Wow, my article on the death
of AppleWorks resulted in a lot of email. Lots of people agree
that AppleWorks remains a very useful program - one even prefers it
to Pages and Microsoft Word.
One reader reports that Pages and Numbers does import AppleWorks
word processing and spreadsheet files. Good news!
We've also heard from Bob Hearn, one of the authors of
ClarisWorks, and we've learned that Microsoft Works didn't create
the "Works" class of software - AppleWorks for the Apple II did.
Ah, that old Apple innovation!
One writer suggests that Apple should make "obsolete" programs
like AppleWorks and Claris Home Page open source, allowing them to
be updated and improved by the user community. Great idea! - Tip Jar
AppleWorks Beats Word and Pages
Steve Wood, who wrote View
from the Classroom for Low End Mac in 1999 and 2000 (it later
moved to his own MathDittos2
site), writes:
Hi Dan,
Saw your column on AppleWorks and iWork. I lined up with the
lemmings and bought family packs of both iLife and iWorks, but I
really haven't done much more than install them.
I still use AppleWorks when I get to something I just can't get
right in Word. We're supposedly an all PC shop here at Rose-Hulman,
but I still work on a Mac I brought in. :-) When I can't
get my graphics to behave in stuff that must be done in Word, I
just use AppleWorks 6 and save it as a Word document. My boss often
will ask, "How did you do that?" I find that I just can't do what I
want as easily with Pages as I can in AppleWorks.
Hope life is treating you well these days,
Steve
Steve Wood
PRISM Community
Liaison
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Steve,
It's great to hear from you again! I have to agree
with you about Microsoft Word. I have Office 2004 on my Mac, and I
just find the program confusing. It's far easier to use AppleWorks,
which I'm very comfortable with, create a document that works like
I want, and export it to Word format if someone else needs to edit
or complete the project.
Life is treating me very well. I've been married
6-1/2 weeks, I'm doing what I love for a living, and life has never
been better.
I hope life is treating you as well.
:-)
Dan
Death of AppleWorks Not Slashworthy
Bob Hearn, the co-creator of ClarisWorks, writes:
Hi Dan,
Just wanted to say, thanks for the kind words! And thanks for
noting ClarisWorks' demise. I thought it was newsworthy - in fact,
I posted to Slashdot about it, but the editors don't seem to
agree.
Regards,
Bob Hearn
iWork Does Import AppleWorks Files
Dan,
Just wanted to point out that iWork '08 does import AppleWorks
files. From the press release:
"iWork '08 can import Microsoft Word, PowerPoint,
Excel and AppleWorks® word processing, presentation and
spreadsheet files, and can export documents in Microsoft Office
file formats or PDFs for easy sharing."
I've already imported a few AppleWorks spreadsheets in
Numbers.
Thought you'd be happy to hear.
- James
James,
Thanks for the excellent news. I may have to
download the demo and play with it now.
Dan
Origin of 'Works' Software
Steve Hix says:
Dan,
One minor nit to pick on the introduction; MS didn't create the
"works" market, although they later owned it.
In 1983 a fellow named Rupert (or some reason he later changed
his name to Robert - no idea why) Lissner wrote a combination
application for the Apple // (later ported to the Apple ///) called
"AppleWorks". Text only, it even simulated tabs and windows. Apple
released it the next year.
It had word processing, spreadsheet, and database
components.
Later on we got Microsoft Works, ClarisWorks (which was
AppleWorks renamed when Claris was spun off from Apple), Beagle
Works, etc. Microsoft Works popped up between the time that
AppleWorks launched and ClarisWorks was written for the Mac. (I was
in Apple // engineering during the same time, and while we didn't
hear much, we did get some hints of things going on in the software
side of things, even after Claris was spun off to placate some
competing software makers who developed products for Apple.)
/end nit pick
Meanwhile, not having been touched for years, and with pretty
much all the developer group gone, it's taken a while to get
something produced and polished enough to take over AppleWorks
niche. My guess is another year to wait for a database app to join
the iWork set. (Files?)
AppleWorks is dead. But you can still have integrated; NeoOffice
does that.
Sorry. :}
regards,
Steve
Steve,
Thanks for the info. I forgot all about the
original AppleWorks on the Apple II.
As for iWork gaining a database, I doubt Apple
will step on the toes of FileMaker, Inc., their wholly owned
subsidiary that works exclusively in the database field. I think
we're more likely to see an image editing program, although
Photoshop and Photoshop Elements fill that niche nicely, or maybe
iDraw, a drawing module along the lines of Illustrator and
Freehand.
Time will tell.
Dan
AppleWorks Not Dead, Still for Sale at
apple.com
Ronin says:
Do your homework.
Ronin,
Just because something is for sale doesn't mean
it's current. Car dealers have blowout sales to get rid of the
discontinued models when the new ones come in. And just because
Apple is still selling AppleWorks doesn't mean it's current.
I have AppleWorks 6.2.9 on my Mac, the last update
produced. It's copyright 2003, and that's because of the updates.
Version 6.0 came out in early 2000. After seven years without a
major upgrade and four years without even a minor update, I think
it's safe to call it dead.
Dan
Death of AppleWorks
I agree with you. I wish Apple had not killed off AppleWorks. I
still use it almost daily. The only other works program I have is
NeoOffice. I
haven't written programs in a decade or more, but I started
teaching myself Cocoa wondering if I could write an AppleWorks 7. I
just don't have the time needed to focus on it.
God Bless You,
Jessie Dasher
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own
understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall
direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5, 6, NKJV)
Jessie,
Thanks for writing. Even though Apple gave up
development years ago, AppleWorks will remain a tool that a lot of
us continue using.
Dan
Make AppleWorks Open Source
Dan,
Perhaps it'd be better to see if Apple could be pressure to
release AppleWorks source code into the public domain for others to
improve. That'd cost them almost nothing.
- Mike Perry
Mike,
Great idea. And while they're at it, Claris Home
Page as well.
Dan
Dan,
It'd be great if broader efforts were made to get companies to
open source software they're no longer upgrading or supporting,
particularly when they no have equivalent product on the market.
And Apple, which exists to sell hardware, should be particularly
open to the idea. Open source AppleWorks and Home Page can only
mean more Mac sales.
It'd also be great if the creators of nifty one-developer
applications (and there are many) would agree to open source their
application if something happened to them such that they could no
longer support a product. It'd remove the nagging "what if"
uncertainty about those applications.
- Mike Perry
'Obsolete' Software Value
Scott Cook says:
Hey Dan,
I too love AppleWorks. I use it all the time for practically
everything. I'm like you in that I'll keep using it until it
doesn't work anymore . . . which reminds me, there are
some serious bargains to be had on eBay for people who can boot
into OS 9 or even into Classic.
I bought a full version of Adobe Photoshop 5 for $7 the other
day on eBay! It runs great on my G3 iBook, even in Classic mode. I
bought several package deals of OS 9 applications from eBay
recently for $10 - $20. One of these collections of OS 9
software had a copy of Word 98 in it. I've only used it once to
fill out a .doc form sent to me that AppleWorks didn't open
properly, but hey, it was practically free.
There is/was a download page for ProTools
Free on DigiDesign's website. It's a full 8 track version of
the famous recording software used in professional studios.
ProTools Free runs in OS 9, not OS X.
My next big software purchase will be a copy of Final Cut Pro.
It looks like the OS 9 versions of FCP can be bought for under
$50 on eBay(?)
Apple did me a huge favor by switching to Intel processors. They
basically saved me a whole wheelbarrow full of money I would have
to spend to get these cool applications. I don't have the latest
version, but who really needs or understands all the features of
the latest Microsoft Office suite, ProTools, Final Cut Pro, or
Photoshop CS3? Their instruction manuals are 400 pages thick! The
older versions are way overkill for most of us.
You could do a good story on the impact of the Intel Mac on used
software prices. I am one very appreciative poor guy saying thank
you Apple! (smile)
Scott Cook
Scott,
Thanks for sharing your discoveries. Back in the
day, I remember buying a Umax color scanner for $149 because it
included a full copy of the Lite" version of Photoshop, which sold
for a lot more separately. I picked up Photoshop 5.5 used on eBay
several years back for under $150 and used it regularly until
earlier this year.
My best find was accidental. We're putting on a
musical at church, and it uses an unusual typeface called Whimsy.
We paid $42 to buy a single weight of the typeface for use on the
church's Windows computer. I later learned that this font was on
the Mac Addict premiere issue CD. I located a copy and now have all
three weights of the typeface for next to nothing.
Nothing is obsolete until it's unusable, and there
are great bargains to be found in older software.
Dan
None of this great software was bargain priced until Apple made
it "obsolete" though. This awesome collection of software would
have cost me thousands of dollars only a few years ago. This is
what I like about the new Intel Macs. I don't own one, but they
sure have helped me out a lot! (smile)
Scott Cook
Killing AppleWorks and the Mac mini
Bill Doty writes:
Hi Dan
Two issues: I have used AppleWorks 6 for a long time. I go back
to ClarisWorks 2. AppleWorks/ClarisWorks was seldom Microsoft
compatible. I would save as RTF or text file or use DataViz MacLink
translator. I did use ClarisWorks 4 for windows 98 on a laptop. It
was a very good program. I heard ClarisWorks 4 was developed with
help from Novel after they bought Word Perfect Works. I also think
you will see a Windows version of iWork and the other new Mac
software.
Second, will you please quit killing the Mac mini. It's selling.
It's increasing use of Macs. It's a good basic computer. The next
step up for it will be a solid state hard drive.
Like you, I would like to see a mini Quicksilver tower. I think
it will happen, but not yet. Apple will want to market that machine
as a move up from mini model. They haven't sold enough minis
yet.
Bye
Bill Doty
Bill,
I doubt Apple will port iWork to Windows. iTunes
and Safari give Windows users a taste of the Mac experience and may
tempt them away from the Dark Side. Selling iWork for Windows would
take away a reason to buy a Mac.
As for the Mac mini, I've always maintained that
it's a great little computer for its intended audience. It's not
very expandable, especially internally. It's not great for 3D
gaming. But for regular tasks - writing, email, browsing the Web,
image work, iTunes, and even video, it's a very decent computer.
The recent move to faster Core 2 chips only improves that.
The mini's drawback isn't the mini itself, but the
gaping hole between it and the Mac Pro. Apple doesn't have a good
hobbyist Mac, a model with some expansion slots and at least one
extra drive bay. Take a mini, give it another bank for RAM, a
couple of PCIe slots, and an extra drive bay, and I'd have all the
power and expandability I need.
Dan
Dan Knight has been publishing Low
End Mac since April 1997. Mailbag columns come from email responses to his Mac Musings, Mac Daniel, Online Tech Journal, and other columns on the site.
