[DM-MUG] AppleWorks & iPod

[John Kisner]

I'm new to this list and have two questions:

1) I moved from ClarisWorks to AppleWorks but now find myself at 
something of a dead end.  Without macros, I find AppleWorks really 
showing its age under OSX.  I like the program at a sentimental level, 
but find myself switching over to Excel for more and more of my 
spreadsheet work.  (I still like AppleWorks for word processing).  My 
question: is there any talk of AppleWorks getting a true upgrade to 
become the "Keynote" of productivity software?  Or is AppleWorks just 
something Apple keeps alive to make sure MicroSoft does not abandon the 
Mac?

2) My iPod is great, but I don't use it with headphones because the 
loudness seems to vary so much from one imported CD to another.  (I 
know there is the Soundcheck button in prefs, but it doesn't seem to 
solve the problem.)  Is there something else I should be doing to keep 
songs at a consistent decibel level?

Thanks,

John Kisner

PS-- I will try to attend a DMMUG meeting -- that might be the best way 
to unravel secrets of the iPod.