Others say...

"iWork"
This is an awesome program for those who are looking for a better presentation. Great software!

"Ease of iWorks"
I got this mostly for KeyNote. I haven't really done anything but play with it yet, but it looks like it will do a bang up job. I'm an old PageMaker user. Just now starting to work with InDesign, so pages isn't something that I will be using. But my wife uses it! This is a good thing. She dose a news letter for work. Before iWork I did most of the layout for her. But with Pages she now does the whole thing start to finish, and on my Mac on less. (she is a PC user)

"Perfect Apple"
iWork certainly has enough quirks to solicite criticism: Pages is terribly counterintuitive for a beginner, is not as powerful as Microsoft Word, and the suite lacks a spreadsheet program.

But, I suppose, having been manipulated by Microsoft for all our lives, Apple gets a break. The only reason Pages seems difficult to grasp at first is because we've been force fed Microsoft Word for fifteen years; we're used to seeing the layout a certain way, and that's what we're comfortable with. Apple changed all that with Pages, so there is a learning curve, even though Pages is much simpler to use than Word.

In any case, even if you intend to remain with Microsoft Word (the recent 2007 release being a new leap in programming, by the way) Apple's Keynote presentation software is more than enough to excuse the price tag. Keynote is elegant, easy to use, very powerful, and incredibly addictive.

As is true with all Microsoft software, using PowerPoint is an experience to be dreaded. Not only do you constantly fear of a frozen program but also bugs with which to contend. Now, instead of concentrating on the project, you must also try to remember to backup the information every five minutes, be careful not to hit the wrong keystrokes to solicite an angry, childish response from PowerPoint, and sweetly cajole your computer to remain cooperative until you can save again. And the experience is no less dreadful on a far more reliable Mac. The software just doesn't seem to communicate with the system. PowerPoint is like a spoiled child, constantly throwing tantrums and causing hell.

Keynote is like your neighbor's good son. You wish you could have given birth to such a wonderful child. Well...

Apple's presentation software is, as stated before, simple. No mucking about with it as in PowerPoint. The layout is very intuitive; the templates are shockingly more elegant than whatever PowerPoint gets shipped with; and the software comes with helpful utilities to maximize efficiency and productivity (as well as fun): from powerful calculation tables to shape-forming slide cutters to sticky notes that you can apply to invidual slides as reminders for further development, Keynote has it all to make presentation development a breeze.

iWork is typical Apple...perfect.

"A converted Apple user..."
I've been using Windows products for as long as I can remember, and only had a few complaints regarding its uses and capabilities. I recently went out on a limb, based on a friend's whole-hearted suggestion, and purchased a Macbook. After the initial day's growing pains, I fell in love with it. It included a 30-day trial of iWork as well as a Windows word processor. Not only was iWork more user-friendly, it ended up being cheaper to purchase. I'm completely satisfied with this product. My needs aren't great, but they're growing in terms of word-processing and presentation, and iWork fills that need very well.

"Excellent"
The fact that far more people use Powerpoint than Keynote is a travesty. Keynote is far superior is just about every aspect that I can think of. It is both easier to use and your can create much more impressive projects. It was extremely easy to learn how to make fairly sophisticated presentations. Keynote just has a WOW factor that cannot be denied.

The word processing program has some nice features, but seems to be kind of limited in its applications. For my uses, Microsoft Word still is far superior. However, the clear superiority of Keynote makes this product a must buy.