[interfx]

I am an new iMac 20" user (at least I ordered one today)...

Question, should I buy OfficeX ore just work with iWork? I use Office today on Windows PC - but mainly just MS Word, and soemtimes on PPoint... Never really use EXCEL.

Can I import into iWork easily? Is Office X coming with new version, or rumors heard no more updates? Is there a EXCEL type solution in iWork?

Any suggestions for a former MAC user as I come back to MAx OS 10.4?

Thanks -
Todd

[Goldfinger]

I would get Office. 100% compatibility with everybody else.

[typoon]

Originally Posted by interfx

I am an new iMac 20" user (at least I ordered one today)...

Question, should I buy OfficeX ore just work with iWork? I use Office today on Windows PC - but mainly just MS Word, and soemtimes on PPoint... Never really use EXCEL.

Can I import into iWork easily? Is Office X coming with new version, or rumors heard no more updates? Is there a EXCEL type solution in iWork?

Any suggestions for a former MAC user as I come back to MAx OS 10.4?

Thanks -
Todd

There is no excel type program in iWork. I would get office for compatability with everyone else. Also the MS works is that they stagger releases between Mac and Windows. This year there won't be a Mac version but the next year there will be and no windows version.

[eyadams]

I would go with iWork. Because even if it is 100% perfectly compatible (which I don't know if it is) I like the ability to tell my boss "sorry, I can't work on that from home 'cause I don't have Word." I like being able to keep my work life and home life separate.

[typoon]

Originally Posted by eyadams

I would go with iWork. Because even if it is 100% perfectly compatible (which I don't know if it is) I like the ability to tell my boss "sorry, I can't work on that from home 'cause I don't have Word." I like being able to keep my work life and home life separate.

Yes but if he needs Excel then he shoud just get Office. They don't make something like it yet for iWork.

[AuPhalanx]

I, too, vote for getting Office. Let's face facts, it's a standard and if you want to communicate with many people, whether with .docs or spreadsheets, then Office is a must. iWork is nice. I'm playing with the trial version that shipping with Tiger, but it really is no Office. Of course, Office has it's shortcomings, but all in all, it's a good group of programs. I use Word and excel daily. I think I opened PowerPoint once. I used to use Entourage, but now I am quite content with Mail. Word and Excel, though, are killer apps. If you need them, or even THINK that you'll need them, then I say get Office.

Have fun... Tony.

[chadseld]

If you don't want to spend too much money, you could use NeoOffice www.neooffice.org. I like to use iWork (Pages) as a page layout application, but it doesn't stand well as a word processor. For instance, it doesn't have an equation editor. I couldn't find any way to add cross references. Auto Table-Of-Contents options are limited. These areas are sure to improve in later versions.

[tooki]

Originally Posted by interfx

Can I import into iWork easily? Is Office X coming with new version, or rumors heard no more updates? Is there a EXCEL type solution in iWork?

1. iWork does not open Word/PPT files, it imports them. This distinction is important if you have to edit files and send them back to people.

2. Office v.X is the old version. The current version is Office:mac 2004, which is recent. Don't expect a major update for 2 years. Office is a cash cow for MS even on the Mac, so it's not going anywhere.

3. No, iWork has no spreadsheet whatsoever.

tooki

[kcmac]

I have both. I use iWork probably 70% of the time. Tooki is correct that it imports Word files. It also exports them.

If a Word doc is getting passed around using the track changes feature, then Word is the answer. I don't use Excel often but I can't imagine not having it when I need it. The mac version while not quite as snappy as the PC version, I find to be a little easier to use. But I'm a Mac guy.

We use pdf pretty heavily so really, for a lot of stuff it doesn't matter what you are using as long as you can make pdf's.

[driven]

Agreed with kcmac ... Excel *is* a tad bit less snappy, but it is far nicer to use than it's PC counterpart.
(From someone who has been using Excel since there was an OS/2 version!)

[slowspeed]

excel is definitely a better solution in a business environment where you share a lot of info with those "other" users, the only three things to remeber are;

- delete your excel preferences folder periodically as it helps reduce crashing (which can start to happen if you open and close a lot of work books daily)
- remember not to stuff using software the reciever might not have when emailing attachments
- if you use v-lookup function a lot (I do) you might want to consider using a specific tool for that as it can be pretty slow on OSX-compatable office (a friend of mine wrote a great one called 'abettervlookup' which you can get from versiontraker.com - you just have to have the worksheets in .tab form

I was a convertee not that long ago, and I have had no probs save the above - enjoy!

[Shades of Gray]

Originally Posted by driven

Agreed with kcmac ... Excel *is* a tad bit less snappy, but it is far nicer to use than it's PC counterpart.
(From someone who has been using Excel since there was an OS/2 version!)

Except that Excel on the Mac does not have Pivot Charts, Pivot Tables are limited, VBA is crippled in crucial ways, no ActiveX Controls, etc.

So, there are trade-offs. I use Xl 2002 (Win 2K on 2 GHz pentium) at work every day, and XL 2004 (OS X 10.3.9 on 1.25 GHZ eMac). Perhap not entirely fair comparison, but the Windows version is consderably snappier, especially with extensive data nd formulas.

[brettcamp]

If you're getting an iMac, it'll come with AppleWorks, which can open (or import, I guess) and save as Word or Excel files. It gets dogged around here a lot, but you should at least give it a try before buying anything from the world's biggest monopolist. I'd also try NeoOffice if AW doesn't suit your needs.