How much longer will Appleworks live?

I tend not to use AppleWorks as much as I used to. NeoOffice gives me a slightly more logical spreadsheet capability. But, as I inherited an old, large AppleWorks database, I still use it pretty consistently. And the database, for free--with the purchase of a Mac, is really an excellent feature, one that doesn't seem to be part of any hypothetical iApp, particularly if it is based on the MSOffice suite.

When I read this entry I was like "Wait wait - I have WHAT?!" (brings up quicksilver and types 'applew') "HOLY COW I HAVE THAT?! SWEET!" Thanks for the heads up. wonder what else i have on here

Pages as commented is not a word processor but a great little DTP which still needs a bit of work on it. As for Appleworks well the word processor is adequate but I tried to print some Avery labels with it and I felt like I had to enroll at college to understand the help. Anyway it didn't have the template for it but MS word on the mac did! We can moan all we want but the MS Office for the Mac is great and will be very hard to beat (remember it's put together by mac people) iWork is a 30 day trial and it's worth the money in my book. Anyway if you want a free word processor that simple and adequte to use the Abiword does the job, which is something those in education should be looking at if the MS licence fees get too much.

I use AppleWorks everyday. It is old and outdated, but word is too complicated and over featured for what I do. I seem to remember a rumor about Memo. What I would like to see is a simple to use entry program ie iMemo which auto posts to the programs that have formatting. Memo ( Write, enter, sketch ) Page Keynote Numbers Art MySql A version of MySql or other open source scalable database that would work with what exists.

Just open source it. It really bugs me that companies sit on products with no commercial viability that might find some use if it were opened up. Same goes for WordPerfect. The investor's group that bought up WordPerfect seriously needs to open that baby up and then live off the licensing and support contracts they could sell to the legal firms that still prefer WordPerfect to Word.

Jabber Wonk ended with 'C'mon, Apple. Give us a spreadsheet that the influential financial analysts clamor to use and hit Microsoft where it hurts.' Does anyone remember Claris Resolve, the Apple spreadsheet based on the Wingz engine, which came out round about System 7?? I think Apple did try in the past (to offer an Excel alternative) but were not very successful. Sayling (letting his grey hair show...)

I still use AppleWorks myself...it does everything I need, but I see it going away once iWork is a complete suite of apps (still missing the spreadsheet and database...maybe FileMaker Lite and Numbers?).

regarding:
"Think different (sic)"

That is not incorrect any more than "think pink" or "think thin" are.

Pages is not a word processor? Maybe . . . in the same way that Michelangelo was not a sculptor. Poo-pooing spreadsheets? Visicalc (particularly, Visicalc running on an Apple ][) was what originally lit the fuse. It's what tipped "microcomputers" from being regarded as gadgets into something that businesses HAD to have. Apple strayed. Winning the hearts of those with nose rings, it shunned those who control the purse strings. Oh sure, you could get Microsoft Office for the Mac. Isn't that a thrilling proposition? "Think different (sic)--pay a lot more and you, too, can *almost* be just like everyone else!" Evidently the corporate world was able to resist the offer. I know it makes some people squeamish when you say these sorts of things, but it seems to me that business is mostly about making money. Oh yeah, world peace, too. But no matter what, if you don't make money then you don't get to play like you're in business for long. It follows logically that people in control of the corporate purse strings like to spend their time making plans about how they can make more money. And if you're going to do any serious financial planning, then an able spreadsheet can come in mighty handy. Sadly, the spreadsheed module of AppleWorks is no worthy challenger for Excel. I hasten to add that it doesn't suck. Some aspects of it are quite clever and the people that have sweated over it deserve high praise. However, every minute I've spent using the AppleWorks spreadsheet was a minute spent wishing it were better than it is. Something tells me that His Steveness doesn't use the AppleWorks spreadsheet when he chart's the course for Apple's future. But just you wait. When and if "Numbers" becomes real--and if it has the same finesse that Pages has--then you'll know that Apple means business. I'm hoping the day is drawing nigh. I'm getting all a-twitter about Apple's prospects. From my perspective, Apple's elegant software is the *real* customer bait. At the end of the day it's more about what you get done than how you look doing it. (The advertising industry may be an exception.) I could do Adobe stuff all day long on my PC. However, Google, Yahoo! and almost every other software maker in the galaxy treat Mac users like the proverbial red-headed step-computer. (Don't agree? Hey, you try explaining to your daughter that being able to apply a Eye Candy filter a few seconds faster than a Windows computer is a happier circumstance than having to wait six months before she can play a hot sims game. Rather, what *used to be* a hot sims game.) Is it any wonder that the sheeple didn't want to "think different"? So why switch? What has the power to make the (huge) throng out there that can't even spell megabite want to "think different"? Being different may not be so scary if being different means I get the power to do better things. Sure, our vanity makes us want to be more stylish. But what we really hope a computer will do is make us better at what we do. Software is key to doing things better. "Better" is better than "different". Bodacious Apple software is what cinched the deal for me. iWork, iLife, Final Cut Pro . . . (more to come?) . . . gave me the ability to do things better with less hassle. Pages makes it easy for me to produce better proposals. Keynote makes it easy to make better presentations. When Apple throws down for spreadsheets and databases, then get ready for a market shift. Businesses owners hate virii even worse than slashdotters. C'mon, Apple. Give us a spreadsheet that the influential financial analysts clamor to use and hit Microsoft where it hurts.

I have been running with the assumption that schools (at least at the elementary level) are big-time user of AppleWorks; and for myself, I have found it to be extremely valuable for rough drawings until my current employer was able to provide me with a license to Illustrator. This is the deal-killer for me -- if Adobe (or Apple) can provide me with a CHEAP drawing utility that can handle vector images (including EPS... ARE YOU LISTENING, MICROSOFT?), I will easily be enraptured. Adobe has 'Photoshop Elements'; where is 'Illustrator Elements'? Until then, I hope AppleWorks sticks around for us low-budget folks. (BTW, three cheers for GraphicConverter on all most all these counts...)