I have AppleWorks 6 and MS Office 2004 on my laptop, but I prefer to use iWorks. I just wish I had watited a few days longer and purchased iWorks 6 which seems to have a few new item I would like.

I used iWork to create a sales catalog for my artwork. With the little time I had to get it ready, iWork Pages worked seamlessly with Photoshop to import photos. By using the templates, I was able to make amazing sheets. I could float and overlap images for a really professional look. Wish the template pages were more versatile. Had trouble with moving photos around due to placeholders. Will probably work this out when I have time to read directions. Made a video presentation that looped continually at my booth at a trade show with Keynote. It was easy to put together and the 3-D transitions really set it apart. I've used MS Publisher and thought Keynote was way more exciting, altho not as many templates maybe available.

It took me awhile to get this program installed because it kept saying there was "nothing to install." After a search of the internet I found some websites that instructed me to trash everything on my computer that had to do with iwork, pages and keynote. EVERYTHING! and then empty the trash. Then it installed just fine.
I love the things you can do with this program and am looking forward to all the fun pages I can create.

The iWork `05 Suite is a great, economic way to get a good word processing and a great presentation tool in one package. Pages, which is the word processing program, lets the user create from letters, to newsletters, resumes, cover letters, and much more. Even though the included templates focus more on newsletters, anything can be done with the program if none of the templates match what you need to do. I find the program very nice to work with and fairly easy to use. It feels fast and responsive as well. The interface is very light, with the most common tools and icons ready at the user's disposal with just one click away. While there are other word processing programs on the market much more advanced than Pages, this one breaks the trend and is very pleasing to use. I found myself using Pages more often than I did Microsoft Word for Mac. You can also export your Pages documents to a PDF file, a Word document, Rich Text, Plain Text and HTML. You can also create bulleted lists, insert tables, images and more in your Pages documents.

Keynote, on the other hand, is, in my opinion, a much more complete application than Pages. It feels like it has way more features. It is an application to create presentations, much like Microsoft PowerPoint. I've used PowerPoint in the past, but now that I've used Keynote, I find myself using Keynote much more often. The user interface is also easy to use, with the layouts very easy to pick and choose your own. There are also many effects that you can choose from, making your presentation much more eye-catching and interesting. Since it's integrated with iPhoto, iTunes and iMovie, you can quickly insert any pictures, video clips or audio into your presentation, with a quick click of the mouse button. No more browsing and searching; it's all easy to find under the "Media" button. You can also export your presentations to a PDF or a PowerPoint file to share with friends or co-workers.
The iWork `05 suite still is a fresh piece of software, with much more room for growth. For us out there who need no more than a word processor and an occasional presentation program, it makes a great buy.

You save money also comparing it to Microsoft Office for Students & Teachers, which you can only buy if you're one a student or teacher. iWork `05 still lacks a spreadsheets program. Many rumors are around that the next version of iWork will include such program and both Pages and Keynote will see a much better upgrade. These are, of course, as of this writing still rumors, and still questionable.
For now, this is a great buy for either the student on a budget, the home user or the pro.
Great package for anyone.

This program makes me look like a genuis every time I make a presentation whether oral or written.

Pages
Pages can do anything MS word can do, and it is much more functional. It also can export and import word documents that are fully compatable with the MS word and, thus, MS office world.

Keynote
Keynote out does MS power point. It's the functionality and ease associated with mac that makes the difference. Your presentations are a little better than MS power point versions, and this higher quality takes a little less effort with keynote. Also, like word, you can move power point presentations via import and export functions.

I am not a programmer, but it seems to me that "anything MS word and MS power point can do, pages and keynote can do better." This includes such things as making (and exporting) MS word documents and power point presentations onto wintel (IBM/microsoft) machines!