AppleWorks 6Apple Computer The slogan Apple uses for its productivity suite is "One application. Infinite uses." While AppleWorks 6 may not have quite that many uses, it is an extremely useful, compact suite that can fill the software needs of most individuals and home offices. Just like any decent office suite, AppleWorks offers functionality of a word processor, spreadsheet, spell checker, small database, drawing and painting abilities, and a recently added presentation function that puts Powerpoint to shame. (Presentations replace AW 5's communications module, but you won't miss it.) Those different functions of AppleWorks 6 are tightly integrated in a way not possible with suites combining standalone applications, so the interface is consistent and toolbars stay neat in every area. You can create custom toolbars, and AppleWorks takes full advantage of AppleScript (Mac version only). The integrated applications also work well together, dragging information from one into another is simple and there aren't conflicts and crashes like one might find in some versions of Office. In addition to the integrated functions, AppleWorks includes 50 fonts and 30 templates - with 150 additional templates and 25,000 clipart images available for free from Apple's Web site. AppleWorks is far from being a clone of Microsoft Office, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Especially considering price. AppleWorks 6 can be obtained for under $100, while the least-featured versions of Office 98 and 2000 cost more than four times as much on the retail level. AppleWorks also comes bundled with every iMac and iBook, so if you've purchased either of those hardware items then you already own a copy of AW 5 or 6. AppleWorks is hands down the easiest to use suite on the market, not to mention the best looking. It also needs less hardware to run, since AppleWorks' integration reduces the amount of RAM needed and the number of redundant files stored on disk. Another Office similarity, AppleWorks is available for Windows and the Macintosh. Files created on the Macintosh release can be opened in Windows and vice versa without any conversion. (At the time of this review, AW6 for Windows is still in development - but version 5 is still readily available.) AppleWorks 6 additionally supports other file formats including those from earlier Claris branded versions of the product, Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, text files, HTML files and dozens of others. So even if you already have documents created in Office or coworkers that use Office itself, communication is still almost seamless. PLUSES: Cost; ease of use; multiformat support; Windows and Mac versions; smaller footprint than other office suites. MINUSES: Not as full-featured as other suites. Overall Ranking: (Four out of Five) Buy for MacOSBuy for Windows (v5)   PUBLISHER: AppleVERSION: 6.0LICENSE: Bundled Commercial MAC REQUIREMENTS: MacOS 7.0.1+ or OS X; 8MB RAM; 55MB HD WIN REQUIREMENTS: Win 9X, NT, 2K, or XP; 16MB RAM; 48MB HD ALTERNATIVE TO: Access, Excel, Office, PowerPoint, Word, Works OUTSIDE REVIEWS: CNET, MacReview ADDITIONAL INFO: Official Site, AW Users Group, Buy AW Books Reviewed by Paul Rickard, March 2001.

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