In 2020, I seriously thought about buying a laptop for paperwork, surfing the Internet, studying at university and watching movies. My choice fell for the 2017 12-inch MacBook, which was the last of its kind. Before getting a Mac, I only had experience with Windows PCs. Naturally, to work with documents, I had to use the Microsoft Office package. But the switch to an Apple laptop prompted a move away from Microsoft services altogether. Was it the best decision?
iWork might be a better choice than Microsoft Office
Office programs for Mac
Microsoft offers more desktop apps
Right here are applications included with Microsoft Office:
- Microsoft Word is a popular text editor;
- Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet;
- Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation program;
- Microsoft OneNote – a program for creating quick notes and organizing personal information;
- Microsoft Outlook – email client;
- Microsoft Publisher is a text editor focused on layout design;
- Microsoft Access is database software.
For me, as a student, only the opportunity was important to work with texts, tables and presentations, respectively, I only used the first three programs in the package. I will therefore compare them with Apple Alternatives. So what does the company offer in return? The application file has been named I’m working. It only includes three programs: Pages, Keynote and Numbers. Not a lot.
Pages or Word – what to choose
Pages, unlike Word, are provided free to all users, although the two offer roughly comparable functionality. They allow you to format texts, and create brochures and business cards. Their function is to check to spell and add images, tables and forms. Finished files can be sent to other users and printed. Apple Pages is tightly integrated with iCloud. Once you click on the save button, the file will be saved in the default iCloud folder. Microsoft Word, on the other hand, is available everywhere.
Pages and Word are virtually the same apps from different companies
If you are attracted by a laconic design and a large number of exclusive fonts, it is better to use Pages. In general, the applications are functionally very similar, and their difference is only in the interface, which, in my opinion, is better implemented by Apple. Also for those who dare go to Pages, there will be no compatibility issues. By default, all documents here are saved in page format. Export files in word or pdf you can by clicking on the “File” control panel, followed by “Export to” and selecting the desired format.
Use Pages you can both on Mac and iPhone with iPad and even on Windows PC via an iCloud site like Google Docs. Personally, I completely ditched Microsoft Word in favor of Pages and haven’t regretted it at all. Plus, Pages is faster and takes up less space on a Mac, which is a plus.
Presentation software for Mac – which one to choose
Keynote and PowerPoint are designed for the same thing – the implementation is different
As with the first two programs, Keynote and PowerPoint have the same objective but different implementations. If you need to create a beautiful and, at the same time, a simple presentation, it is better to choose Keynote, since the application offers a modest, but beautiful set of fonts and layout tools, so it will be difficult to close”.
This is not the case with PowerPoint. The program allows you to create a presentation of any complexity and has a much larger gallery of shapes, symbols and fonts that you can add to make it more effective. But the Keynote interface is highly customizable – you can display only the necessary tools on the control panel at your discretion.
Keynote, in turn, takes full advantage of the ecosystem, allowing you to display slides on the big screen, displaying speaker notes separately on the iPad. PowerPoint, on the other hand, simply duplicates the images from the tablet to the screen. Keynote also supports all popular file formats.
Both programs can be used on a smartphone, computer or tablet. Personally, I made my choice in favor of Keynote, but for those for whom presentation is a serious work tool, I recommend Microsoft PowerPoint.
Numbers and Excel – Which is Better?
Apple didn’t make a handy app for business but made a spreadsheet editor for the home
The most important and important difference between numbers and excel is in the formulas. About 250 of them are available in Numbers for different types of calculations, including statistical, financial, and engineering. Excel has over 60,000 formulas.
Excel is also faster with large amounts of data, while Numbers can often lag when working with a large spreadsheet. Although Numbers and Excel are similar in their purpose – to create tables, the programs are created for completely different scenarios. If Excel is designed to serve businesses that need to analyze a large amount of data, then Numbers is suitable for home use, light projects, or studies.
Excel is also used for accounting and for basic visual coding. Apple Numbers doesn’t provide such great features, but I stuck with this program because I don’t deal with large, complex tables. For professionals, as for PowerPoint, I recommend Microsoft software.
Apple Desktop Applications – What is it?
Microsoft Office includes OneNote, a program for taking quick notes and organizing personal information. For these purposes, Apple regularly has “notes” and “reminders”, but the principle of operation of applications for the two companies is completely different.
All OneNote notes are saved in a separate file that you can save and share. Apple Notes can only be shared as a link, and this link can only be opened by Apple product owners. Reminders cannot be shared at all. OneNote is best suited for study or collaborative planning. I needed a simple and convenient place where I could store my little notes, so here I also chose the Apple software.
Microsoft is taking a completely different approach to Notes and Reminders
In general, the Cupertino company turned out to be a good alternative to Microsoft Office, but far from complete. You can, of course, always compare Outlook and the Apple mail client, but this is a complete perversion since the programs are created for completely different tasks. The most interesting thing for me was the price.
The downside of iWork is that it can only be used comfortably on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. The Microsoft product is universal, supports Apple, Windows and Android devices, and is equally suitable for professionals and ordinary users. I made my choice.
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