I must admit that any upgrade to AppleWorks is welcome, even if it is not arranged like the old AW. I admit I am disappointed that a spreadsheet is not included. I wonder how powerful the tables are in Pages--will they do calculations? I was concerned about the lack of a drawing/painting module; however, I get the feeling that those capabilities are included in the Pages program (or maybe in Keynote).

What I'd really like to see is a competitor for Microsoft Works for Windows--there hasn't been a Mac version in years. Works Suite for Windows includes Microsoft Word 2002 and is $79 (after $20 rebate), so it's comparable in price to iWork. There's a spreadsheet in there. If Apple adds a spreadsheet, it will make AppleWorks fans waiting for a feature-by-feature upgrade very happy.

We'll probably have to wait until next year's keynote for that announcement. :-(