Compare iWork/Office for Mac with Office Windows

I am an expert PC user switching to mac...
I am moving toward google apps, but their doc program is not nearly as robust as MS WORD (windows). So, I need a sophisticated word processor...
I have iWork 09 (bought it with the computer) and am considering buying MS Office for mac. I would prefer to use iWork (that is, an apple program), but don't want to go through the learning curve to find out it too is not powerful enough.
Is there a web that reviews/compares iWork/Office for Mac with Office Windows? Or does anyone have any personal experience on how they compare? This would help me make the decision by learning only the one I will ultimately use.
THanks
Bob

BobInIndy1 wrote:
I am an expert PC user switching to mac...
I, too, was a Windows vet until I switched in '03. My fiance has been on Mac since college--her Powerbook Duo (w/ OS 7.5) still works.
I am moving toward google apps, but their doc program is not nearly as robust as MS WORD (windows). So, I need a sophisticated word processor...
Ditto. Google Apps are probably another year or two behind what desktop apps offer.
I have iWork 09 (bought it with the computer) and am considering buying MS Office for mac. I would prefer to use iWork (that is, an apple program), but don't want to go through the learning curve to find out it too is not powerful enough.
I think that is what has made Office the standard for so long (and Wordperfect before it)--people don't like change...they like upgrades and enhancements, but not dramatic change. The learning curve for iWork
Is there a web that reviews/compares iWork/Office for Mac with Office Windows? Or does anyone have any personal experience on how they compare? This would help me make the decision by learning only the one I will ultimately use.
Speaking as someone who owns Office 2008, I can tell you that Word '08 is dramatically slower than Pages; it is nothing like Office '07 (or earlier) for Windows. Word '07 demands a fraction of the RAM that Word '08 for Mac does, which may or may not be releated to the legacy support for older formats that Office '08 includes.
Word does include a decent grammar checker, equation editor, and APA/MLA citation tool; however, Apple went a different route and made Pages instantly compatible with Mathtype and Endnote. My fiance is a math professor that teaches calculus, so she is no-doubt used to having to include mathematical equations and tricky text arrangements for exams, quizzes, and lesson plans; she used to use Word, but last year switched to Pages ('08) and loves it. When we downloaded the demo for iWork '09 and saw how well Mathtype integrated, she's a happy camper.
I haven't been all that impressed with Office '08, at least not as much as I was with Office '07 for Windows. I never thought I'd say it but I think money is better spent on iWork '09, and later getting Endnote or Mathtype (if needed), than purchasing Office '08. That's my take on it, and I've been using Word/Office since 6.0 on Windows 3.1.

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