Install Trial - or Wait Until Monday?

the trial is fine. just validate it with your serial when you get it.

There's no serial. When you get your dvd you have to install it from that.

uh, unless something major has changed, iwork uses a serial number. If you install the trial, you can then serialize it if you have a number. Simply grab the sheet that comes in the box and enter it in the trial window. That's the whole point of the BUY icon in the trial boot window.

uh, unless something major has changed, iwork uses a serial number.

Yes, it seems to have changed. The DVD does not use a serial number. I guess you haven't seen the various threads which have been discussing this for a while, e.g.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1856358&tstart=0

Boy is that going to make a mess. Serialize the trial, but don't serialize the boxed copy. Wonderful.

Boy is that going to make a mess. Serialize the trial, but don't serialize the boxed copy. Wonderful.

What kinds of horrible things do you predict will occur?

it's just annoying to have to reinstall an app you already installed. Though, not that I think about it, Office does the same annoying thing (or did with 2004).

I wonder what Apple will do when customers call and some have serial numbers, and some don't. THose of you who are buying boxed copies DO NOT LOSE your DVD. This makes me want to just order it online and not get the box, just so I know I can always install it later without finding the DVD.

I can tell you that this is not limited to Family Packs. I bought the Retail One-License version with a great (sarcasm) $8 student discount and did not receive a serial number in the box.

I called Apple while attempting to see what happened if I installed it from the DVD. It finished installing and I opened Pages to test it, I registered without a serial number. After I got back from hold with the rep I was talking to, I told him I did not need a serial number, and he told me that that was what he was about to say :P

I downloaded the trial today, then bought iWork 09 (the key) but the key would not work (I know, use the caps key and not caps lock etc etc). Apple's response was to reimburse me (before I asked) and to tell me to dump my browser cache and try again. The accounts person was not a help desk but did know the problem. I'll wait until Apple is ready for prime time, as I have more important things to do than be their beta tester for the sales process.

There is no "key" that can be bought from Apple. There's no "key" for iWork '09. What are you talking about?

There certainly is a buyable key for the downloaded-only version. Only the DVD has no key. This has been covered a number of times here already.

http://store.apple.com/us/serialsoftware?product=D4831

Hehe, and you were asking "What kinds of horrible things do you predict will occur?" I'd say people ranting all over the boards is one 😉

I was kidding, but I do think it's messy for Apple to have gone with one version that is serialized and the other not, especially when it didn't used to be that way. I can't imagine how many calls they've gotten from upgrading users who expected a serial number to be in the package.