News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.

April 14, 2008

software

Putting words on the page with Word and Pages

Posted Apr. 14, ’08, 1:13 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi
Category | Software

whichWord.jpgGot a problem: I need to write something important, using a template, with some simple text, and advanced word-processing features.

The dilemma? I still can’t figure out how many licks it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop.

Thanks to Jeffery Battersby’s article at the Mothership pitting Microsoft Word against Apple’s Pages, I can focus on fundamental questions like lick-to-sucker-shrinking ratios, instead of which word processor to use to write a fancy lab report with lots of pretty graphics and professional colors that distract from the fact that the paper is completely devoid of actual substantive information.

Battersby was tasked to create a four-page newsletter in both Word and Pages, to see which handles best each component of the doc-creation. His conclusion? Word is good, but Pages is as good, or good-er, in many respects. Check the piece for his full comparison, and take a gander at this page for some other word processing alternatives.

Now if that damn owl would just stop biting the thing after his third lick, this Tootsie Pop nonsense wouldn’t be such an issue.


3 Comments

bluestreak1984 Author Profile Page said:

Nice choices of alternatives; I personally prefer the lightweight writer Bean.

April 14, 2008 1:22 PM
Ray said:

Gooder? is that a word?

April 14, 2008 2:01 PM
Goobimama said:

Pages has nothing but wow'ed me ever since I used it. The way it renders fonts. The way you can just place graphics on it and move em' around (It's really difficult in Word!). I'm not sure what 'pro' word processing needs are, but Pages suits my needs mighty enough.

(LOLs for good measure. Here's me tapping double spacebar on my iMac keyboard subconsciously thinking it will insert a full stop like the iPhone)

April 14, 2008 3:00 PM

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