Does iWork 08 work with Mountain Lion?

iWork '08 works with Mountain Lion you just need to update it to the latest version v3.03.

Keep in mind that Pages '08 will not be able to make use of any of the Lion/Mountain Lion features.

Peter

I just discovered Numbers 08 won't show any text when opening in my newly installed Mountain Lion. I called Apple support and they told me expressly that iwork 08 doesn't work with Mountain Lion, that I needed to install numbers '09. When I asked why they dont make that clear when installing MtnLion her reply was that they do make that clear in system requirements for iwork.

Rather than spend good time researching, I spent $20 for numbers 09 and solved the problem. I see now, however on apple's own support page (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3879) that '08 only needs system 10.4 or later. Once again, screwed by an Apple.

Increasingly there are many people working for Apple who do not know wht they are talking about.

I recently went into the local Apple Store with a very specific question. The first person I spoke to gave me an absolutely adamant answer that I knew was totally wrong. When I pressed them they went and consulted someone else who consulted someone else until there was a huddle of them all taking wild guesses which were all useless.

I wonder what exactly are the qualifications for Apple Staff other than wearing tutus with bue T-shirts or some other expression of "hip" Macness.

Peter

John,

I'm happy for you even though I now feel like even more of a schmuck. When I installed the new 09 numbers, it immediately purged the 08 version so I couldn't go back to check even if I wanted. And of course, in keeping with what has become default Apple OS behavior, there was no cautionary window announcing that Numbers '08 would be deleted, offering me a choice. The choice was made for me, because Apple Knows Best.

I'll probably always own, and love, a mac; I've done so since the 80's. But my love has matured. I'm waiting on a new $249 chromebook, which should arrive tomorrow. It's my first non-mac machine since my old osborne, since my SE-30. I now own a rooted nook tablet and a galaxy phone, not an iphone or an ipad. I'm as excited as a schoolboy about unwrapping my slim new chromebook.

Jobs, in his final days at Apple, became interested in corporate architecture –– he began to focus on how companies could fit together instead of how products and people fit together. Not that I wouldn't have done the same thing, given the power and the ability. It seems a natural evolution, to manipulate big chunks of society rather than mere individuals. But it's the Joni Mitchell syndrome. When he was hungry and aching, he was Everyman great. Once he knew he was great, he became self-indulgent. It's all still great work –– it's just not great work I have a passion for. I am, after all, still just an individual.

I approache Everything Apple with suspicion and trepidation now, from the new un-openable macbook pros and imacs to the software that controls my digital universe. Apple is about control. I still like freedom when I create. This little episode simply widens the gap between me and the love of my youth.

I have both iWork '08 and '09 on my Mac.

One does not delete the other.

Peter

Then how come I only have one version of Numbers ('09) on my mac after the Numbers '09 install from the app store?

Maybe it's because I installed iwork '08 from my discs, then I installed Pages '09 and Numbers '09 individually from the app store. And I still have Pages '08 in the trash. But installing Numbers '09 effectively erased Numbers '08 from my drive. At least, I can't see it in the trash or anywhere else.. Could it be that you installed iworks 09 as a package? Dunno. And at this point it makes no difference, except to my pocketbook. And Apple's.

Mine are from DVDs.

If App Store moved the earlier version to the trash, you probably can just move them back out. They work separately.

I only have them to test users problems, there is no other reason to hang onto the older versions.

Peter

Please let us know how you like your new chromebook!

lmontgrain,

Thanks for asking. I'd come off as highly principled if I say that I've embraced the chromebook and never looked back, but the truth is that I embraced the chromebook long enough to locate a used 15" mbpro. I dropped Mtn Lion inside, bumped it to 16gb ram, slapped a clunky case on it, and I've never looked back.

For me, the chromebook is a great writing device when compared to a tablet. Light, functional, perfect for, well, writing. But frequently I need access to my photo library, to some bit of eratta I've saved on my desktop machine at home, to my email, or I want to clip a screenshot into an email, access a spreadsheet....all the things I do on my mac. And while there are indeed workarounds for most if not all of these tasks within Chromeville, they feel like just that–– workarounds. Slower, klutzier, less elegant. Like swapping the gas leaf blower for an electric one. The lawn's still clean, but I didn't enjoy the task itself.

If I stuck with the chromebook I'm sure the "clunky" feeling would dissipate over time, but when, after a couple of weeks, I latched onto a working 15" macbook pro and dropped all the apps on it I've accumulated over time, well there's no comparison at all. From dedicated apps to screen real estate and visual ease to keyboard feel and size, it's just What I Like. I won't argue specs and fiscal logic, as they don't factor in my decision. One does it for me, the other doesn't. Lesson learned.

I still look forward to my next android device, I now work on a desktop hackintosh (dual monitors, 24 gb ram, i7 processor, blue-ray burner, water cooled...$800 on craigslist!), I reject by default all invitations to "upgrade" my Apple software, I treat calls to AppleCare with wariness, and I do my homework before I make any changes "just because Apple says I should". Lesson also learned.