent letters in the draw module, using text effects from Aldus TypeTwister 1.0. And, I'm doing this on a Twin 2.3 ghz G5 running 10.4.10. (And... my kid works for Apple as a tech.)
NOWHERE else can you do a database with over 100 layouts, some of which have auto-updating spreadsheets in the layout. NOWHERE else can you mail merge into a word processing document with a spreadsheet embedded in it, and mailmerge INTO THE SPREADSHEET and have it autocalculate for each record you merge into it. Not even Filemaker can do that.
The idea of having Filemaker Lite as a part of iWork is a great idea. Then you essentially have a new AppleWorks, because the database in AppleWorks is based on Filemaker.
Can you use Numbers in iWork as a flat file database (or even a bunch of them as relational)? Can you mailmerge into the word processor out of the spreadsheet in iWork? Can you embed a spreadsheet into a page layout document in iWork and then mailmerge into that spreadsheet from another spreadsheet?
Then there's the issue of over 100 layouts in my room grouping file, which contains room counts for over 2000 classrooms in about 70 schools, so we can count out packets and have them ready to hand out to the teachers in the school. Can ANYTHING import the layouts? NO. I can import the data into Filemaker, but would have to RECONSTRUCT EVERY LAYOUT.

AppleWorks does all that and more in my business each and every day.
I started with an Apple //e and two 5.25 floppy drives with AppleWriter and Multiplan back 25 years ago, and by the time I left teaching and opened my company I had moved up to AppleWorks for the //e, still using the two floppy drives. I was used to writing stuff in Basic, so would have gone to a DOS PC if there had been a way to port all my files to one, but there wasn't, so I went to a Mac LC and ClarisWorks. We now have 5 macs here... a blue/white G3, the twin 2.3 G5, a PowerBook G4, an iBook G4, and an Intel iMac... all wirelessly networked into WildBlue internet, and all running AppleWorks.

The open source community needs to do something to replace AppleWorks and to allow the thousands if not millions of people who depend on the AppleWorks database every day a way to port their files to something that will remain viable for the forseeable future.

This move by Apple was about as stupid as some of the Performa computers they sold in Sears.

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View Name:Guest
Sat Aug 25, 2007 2:03 am Subject: New & Old 24" iMacs compared

Close Name:tedlandau Posts: 39 Joined: 18 Jul 2005
Sat Aug 25, 2007 1:00 pm Subject: Re: Appleworks is essential for my business

There is no doubt that if you are heavily invested in the database module of AppleWorks, and use custom layouts etc., iWork '08 is not an adequate substitute. My contention was that such people are a small minority of AppleWorks users. But if you are in that minority, it is not yet time to toss AppleWorks. Still, it pays to start looking down the road -- as I suspect the day will come when AppleWorks will no longer even run in Mac OS X.

BTW, you can mail merge from Address Book to Pages documents.

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View Name:Guest
Sat Aug 25, 2007 7:38 pm Subject: Thanks

Close Name:Neil Anderson Posts: 13 Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Sat Aug 25, 2007 9:03 pm Subject: Waiting impatiently

For FedEx to deliver my 24-inch iMac. Mixed emotions to the glossy screen. No windows behind me, so maybe there won't be glare.

Cheers, Neil Anderson
http://www.cyclelogicpress.com

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View Name:Guest
Sat Aug 25, 2007 9:19 pm Subject: No AppleWorks Import!

View Name:Guest
Sun Aug 26, 2007 1:15 pm Subject: iWork 08

Close Name:bb-15 Posts: 17 Joined: 21 Aug 2007
Mon Aug 27, 2007 7:49 pm Subject: I still need AppleWorks

Thanks for the article. This is very good information. I have recently upgraded an older G4 tower to OS X and I'm upgrading the software. I can also no longer print out of OS9/Classic since I have a new HP networked printer, C6180.

I have many ClarisWorks 5 documents and I tried importing one to Word and it was painful. It isn't a question of whether I need a new office suite, I have MS Office 2004. It's about what will be the easiest way to allow me to access my ClarisWorks documents. AppleWorks seems to be the answer.

I called my local Apple Store and they are still selling it. So, I'm picking up a copy.

BB

PS. I got AppleWorks and have it installed on my Mac. It works great! No problem opening up my ClarisWorks documents. Maybe it's just me but I still think this is a great program.

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Close Name:wmiro Posts: 2 Joined: 20 Mar 2003
Tue Aug 28, 2007 7:11 pm Subject: ClarisWorks "record macro" still missing

In ClarisWorks for pre-OSX Macs, you could record an action (a macro), create an icon, place that icon in the Button Bar, and Voila! tons of time saved. MS Word's implemention is clumsy, making you dig through submenus to access your macro, and Appleworks for OSX killed it.
To me that was the best feature. Plus AW was great at page layout too.

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Close Name:farmboy Posts: 16 Joined: 05 Feb 2002
Thu Aug 30, 2007 4:10 pm Subject: Glossy screen is NOT AN ISSUE

I got a 24" iMac two weeks ago. It sits on a desk at an angle 3 feet from a large window, and under fluorescent lights. Believe me, the reflections are NOT AN ISSUE. The display is uncommonly bright, the processor is r-a-p-id, and I really would get another one in an instant if I need it here at work.

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View Name:Guest
Fri Oct 26, 2007 3:05 am Subject: AppleWorks paint

View Name:Guest
Sun Nov 11, 2007 9:11 pm Subject: There Are Anti-Glare Monitors Films Available...

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