Replies to post #64271 on Apple Inc (AAPL)

[BlueDjinn]

Louis--nicely written! I just posted my own take in the comments:

As someone else noted earlier, when iWork was originally announced, Jobs specifically labelled it as “building a replacement for AppleWorks”.

To be a true replacement for AppleWorks, it would have to include:

1. Word-compatible word processor (Pages)
2. PowerPoint-compatible presentations (Keynote)
3. Excel-compatible spreadsheet (rumored “Numbers”)
4. Access (or FileMaker?) compatible spreadsheet
5. Drawing utility
6. Painting utility
7. BE BUNDLED WITH EVERY CONSUMER MAC, like AW was for over a decade.

We have #1 and 2; #3 is rumored to be on the way. #4 would likely be based on FileMaker, not Access (which is fine with me…Access sucks); #5&6 aren’t really vital (to me).

#7 is the key, and given the underwhelming sales of iWork so far (as far as we know), this sounds like a likely thing soon..

[WinLoseOrDraw]

Let us know what you think.

Keynote is great. Works better on powerpoint slides than Powerpoint itself.

Pages is a waste of time - without full Word compatibility - in both directions - it will have about as much chance of gaining traction as Zune has of gaining traction in an iPod world.