iWork growing in popularity
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Dec 6, 2007 at 2:41am
Apple is enjoying at least a temporary surge in sales of its iWork suite at Microsoft’s expense, says a newly published NPD data (as reported by Macworld). About 16 percent of all recent productivity software sales for the Mac are going to Apple’s software, which this year gained its first spreadsheet program, according to the research group.
Most of the remaining share belongs to Microsoft Office 2004. The result is a “success” for Apple, NPD says. Macworld notes that two factors have converged that make Office’s hold on the market appear vulnerable. First, it’s been more than three years since Microsoft released Office 2004. Second, Apple has ramped up the pressure on Office by revamping its own office productivity suite, iWork, to version ‘08 and adding the Numbers spreadsheet tool. iWork’s low price (US$79) is also considered a factor.
O’Reilly Media has announced the release of “Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual,” by David Pogue. Pogue’s latest Missing Manual is written for advanced-beginner or intermediate Mac fans, says the bestselling author. “But if you’re a Mac first-timer, miniature sidebar articles called Up to Speed provide the introductory information you need to understand the topic at hand. If you’re a Mac veteran, on the other hand, similar shaded boxes called Power Users’ Clinic offer more technical tips, tricks, and shortcuts.” The new book is 912 pages, priced at US$34.99.
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Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
