Monday, April 04, 2005

iWork Pages

Apple has a new word processor called iWork Pages. The iWork is a new suite of products, sort of like iLife. So far, iWork consists of Pages and KeyNote. I think I heard that a spreadsheet program is in development.

I have Word on my Mac already, and it's a great word processor. But, as a software designer, I like to look at new Apple software products. They tend to be free of clutter and simple in design. Pages is no exception.

I've only used it so far for a couple of documents, but it's huge list of templates make it very attractive. Although it could be used for nearly anything, there is a definite push for education and personal document design. For example, some of the template names are Family Newsletter, Club Newsletter, Education Newsletter, and so-on. I think Word has always been considered a business word processor, that happens to be used at home too. I think Apple is looking at the consumer and education markets first, and business second.

Quite honestly, I don't really use documents anymore, with e-mail, blogs, and so-on. I'm a little bit surprised that Apple hasn't done a blogging software package yet. Anyway, Pages is pretty cool, and very simple to use. And it's a bargain at about $79 for both Pages and Keynote (otherwise known as iWork). If you've gotta Mac, and you don't think you really need Office, you might want to try iWork.

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