Tuesday, June 03, 2003
Using AppleWorks in the land of MacOS 9
Tony writes in to ask:
"Can I turn Appleworks word docs into PDF files within OS9? Or do I need OSX because of Quartz?"
In MacOS X, you can effortlessly create a PDF from any native application that has a print function, which of course includes AppleWorks. When you switch over to MacOS 9, AppleWorks does lose this capability. However, if you really need to create PDF's in OS 9, you can always purchase Adobe Acrobat ($299, not to be confused with the free Acrobat Reader). This is no small chunk of change, so I'll throw it out to readers to see if anyone can write in with knowledge of a less expensive MacOS 9-native application that can create PDF's.
Tony goes on to ask: "Is iWorks at hand and I should just wait? Is there another Micro$oft Office alternative out there that will work for me in a corporate environment?"
I suspect that the release date of iWorks and its rumored "Document" word processor has more to do with ongoing relations with Microsoft than it does with development cycles, so when it sees the light of day is anyone's guess. As highly as I think of the AppleWorks word processing module, I'm more than ready to step up to a word processor the calibur of Keynote. And I think I'm not alone.
I've read comments both from those who swear by the translation abilities of AppleWorks 6.2.x, and from those who wouldn't trust it to translate their neighbor's grocery list. I know of Mac users who swear by OpenOffice, the open-source MS Office substitute, although you'll need to download and install the X11 environment in order to run it. Perhaps readers can share their experiences with file translation between MS Office and OpenOffice.
So why is Tony still using MacOS 9?
"I'm anxiously waiting the next generation of the Albook 12" to come out so I can finally upgrade to X."
Well, even though Apple hasn't yet revised the specs of the stunning 12 inch PowerBook, it did cut the price by $200 this week, making it even more attractive to those of us who want it all and want it small. The "base" model (if you can stand to insult it with such a term) is now $1599, and the SuperDrive-enabled model is $1799.
Tony writes in to ask:
"Can I turn Appleworks word docs into PDF files within OS9? Or do I need OSX because of Quartz?"
In MacOS X, you can effortlessly create a PDF from any native application that has a print function, which of course includes AppleWorks. When you switch over to MacOS 9, AppleWorks does lose this capability. However, if you really need to create PDF's in OS 9, you can always purchase Adobe Acrobat ($299, not to be confused with the free Acrobat Reader). This is no small chunk of change, so I'll throw it out to readers to see if anyone can write in with knowledge of a less expensive MacOS 9-native application that can create PDF's.
Tony goes on to ask: "Is iWorks at hand and I should just wait? Is there another Micro$oft Office alternative out there that will work for me in a corporate environment?"
I suspect that the release date of iWorks and its rumored "Document" word processor has more to do with ongoing relations with Microsoft than it does with development cycles, so when it sees the light of day is anyone's guess. As highly as I think of the AppleWorks word processing module, I'm more than ready to step up to a word processor the calibur of Keynote. And I think I'm not alone.
I've read comments both from those who swear by the translation abilities of AppleWorks 6.2.x, and from those who wouldn't trust it to translate their neighbor's grocery list. I know of Mac users who swear by OpenOffice, the open-source MS Office substitute, although you'll need to download and install the X11 environment in order to run it. Perhaps readers can share their experiences with file translation between MS Office and OpenOffice.
So why is Tony still using MacOS 9?
"I'm anxiously waiting the next generation of the Albook 12" to come out so I can finally upgrade to X."
Well, even though Apple hasn't yet revised the specs of the stunning 12 inch PowerBook, it did cut the price by $200 this week, making it even more attractive to those of us who want it all and want it small. The "base" model (if you can stand to insult it with such a term) is now $1599, and the SuperDrive-enabled model is $1799.
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