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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Applications > I still use AppleWorks ..but.

I still use AppleWorks ..but.
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wetstuff
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Nov 4, 2009, 06:44 PM
 
I have used AW 'since time began' as a very simple way to make dumb stuff like packing slips, simple invoices and a library for things like Ebay listings. However, I suspect there will be a day when it simply will not come out to play.

Is there something as dead simple. I don't want no frickin' Word, or some authoring program you need a degree to use. This is work for a 6yr old - I want a program they could use. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Jim
     
ibook_steve
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Nov 4, 2009, 06:51 PM
 
Umm...Pages, part of iWork?

Steve
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reader50
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Nov 4, 2009, 07:05 PM
 
Sounds like you want word processing, database, and possibly spreadsheet. The options below are all free. The first two are open source and handle ODF.

OpenOffice - full suite
NeoOffice - full suite, more OSX-native
TextWrangler - word processor preferred by programmers
     
Spheric Harlot
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Nov 4, 2009, 07:08 PM
 
None of them are "dead-simple", though - and the first two are definitely even worse than Word, in terms of interface.

Pages, and Numbers - both part of iWork.
     
fisherKing
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Nov 4, 2009, 07:12 PM
 
another vote for iwork...
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
reader50
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Nov 4, 2009, 07:16 PM
 
Guys, money is precious, today more than ever. And the OP already owns AppleWorks. iWork is an extra $79 plus optional tax & ship. There is no discount to upgrade from another package, such as AW.

Very simple, yes. But closed-source, has trouble with ODF, and upgrades are likely to cost too. Paid solutions should be the last recommendation, if no free solution serves the need.

wetstuff, we need to know what AW modules you use in order to give better recommendations.
     
AKcrab
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Nov 4, 2009, 07:34 PM
 
Originally Posted by reader50 View Post
Guys, money is precious, today more than ever. And the OP already owns AppleWorks. iWork is an extra $79 plus optional tax & ship. There is no discount to upgrade from another package, such as AW.
The OP didn't mention anything about not wanting to pay. Where did this come from?

You are surprised that people on a forum dedicated to Macintosh are recommending an Apple product? (And a fairly cheap one at that..) As Spheric pointed out, none of the free stuff is "dead simple".

iWork + Bento covers most of what Appleworks did.
     
TETENAL
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Nov 4, 2009, 07:39 PM
 
Money is precious, but so is time. It's up to the original poster to decide which of it he has more to spare. Suggesting iWork is absolutely fine. It offers great value for the price.

Keep your pompous rebukes for yourself.
     
CharlesS
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Nov 4, 2009, 07:52 PM
 
When you have a thread where the OP asked for something easy enough for a 6 year old to use, and doesn’t want to use Word because it’s too complicated, that’s not the kind of thread where it makes sense to be an open-source fundamentalist.

Anyway, to answer your question: Apple iWork, hands down. It’s not free, but it’s a damn sight cheaper than Word is, and it’s about as simple as it gets. I’ve been using the older ’08 version for a while (after all, you don’t have to upgrade if the version you have works well for you), and am quite pleased with it. It’s missing a few things that Word/Excel have, but overall it’s a good suite of apps, it’s simple to use, and it’s made by Apple, so if you liked AppleWorks you’ll likely be very happy with it.
( Last edited by CharlesS; Nov 4, 2009 at 07:59 PM. )

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Andy8
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Nov 4, 2009, 07:57 PM
 
Why not try Bean?

Its a simple word processor and FREE.
     
CharlesS
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Nov 4, 2009, 08:14 PM
 
Bean seems to be a thin wrapper around NSTextView, just like TextEdit. It is a simple RTF editor and is not likely to have any layout features, nor a spreadsheet feature. The OP said he uses AW for packing slips and invoices, and Pages will definitely do those in a much nicer-looking manner with the templates that it has.

Ticking sound coming from a .pkg package? Don't let the .bom go off! Inspect it first with Pacifist. Macworld - five mice!
     
wetstuff  (op)
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Nov 5, 2009, 08:41 AM
 
.... sorry guys, I had to step out for a sleep. LIke CharlesS, I'm not concerned if I'm using last week's version of a program. My Dreamweaver is MX 2004... and the 'latest' v. of AW 6 is something like 2003. As much as I love my new Magic Mouse .. and alum. keyboard I bought off Ebay, I'll probably wait 'till AW crashes before I buy a new program. I know which one to get thanks to youall. Cheers.

Jim
     
OreoCookie
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Nov 5, 2009, 08:51 AM
 
How about Nisus Writer (Pro): it's a text editor with an equally long history and it's very simple if you want to keep it that way.
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angelmb
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Nov 5, 2009, 04:57 PM
 
Originally Posted by wetstuff View Post
I'm not concerned if I'm using last week's version of a program. My Dreamweaver is MX 2004... and the 'latest' v. of AW 6 is something like 2003.
A brand new, sealed retail copy of iWork '08 is under $30 on eBay.
     
wetstuff  (op)
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Nov 6, 2009, 09:37 AM
 
Angel.. After I read all this, I too went for a hunt for a backdated version. I sell a lot on Ebay, but am a tick suspect of certain items, like software .. so I went to Amazon and did just about the same thing. I am looking forward to moving into the new century.

Thanks again all.

Jim
     
angelmb
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Nov 6, 2009, 10:12 AM
 
Jim, thank you very much for the advice. Better safe than sorry
     
wetstuff  (op)
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Nov 10, 2009, 09:45 AM
 
Oh Boy... iW '08 is sure a helluva lot more elegant than my old app. It was only like $30 for a 'family' version on Amazon, and it registered OK. I am sure there are a couple more features in iW '09 or '10 .. but having gotten off a single-speed onto an 8-speed, I am not in need of a 12-speed at the moment. Thanks all.

Jim
     
lpkmckenna
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Nov 10, 2009, 10:06 PM
 
No one recommends Google Apps?
     
wetstuff  (op)
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Nov 11, 2009, 02:45 PM
 
... and I got a extra lap dance in the deal. iW '08 adopted the old files from AW as if they were her own. I'll be damned....

Jim
     
Oneota
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Nov 12, 2009, 12:02 AM
 
Originally Posted by CharlesS View Post
Bean seems to be a thin wrapper around NSTextView, just like TextEdit. It is a simple RTF editor and is not likely to have any layout features, nor a spreadsheet feature. The OP said he uses AW for packing slips and invoices, and Pages will definitely do those in a much nicer-looking manner with the templates that it has.
Not just "seems to be a thin wrapper" -- is a thin wrapper:

Originally Posted by "Origins of Bean" page
Still, Bean is just a wrapper for Apple's NSTextView object, which itself is a refined version of the text object NeXT developed more than ten years ago. Also, all document format conversion in Bean is handled by Cocoa. So all of the heavy-lifting in Bean programming-wise is done by OS X's Cocoa frameworks.
- from Origins of Bean
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gooser
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Nov 14, 2009, 07:22 AM
 
why not just keep using appleworks for as long as you can? when you first started using it iwork and pages wasn't even out there. who knows what will be available years down the road when appleworks no longer works. by the way, i still use appleworks but i actually like older computers and programs.
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wetstuff  (op)
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Nov 14, 2009, 11:45 AM
 
gooser: "why not just keep using appleworks for as long as you can?" ... I sorta did, yours' and mines' time frames may not be in sync .. that's all.

I had another shocker with 'Pages' yesterday .. I was doing an invoice ..real basic ... the sucker started to add for me. Woah!? Sh/t-ski: I did an invoice with about 25 things on it about a month ago and that would have been real handy.

gooser: I have a '68 Internationl Travelall. It's a waay cool ride for hauling kite kit to the beach, but I have not used it in a couple of years. It's a frickin' death trap. The guy in the KIA Rio would be walking over to me an saying; 'Dude you are Fuc'd up!' ...there is a time to move on.



Jim
     
Hal Itosis
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Nov 14, 2009, 07:22 PM
 
Originally Posted by gooser View Post
why not just keep using appleworks for as long as you can? when you first started using it iwork and pages wasn't even out there. who knows what will be available years down the road when appleworks no longer works. by the way, i still use appleworks but i actually like older computers and programs.
Unfortunately, AppleWorks doesn't grok Unicode, or take advantage of numerous Mac OSX technologies such as Quartz (graphics layer) or even Panther's Text Services.
-HI-
     
   
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