Since upgrading to OS 10.5 Leopard on my MacBook Pro, I’ve had massive problems with Microsoft Office 2004. Random shutdowns, freezes, slowdowns, and other quirky behavior happen daily. Excel even decides it just doesn’t want me to be able to type in any cells in the active sheet. Talk about getting old and grumpy…
I looked around the web and noticed this was a common occurrence for folks who upgraded. Apparently Leopard just does not like the long outdated Office 2004 software. Sounds like the perfect time to try and make the switch to Apple’s iLife 08 suite that includes Pages (word), Numbers (excel), and Keynote (powerpoint). But my boss pointed out that Office 2008 would hit the shelves on January 15, and it should be much better. Well, that’s great except for the fact that the full version is $399.95 and the upgrade is $239.95. iWork 08 is $79.00.
I had already purchased iLife 08, and it came with a trial version of iWork 08. So I installed it and started using it during my regular work day. For one week I opened all word and excel documents in Pages and Numbers. I exported to word and excel formats before sending to others – internal staff and customers. So far I’ve not received one complaint or run into one issue. Sure the import will ask you to review a few small things such as border replacements from time to time, but that doesn’t really matter to me. I can also see where Numbers doesn’t have as many features as Excel, but that doesn’t affect me either. I don’t use Excel for monumental spreadsheets containing massive calculations and operations. I use it for invoicing and information organization. I haven’t had a reason to use Keynote yet although I’m told it dwarfs Powerpoint. I’m sure I’ll have to make a presentation at some point so I’m glad I have it.
The best thing is the iWork applications are fast and seamless. I feel like it’s what I should be using on my mac because they simply fit in. I’m not saying it’s for everyone, but if you need great word processor and spreadsheet applications that keep it simple and help you work efficiently then go get it.
