I don't understand why they didn't clearly communicate this when they released the new version. They should have given power user's the heads up and/or had a beta phase. Duh. It isn't as if they haven't been through this before.
In my opinion, the iWork'13 rollout was a fiasco of grander proprortions than last year's iOS Maps debacle (http://www.apple.com/letter-from-tim-cook-on-maps/). I wonder who Tim will fire over this? Richard Williamson is already gone....
(edited to correct ex-employee name)
You call it a fiasco and I call this classic Apple. They cleaned up, rewrote, simplified and brought full cross compatibility to the iWork Mac apps, and now they will begin to add features back to both the Mac and iOS versions. This is a teething period that we all need to go through if it means that the future roadmap is cleared for iWork. And they made all the apps free. Whomever had the idea to do all of this should get a raise IMO. You're misunderstanding what Apple is up to here. This is Apple at its best. If anything I think this is positioning iWork to be better able to be thought in schools. Simplifying, cleaning up and adding compatibility is making them the perfect productivity apps to be teachable to even young students.
I think everyone is missing the big reason why they did this. They are not just doing iWork for Mac and iOS, but also for the Web.
I can tell you first hand, doing any kind of editing of text, especially Rich Text, is not an easy thing to do on the web. I look at it this way, they are making this to be a direct competitor to Google and their Web Apps. If they continue to add these features that people are wanting to all three platforms of iWork, this is going to be the de facto office application, even over Microsoft Office.
Yes, it is bare now, but be patient, continue submitting feature requests, and it will get there.
iCloud has been far and away more secure than googles offerings but I do use both.
What's the issue here? Apple did not overwrite the old versions. They created a "new" iWork and set it alongside the old one. If the new one didn't do the trick for you, no problem; use the old one.
Possible courses of action for Apple are to:
1. Delay the launch so that you have have a feature-complete app with feature parity to meet the needs of 10% of the market.
2. During the announcements state that it's not as feature-complete as '09.
3. Just let it roll and deal with the 10%.
#3 is the only right answer. They could probably have helped a bit by having a "migrating from iWork '09" message when you start iWork or when you import an older document. Surely there could have been a way to phrase it such that it would not freak out the 90% for the benefit of the 10%.
I am fine with them taking this approach, like they did with FCP. I am not fine with them removing iWork '09 and all traces and support of it, until they close the gap. They want people to use their software (which I do) but then I become dependent upon it and hit issues when the functionality vanishes. Back to Office 2011 for 6 months then I guess...
They didn't remove iWork 09. It was moved to a folder in you applications folder called iWork 09.
I've Recently discovered the new cloud service copy and it has replaced Dropbox completely.. You get 15 Gb of free space and with each Referral you get 5 gigs extra space. The surface is very similar to Dropbox, in my opinion even better. There is also a desktop app for Windows and Mac, as well as a mobile App for Ios and Android.
Someone on a different blog nailed the reason why I got so excited over iWork '13 regardless of the temporarily missing features: it finally feels here to stay. iWork felt unfinished, cluttered and in the closet before. Now, after all the effort it finally seems that Apple is going to make this a grown-up product. I love the cross-plattform compatibility and that I can share and collaborate with all my friends and colleagues without even worrying about formats and whatsoever. I love the new clean and streamlined UI using the sides taking advantage of the screen real estate (not like MS ribbons). And compatibility with MS office world seems also improved.
Because they wanted to see what they could get away with before having to respond? If nobody complains, then Apple would assume that they don't need to do anything else.
It is called a calculated risk. Or better, a calculated play. They a) wanted to get the software out b) had reached full x-platform compatibility c) had completed the interface overhaul (always a work in progress), d) knew they would please the vast majority of users. e) had a plan in place to restore lost features.
I suspect a fair bit of denial was at play, however. I think Apple is prone to that. It would have been easy to circumvent the wave of frustration and disappointment that has followed the release with a little bit of humility and most of all, communication.
I would rather have cross platform capabilities as opposed to "power" user capabilities...
Exactly. The suite was basically unusable as a cross platform solution. Apple needed to reboot the lineup to reduce the frustrations seen by many trying to use the apps cross platform.
<p style="margin-bottom:.7em;margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;">I would use iWork '09 to make rather elaborate charts for my real estate listings...I spent too much time to make them look pretty.</p>
This is another thing, just because an app has features doesn't mean you should use them. Don't get me wrong there are valid complaints from people about missing features but there are just as many that make you wonder what the hell is wrong with people.
<p style="margin-bottom:.7em;margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;">When I got my iPad I redesigned the charts to be more simple so I could update them on my iPad. In doing so, it suddenly dawned on me that the more simple approach to my work flow was the way to go. I now achieve the same results with a lot less time and effort. And anything I can do on my iPad is more fun than on my iMac.</p>
Hopefully people will see this as an example of working smart.
<p style="margin-bottom:.7em;margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;">I know this does not apply to power users, but I like Apple's approach. The ability to do my work on my mobile devices is the best! </p>
Actually for a true power user iWorks has always left a lot to be desired. I never liked AppleScript and the apps have never been feature complete.
But Joe Average doesn't know or "get" why "feature parity" is significant. All they know is that it went from "it just works" to "WTF??"
Joe A enrage wouldn't know "just works" from a hole in the ground.
This "feature parity" stuff was never even announced.
Baloney. Did you listen to what was said?
Not very user-centric, which is what Apple is supposed (and expected) to be. Part of the Apple Experience is that things are supposed to appear and behave in obvious, expected and efficient ways. The new iWork rollout was anything but.
For old users maybe. For new users they will be seeing a suite of apps that just gets better and better as Apple updates the software over the next few releases. This is sort of the approach that the open source community advocates release often and early so that the software can be shaped by user feedback. Hopefully this is a sign that Apple will be more proactive in delivering a stream of improvements to iWorks over its lifetime.
Sorry, this is just not good enough. Pages is so buggy it's basically unusable for any documents with reasonable complexity. Missing features is bad. Shoddy coding is quite another. Apple is not exactly bathing itself in glory again here... Just stop releasing what you know you shouldn't guys.
If any other company released "updated" versions of their applications with so many missing features, everyone here would ridicule them for rushing premature software out the door. Why is Apple treated differently in this case?
For one thing it isn't an update but rather a complete rewrite. Second it isn't like they have deleted the old versions so effectively nothing is missing. As for being premature, you need to understand that software is never finished. As it is the new suite is very usable.
I don't think Apple is being treated differently here at all. It isn't like they are charging for this software or have deleted the ability of people to use legacy data files. This is a new direction for the software suite, you either use it or install something else. If you don't like it after an install it isn't like you are out of money or anything.
Exactly. The suite was basically unusable as a cross platform solution. Apple needed to reboot the lineup to reduce the frustrations seen by many trying to use the apps cross platform.
This is another thing, just because an app has features doesn't mean you should use them. Don't get me wrong there are valid complaints from people about missing features but there are just as many that make you wonder what the hell is wrong with people.
Hopefully people will see this as an example of working smart.
Actually for a true power user iWorks has always left a lot to be desired. I never liked AppleScript and the apps have never been feature complete.
Apple yanking features and telling its customers to suck it is nothing new. But Apple admitting the omissions and deciding to return the functionality? This is very new indeed.
They aren't admitting to omissions they are telling people to take a chill pill and relax. The intent to address functionality was already there, I believe Apple had every intention of releasing iWorks with more features as time goes on. Frankly shorter release cycles and small incremental improvements make far more sense than waiting years for a massive update to a suite. I really see nothing new here at all as Apple has been slowly changing directions here over the last couple of years.
This behaviour is exactly Apple-like. Any statement containing "expected" is certainly not Apple-like.
We all know this from the recent transition to FCP X but also form other transitions in the past, such as the transition to Intel or even the transition to OS X. Sure, there were few big native Intel apps in the beginning and sure, there were few native OS X apps in the beginning. And that's why people kept on using the old system and that's why there was Rosetta, that's why there was the old version of FCP and that's why the old versions of iWork remained on your hard drives.
That's how Apple does things, something slightly on the radical side, but rarely in such a way as to completely abandon its users. Most of the times this results in better products in the future.
--
Considering that exporting and reverting to the old file format is that easy, there is really no problem whatsoever, since people can keep on using the old versions until the new ones get the features people are missing that much.
However, also consider the bigger picture: iWork, while being fantastic had a limited audience. Those were paid apps, they didn't always exist on iOS nor in iCloud and they were an inconsistent mess.
With iOS 7, new iPhones and new iPads, as well as the move to make those apps free, Apple needed to do something about this state of affairs. iWorks audience will tenfold suddenly, because everyone buying a new device will get this software. Having a consistent and compatible experience across platforms and the browser is important and appealing, even if some power users won't be satisfied immediately. And let's be honest here, whomever didn't know the old iWork, will probably get going with the new one without missing anything, unless you're a total MS Office power user.
Comments
Not sure how long it's been live, but if you visit the Apple Support article mentioned, at the bottom is states:
Heh!
You call it a fiasco and I call this classic Apple. They cleaned up, rewrote, simplified and brought full cross compatibility to the iWork Mac apps, and now they will begin to add features back to both the Mac and iOS versions. This is a teething period that we all need to go through if it means that the future roadmap is cleared for iWork. And they made all the apps free. Whomever had the idea to do all of this should get a raise IMO. You're misunderstanding what Apple is up to here. This is Apple at its best. If anything I think this is positioning iWork to be better able to be thought in schools. Simplifying, cleaning up and adding compatibility is making them the perfect productivity apps to be teachable to even young students.
What's the issue here? Apple did not overwrite the old versions. They created a "new" iWork and set it alongside the old one. If the new one didn't do the trick for you, no problem; use the old one.
Possible courses of action for Apple are to:
1. Delay the launch so that you have have a feature-complete app with feature parity to meet the needs of 10% of the market.
2. During the announcements state that it's not as feature-complete as '09.
3. Just let it roll and deal with the 10%.
#3 is the only right answer. They could probably have helped a bit by having a "migrating from iWork '09" message when you start iWork or when you import an older document. Surely there could have been a way to phrase it such that it would not freak out the 90% for the benefit of the 10%.
Dropbox completely.. You get 15 Gb of free space and with each
Referral you get 5 gigs extra space. The surface is very similar to Dropbox, in my opinion
even better. There is also a desktop app for Windows and Mac, as well as a mobile
App for Ios and Android.
sign up here for free: https://copy.com?r=KWvFyA
iWork felt unfinished, cluttered and in the closet before. Now, after all the effort it finally seems that Apple is going to make this a grown-up product. I love the cross-plattform compatibility and that I can share and collaborate with all my friends and colleagues without even worrying about formats and whatsoever. I love the new clean and streamlined UI using the sides taking advantage of the screen real estate (not like MS ribbons). And compatibility with MS office world seems also improved.
I'm going to drop Office really soon.
Because they wanted to see what they could get away with before having to respond? If nobody complains, then Apple would assume that they don't need to do anything else.
It is called a calculated risk. Or better, a calculated play. They a) wanted to get the software out b) had reached full x-platform compatibility c) had completed the interface overhaul (always a work in progress), d) knew they would please the vast majority of users. e) had a plan in place to restore lost features.
I suspect a fair bit of denial was at play, however. I think Apple is prone to that. It would have been easy to circumvent the wave of frustration and disappointment that has followed the release with a little bit of humility and most of all, communication.
Who is Richard Williamson?
He's the one Eddy Cue is said to have fired because of Maps.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/richard-williamson-fired-apple-maps_n_2199190.html
For old users maybe. For new users they will be seeing a suite of apps that just gets better and better as Apple updates the software over the next few releases. This is sort of the approach that the open source community advocates release often and early so that the software can be shaped by user feedback. Hopefully this is a sign that Apple will be more proactive in delivering a stream of improvements to iWorks over its lifetime.
For one thing it isn't an update but rather a complete rewrite. Second it isn't like they have deleted the old versions so effectively nothing is missing. As for being premature, you need to understand that software is never finished. As it is the new suite is very usable.
I don't think Apple is being treated differently here at all. It isn't like they are charging for this software or have deleted the ability of people to use legacy data files. This is a new direction for the software suite, you either use it or install something else. If you don't like it after an install it isn't like you are out of money or anything.
Exactly. The suite was basically unusable as a cross platform solution. Apple needed to reboot the lineup to reduce the frustrations seen by many trying to use the apps cross platform.
This is another thing, just because an app has features doesn't mean you should use them. Don't get me wrong there are valid complaints from people about missing features but there are just as many that make you wonder what the hell is wrong with people.
Hopefully people will see this as an example of working smart.
Actually for a true power user iWorks has always left a lot to be desired. I never liked AppleScript and the apps have never been feature complete.
Thanks, Wiz!
They aren't admitting to omissions they are telling people to take a chill pill and relax. The intent to address functionality was already there, I believe Apple had every intention of releasing iWorks with more features as time goes on. Frankly shorter release cycles and small incremental improvements make far more sense than waiting years for a massive update to a suite. I really see nothing new here at all as Apple has been slowly changing directions here over the last couple of years.
Oh come on guys, seriously?
This behaviour is exactly Apple-like. Any statement containing "expected" is certainly not Apple-like.
We all know this from the recent transition to FCP X but also form other transitions in the past, such as the transition to Intel or even the transition to OS X. Sure, there were few big native Intel apps in the beginning and sure, there were few native OS X apps in the beginning. And that's why people kept on using the old system and that's why there was Rosetta, that's why there was the old version of FCP and that's why the old versions of iWork remained on your hard drives.
That's how Apple does things, something slightly on the radical side, but rarely in such a way as to completely abandon its users. Most of the times this results in better products in the future.
--
Considering that exporting and reverting to the old file format is that easy, there is really no problem whatsoever, since people can keep on using the old versions until the new ones get the features people are missing that much.
However, also consider the bigger picture: iWork, while being fantastic had a limited audience. Those were paid apps, they didn't always exist on iOS nor in iCloud and they were an inconsistent mess.
With iOS 7, new iPhones and new iPads, as well as the move to make those apps free, Apple needed to do something about this state of affairs. iWorks audience will tenfold suddenly, because everyone buying a new device will get this software. Having a consistent and compatible experience across platforms and the browser is important and appealing, even if some power users won't be satisfied immediately. And let's be honest here, whomever didn't know the old iWork, will probably get going with the new one without missing anything, unless you're a total MS Office power user.