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iWorks will kill MS Office

D

Dave McK

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 27, 2010
2
0
iWorks will finally have the technology and the platform to jump ahead of Office in number of users. Microsoft simply doesn't have the technology to compete on this platform for probably 2 years. If this platform takes off (which it probably will - why buy a netbook when you can buy this for $500) like the ipod iWorks will sore in users at only $10 a piece vs. MS Office $$$$ costs.

That fact alone makes this a huge day for Apple. No need to worry about Office being available for Mac. People will become used to using and will prefer iWorks.

That and the user numbers 125million credit cards and 75 million ipod users familiar with finger gestures make this unbeatable for now.
 
No way. MS Office is used by 95% of computer users, including Mac users. iWorks on the iPad will be sexy, but even if I was going to get an iPad, I wouldn't buy iWorks, because the rest of the world is using Office, and my documents need to be able to work with the rest of the world.
 
OP is on something. Can I have some?

I like iWork. Keynote is vastly superior to Powerpoint. Numbers is easy to use. Pages, meh.

But Office has a number of features iWork lacks, not to mention Office has a truly gargantuan user base across the globe. I assure you, Office is here to stay for a decade, if not more.
 
Renegade89 said:
No way. MS Office is used by 95% of computer users, including Mac users. iWorks on the iPad will be sexy, but even if I was going to get an iPad, I wouldn't buy iWorks, because the rest of the world is using Office, and my documents need to be able to work with the rest of the world.
Click to expand...

iWork can save as Office formats. Keynote > ,pptx. Numbers > .xlsx. Pages > .docx. Unless you need Office specifically (formulas, macros, special templates, etc.) iWork is just better. I found myself writing all my essays in Pages, presentations in Keynote and some budgeting spreadsheets in Numbers. It's cheaper and easier to use. I hate PowerPoint because people cram in so much text it's not a presentation, it's a reading marathon.
 
Renegade89 said:
No way. MS Office is used by 95% of computer users, including Mac users. iWorks on the iPad will be sexy, but even if I was going to get an iPad, I wouldn't buy iWorks, because the rest of the world is using Office, and my documents need to be able to work with the rest of the world.
Click to expand...

Exactly, agree completely, and with Velin, too. I have a MBP (which I love) but iWorks - which I don't doubt is excellent - is not on it because everyone I work for/with uses Office, - in fact, my current work environment is Windows only - and, as Renegade89 put it, my documents need to be able to work with the rest of the world.

Cheers
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Exactly, agree completely, and with Velin, too. I have a MBP (which I love) but iWorks - which I don't doubt is excellent - is not on it because everyone I work for/with uses Office, - in fact, my current work environment is Windows only - and, as Renegade89 put it, my documents need to be able to work with the rest of the world. Cheers
Click to expand...

Well you should at least try iWork for Keynote alone, if you do presentations. If you do your own presentations, you'll never go back to Powerpoint if you start using Keynote.

Numbers is pretty good too, though it does lack some of the advanced calculation features of Excel.
 
iWorks numbers

Thats my point
iWorks is not only compatible with Office but now has an exclusive platform so mac users are forced to choose it if using the ipad.
Office has nothing advanced enough to be usable on ipad.
When ipad takes off so will iWorks then people will become accustomed to it as mac and ipad market share grows so will iWorks and Apple will be free of Office dependency
Of course this will take time but it is brilliant by Apple
 
Dave McK said:
Thats my point
iWorks is not only compatible with Office but now has an exclusive platform so mac users are forced to choose it if using the ipad.
Office has nothing advanced enough to be usable on ipad.
When ipad takes off so will iWorks then people will become accustomed to it as mac and ipad market share grows so will iWorks and Apple will be free of Office dependency
Of course this will take time but it is brilliant by Apple
Click to expand...

iPad users can choose from the other Office suites from DataViz or QuickOffice. Those apps are for the iPhone, which run on the iPad. I see your point and I think that Ballmer's epic fail of a tablet will probably be an iPad clone. No wonder he didn't announce anything about the HP slate, he was waiting for Apple to release theirs, and then run to the copy machine. :D
 
Dave McK said:
iWorks will finally have the technology and the platform to jump ahead of Office in number of users. Microsoft simply doesn't have the technology to compete on this platform for probably 2 years. If this platform takes off (which it probably will - why buy a netbook when you can buy this for $500) like the ipod iWorks will sore in users at only $10 a piece vs. MS Office $$$$ costs.

That fact alone makes this a huge day for Apple. No need to worry about Office being available for Mac. People will become used to using and will prefer iWorks.

That and the user numbers 125million credit cards and 75 million ipod users familiar with finger gestures make this unbeatable for now.
Click to expand...

Did you just read an Apple Corporation board meeting transcript? All I hear is you repeating talking points. And of course, referencing that sleazy credit card bit from the keynote.
 
Will I be able to print out my work from the iPad versions of Pages and Numbers????
Also, when I am using iPad and need to print out... say boarding passes, or movie tickets, etc, etc, can I do that with the iPad??
I browsed around last nite and didn't see any way to do that????

Thanks.

Frank
 
Yes, a lot of passion generated here - and it is barely 24 hrs (if that) after the launch!

I don't disagree with the OP. Most people aren't 'power users'. I have no need for even iWork, let alone a fully featured office suite. I don't mind OpenOffice (but hardly use it) simply because it costs nothing.

My documents - at work and at home - don't give a flying **** about having to work with the rest of the world. I am not sure this matters for 80% of people. IMHO!

I don't have an e-mail client anymore. I use Gmail exclusively. But I do use The GIMP, iMovie and FCE (for ONE feature that iMovie doesn't have!) so feature-rich applications have a place. It just depends.

MS Office is really like, say, FCS, Maya, Combustion or Da Vinci. Few people really need that kind of high powered software. It beats me why people not only convince themselves they need it, but keep upgrading and needlessly saving in new file formats each time.

EDIT: Printing might be done via Bluetooth or, if you have to, the USB attachment.
 
Renegade89 said:
No way. MS Office is used by 95% of computer users, including Mac users. iWorks on the iPad will be sexy, but even if I was going to get an iPad, I wouldn't buy iWorks, because the rest of the world is using Office, and my documents need to be able to work with the rest of the world.
Click to expand...

Ditto! I run Vista in a window on my MBP just because my MS Office 2008 for Mac is not completely compatible with MS Office 2007 which the rest of my group uses. So off I go, boot the VMware Fusion and jump into Office 2007 for compatibility purposes. iWork may be great, but the MS Office 2007 with OneNote, Visio, etc. are really great products.
 
Renegade89 said:
my documents need to be able to work with the rest of the world.
Click to expand...

Then I hope you're not using MS Office for Mac.

I had to change back over to a PC laptop for work because so many of my documents created in the mac version of MS Office were just not compatible, or displayed vastly different in the PC version of MS Office.
 
>>My documents - at work and at home - don't give a flying **** about having to work with the rest of the world. I am not sure this matters for 80% of people. IMHO!

I don't have an e-mail client anymore. I use Gmail exclusively. <<

Have you tried Google Docs?
I personally am not a huge fan. I use Office on my Mac, and PC at the office.

Frank
 
Renegade89 said:
No way. MS Office is used by 95% of computer users, including Mac users. ...
Click to expand...

I think there's a grain of truth in what the OP said. And here's my logic:

Suppose Apple fulfills orders and the iPad works as advertised right out of the box (big assumption, I know). Eventually (before the end of the year?), you'll see headlines here on MacRumors that a big corporation or two has put in a significant order for iPads because a segment of their work force doesn't really need a full-fledged laptop and the company wants to save money.

As this occurs, also assume that iWork becomes the de facto office suite for the iPad. (Another big assumption. Microsoft could just as easily create an MS Office for iPad.)

As time passes, I think you'll also hear that those corporations will be recreating their Excel spreadsheets and their Word documents so that they're *more* compatible with iWork. If you see a MacRumors post about Pages and Word or Excel and Numbers, it's usually about how the Apple product doesn't work with the MS product. The iPad could turn that around.

I can already sense the skepticism. Maybe it is kool-aid dripping from my lips. But it's based on spending a significant amount of time in Numbers and Excel, and while I don't think Numbers (in its current state) could replace Excel, it is far more robust than the Microsoft partisans are willing to admit.

mt
 
Dave McK said:
Thats my point
iWorks is not only compatible with Office but now has an exclusive platform so mac users are forced to choose it if using the ipad.
Office has nothing advanced enough to be usable on ipad.
When ipad takes off so will iWorks then people will become accustomed to it as mac and ipad market share grows so will iWorks and Apple will be free of Office dependency
Of course this will take time but it is brilliant by Apple
Click to expand...

I think you mean Office has nothing dumbed down enough for ipad. Alot of people who buy the iPad will own windows PCs at home. Is iWork that great that they will go out and swap out their Win PC for a MAC?

I think your living in a dream world if you think this will have a significant impact on Office. Just as you are devoted to Apple products, there are people out there that are just as devoted to MS Products. Sorry to burst your bubble.

In any regard, I intend to give all three products a try.
 
For anyone who is in the math and science world, MS Office beats iWork hands down when it comes to word processing and number crunching. I love my powerbook I've had for 5 years and will purchase another Apple computer in the near future (27" iMac). But when it comes to doing my engineering related work, iWork just doesn't cut it...period!
 
OP: I'm guessing no because they both serve different needs and different consumers. MS Office for Mac is more for people who want to use just MS Office while running OS X rather than Windows.
 
no way. Put down that crack pipe :p and start seeing things the way they truly are.

Office is way more useful then iwork is. Yeah apple has made inroads in improving iwork but not to the extent of unseating MS office. Excel has too many formulas and functions over numbers. Many of my excel spreadsheets fail to fully convert over to numbers. Pages doesn't have the flexibility of word. It has great page layout abilities but its not as flexible in producing a document then word.

It doesn't matter how much $$ Microsoft charges because people will buy it. The same argument is made about macs. They're more expensive and people think that will hurt sales because you can buy a cheaper alternative elsewhere but that hasn't occurred.
 
Let's face it. Computers are getting to be like TV's. In the old days a family had one. Now there is one/room.
We used to have one "family" computer, now we all have our main computer and many have accessory computers for other various functions. I think the iPad will fit in that category. Not meant to be your main computer. Not meant to crunch numbers via Excel, Numbers, or Open Office. Meant to be a very classy web book, reader, information provider, etc, etc. LOADS of fun, not everything to everyone.
It won't replace my MacBookPro.<G>
Frank
 
Yes. The OP is right. And MacPaint is going to kill Photoshop. Who needs all those fancy tools Adobe has?
 
I have office and iWork installed on my computer and iWork has a looooooong way to go to be even close to Office. I work in Finance and excel is way better than numbers when it gets down to real work, numbers probably has prettier templates but that doesnt really help most people who are using it for real work. Sorry dude iWork will never overtake Office in popularity, and if Microsoft develops a mobile version of office for the iPad then it's really over.... Apple might have to reject it at the app store in order to sell iWork.
 
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