Apple iWork '05 Mac [Old Version] :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Useless - BUY SOMETHING ELSE!

2005-12-08
I bought iWork for one reason and one reason alone: so that I could read my vast number of appleworks 6 documents. Too bad Pages crashes trying to import about 50% of them. And no, there's nothing special about these documents, they're just text files. Apple has also not put out a bug fix update for this software in months, suggesting they're giving up on it. If you're looking for a word processor, there are a number of better options without having to resort to Microsoft products. I strongly recommend against purchasing this product.

The Best of a Sad Set of Choices

2005-11-04
Mac users have been abandoned by Adobe Framemaker. There are some unix-based page layout programs, some with Mac interfaces, but they are difficult to use compared to Framemaker. MS Word is hopelessly unstable on long documents. Framemaker still runs in Classic, but it's orphaned and Classic ends when we move to MacTel. If you are writing very long documents, your choices are few.

Pages is a good start and a decent partial substitute. It does a fair subset of Framemaker, and it is considerably easier to learn. I missing running headers - I REALLY miss running headers - and Pages does crash on occasion. But it handles long documents, has a nice implementation of styles, and comes with a terrific set of templates. For a version 1.0 product, it is very nice. (I strongly suspect that the Pages manual was written in Framemaker, not Pages.)

Keynote, which has been around a little longer, is a fine product. Properly used, the transitions can knock your audience's socks off. They leave Powerpoint in the dust. And Keynote is far more stable than it's MS cousin. The connectivity to iPhoto is also a plus. I use Keynote professionally and it has never let me down. I can't say the same about Powerpoint.

iWork admittedly needs a spreadsheet. A simple drawing program like OmniGraffle would be useful. But it is a terrific start. Recommended.

Pages Not Quite Publisher

2005-11-01
I bought iWork largely for Pages, which promised to be a good layout tool, and, I hoped, a Microsoft Publisher-like program. (Now, I am a Mac switcher, and not having a consumer-level layout program available for OSX is really a bummer.) It's fine if you like preset layouts and have a deep digital photo collection, but it is difficult to create your own layouts and work with them. I'll wait for Pages 2.0.

pissed off

2005-10-25
bought the program in good faith,cannot use the program because it will not accept the serial number that came with it. contacted apple and was given wrong info to correct the problem. still not able able to do the work i got it for ...please help :(

No Spreadsheet?!

2005-10-22
Give me a break. I can "work" with this application about as well as I can fly on a bicycle. When they have a spreadsheet this may be the real deal. Until then, positive reviews are really the cheerleading of biased MAC evangelicals. That said, the potential with OS X is huge if Apple can deliver the software with hard-core productivity apps.

iWork '05 Mac

2006-02-25
I have AppleWorks 6 and MS Office 2004 on my laptop, but I prefer to use iWorks. I just wish I had watited a few days longer and purchased iWorks 6 which seems to have a few new item I would like.

iWork

2006-02-24
I used iWork to create a sales catalog for my artwork. With the little time I had to get it ready, iWork Pages worked seamlessly with Photoshop to import photos. By using the templates, I was able to make amazing sheets. I could float and overlap images for a really professional look. Wish the template pages were more versatile. Had trouble with moving photos around due to placeholders. Will probably work this out when I have time to read directions. Made a video presentation that looped continually at my booth at a trade show with Keynote. It was easy to put together and the 3-D transitions really set it apart. I've used MS Publisher and thought Keynote was way more exciting, altho not as many templates maybe available.

installation sucks-- good program

2006-02-17
It took me awhile to get this program installed because it kept saying there was "nothing to install." After a search of the internet I found some websites that instructed me to trash everything on my computer that had to do with iwork, pages and keynote. EVERYTHING! and then empty the trash. Then it installed just fine.
I love the things you can do with this program and am looking forward to all the fun pages I can create.

iWork '05 Suite

2006-01-06
The iWork `05 Suite is a great, economic way to get a good word processing and a great presentation tool in one package. Pages, which is the word processing program, lets the user create from letters, to newsletters, resumes, cover letters, and much more. Even though the included templates focus more on newsletters, anything can be done with the program if none of the templates match what you need to do. I find the program very nice to work with and fairly easy to use. It feels fast and responsive as well. The interface is very light, with the most common tools and icons ready at the user's disposal with just one click away. While there are other word processing programs on the market much more advanced than Pages, this one breaks the trend and is very pleasing to use. I found myself using Pages more often than I did Microsoft Word for Mac. You can also export your Pages documents to a PDF file, a Word document, Rich Text, Plain Text and HTML. You can also create bulleted lists, insert tables, images and more in your Pages documents.

Keynote, on the other hand, is, in my opinion, a much more complete application than Pages. It feels like it has way more features. It is an application to create presentations, much like Microsoft PowerPoint. I've used PowerPoint in the past, but now that I've used Keynote, I find myself using Keynote much more often. The user interface is also easy to use, with the layouts very easy to pick and choose your own. There are also many effects that you can choose from, making your presentation much more eye-catching and interesting. Since it's integrated with iPhoto, iTunes and iMovie, you can quickly insert any pictures, video clips or audio into your presentation, with a quick click of the mouse button. No more browsing and searching; it's all easy to find under the "Media" button. You can also export your presentations to a PDF or a PowerPoint file to share with friends or co-workers.
The iWork `05 suite still is a fresh piece of software, with much more room for growth. For us out there who need no more than a word processor and an occasional presentation program, it makes a great buy.

You save money also comparing it to Microsoft Office for Students & Teachers, which you can only buy if you're one a student or teacher. iWork `05 still lacks a spreadsheets program. Many rumors are around that the next version of iWork will include such program and both Pages and Keynote will see a much better upgrade. These are, of course, as of this writing still rumors, and still questionable.
For now, this is a great buy for either the student on a budget, the home user or the pro.
Great package for anyone.

buy a mac just to use this program!

2005-12-21
This program makes me look like a genuis every time I make a presentation whether oral or written.

Pages
Pages can do anything MS word can do, and it is much more functional. It also can export and import word documents that are fully compatable with the MS word and, thus, MS office world.

Keynote
Keynote out does MS power point. It's the functionality and ease associated with mac that makes the difference. Your presentations are a little better than MS power point versions, and this higher quality takes a little less effort with keynote. Also, like word, you can move power point presentations via import and export functions.

I am not a programmer, but it seems to me that "anything MS word and MS power point can do, pages and keynote can do better." This includes such things as making (and exporting) MS word documents and power point presentations onto wintel (IBM/microsoft) machines!