iWork or MS Office

Hi All

I need some advice from someone who is NOT an Apple fanboy regarding which software to go with.

I'm new to owning Macs and not entirely sure if I should go with iWork or MS Office. My intuition is iWork since its designed for and by Mac and compatible with Office. On the other hand, I'm most familiar with Office and would prefer to stick with that. I know iWork is cheaper, but money isn't really an issue since I'm willing to pay for the software package that makes the most sense.

What say you techies?

I use a Imac at home.

Whenever I create files at work (Windows) and then open them at home, the tabs and other settings get screwed up in my .doc and .docx documents.

So, even though the Mac version of MS Office says it is compatible with the windows version, it seems to still have glitches.

...but I love my Mac.
It never crashes.

If you don't to get email off of a Microsoft Exchange server, I would say go with the Office 2008 Home and Student edition. It goes for about $120 or so.

Office 2008 is more expensive that iWork, but as you mentioned, you're probably more familiar with it than iWork. You wouldn't have to worry about any compatibility issues.

Why don't you download the 30 day free trial of Office and try it out

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx

Check out OpenOffice for Mac at http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/.

It is free and compatible with MS Office.

Thanks! I'll look into both and see which one I like.

Subject: Office V. Iwork

Hi:

Because of the work I do, I use both platforms pc/mac. Here's the truth. If you are a PC person, Office for Mac, is much better suited. You will also be able to share information with 90% of the world without any converting. You also know all the commands. The only drawback is that new Mac's come with Iwork while Office is an extra expense.

Mike

I am something of an Apple fanboy, but I've used Microsoft Office for Mac for many years. Compatibility with PC users is very important to me... I need to know that they'll be able to open and read what I write in Word, and that I'll be able to open and read what they write.

In the soon to be released Office for Mac 2011, Microsoft has promised even greater compatibility, and has even announced that Outlook will be included in the suite for the first time ever.

Open office works for me between pc at work and at home. Love. And I got it for freeeeeeee!

Unless you are using very specific features within office, i think iWork might be a good fit for you. That being said, I use MS Office on my mac, and have been very happy with its compatibility.
Many of my friends say they're happy users of Open Office though...

I downloaded open office. I'll use it for a while and then try the trial version of MS Office.