Letters to the Editor
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End of the line? Not at all...
Yes, iWork is a replacement for AppleWorks more than for MS Office. But if you're one of the people who use only non-advanced features of Office (e.g., you are content with only one table of contents per document and only 65,535 lines per spreadsheet), it could be a replacement for Office, one that lets you accomplish more while efforting less.
Here are two reasons why iWorks is not "at the end of the line":
1. Integration. All three iWorks apps effortlessly pull in media and data from the other iWork and iLife applications. When you open a letter or envelope template in Pages, it's magically filled in with your name/address/phone/etc. (from your Address Book). Without leaving Pages, flip through your iPhoto library and insert your picture right into the bordered, rotated template image. In Numbers, drag a group from Address Book to create an instant spreadsheet of your contacts. Integration is also why the much-maligned Dot Mac service is actually worth having. Apple applications work together smoothly on your desktop.
2. Apple still leads in user interface design. AJAX is an improvement, but I don't see it catching up with Apple's interface features, which continue to improve. I've already forgotten whether it's command-K or command-shift-K to delete/insert a row. Now I just drag or click on quick little contextual popup menus.
Bonus reason: From all I've seen and heard, Keynote kicks PowerPoint's patootie (Keynote is the presentation app in iWork).
Sure, call me a wimp--I'm using iWorks, getting my work done, and enjoying it.