My DD just purchased an Apple MacBook and I have no knowledge of these OPS or their software, lol! HELP!!!
I have been using Windows for the past 20 years and now it seems as if my DD went out and landed on a different planet, lol!
She needs a good Software program that is simular to MS Works or Word...My question is as follows:
Do you know of a good downloadable program that is easy to operate for her as she enters her 3rd year of College? I know that the Mac came with a trial version of Iworks and that it is available for 30 days, then you have to purchase it. Is the Iworks software worth the price and does it offer enough?
I am not familiar with any of the Mac Program Software and need some good help from you guys!
She has been using my Computer and programs while she has attened a local JC and now she is leaving the house in a month or so...I went out to Best Buys and the techie told me that it would take three different programs to install Windows on her MAC and then the MS Word software, lol!
Loading three program, just seems like it was out of the question...about $350.00 to install windows and Word on a Mac? I hope he did not know what he was talking about
Thanks guys for any help or direction on this issue!
You can get Microsoft Office for Mac (Student Version) for about $150. You do not need windows for this program to work. I use it on my Mac and have been hap with it. You can save the files and access them on a windows machine as well.
It is an easy install and it automatically updates.
I asked the techie at BB about this very proram and he told me specificly that I had to have windows to operate it, and then I would need a side by side proram for compatibility and YADA YADA YADA...
Afer reading the MS OFFICE for Students box, I thought this would be what we wanted...so much for the very knowledgeble help there, lol!
A program called Boot Camp comes with OS X and there is Parallels and Fusion that are also available. The difference is with Bot Camp you have to reboot to switch. With all three you have to have a copy of Windows.
Having said that and depending on the school and her major, you may not need any of the above. I'm a teacher and use IWorks with total transparency. I use IWork to write a test, export it to Word, take it to school and edit it on the Windows computer on my desk. As for the price, I got the Family Pack of 5 installs for $80 (IIRC) which is half the price of the single student version of Office.
Does it do enough? That's a question only your DD can answer. It depends on how many bells and whistles you need. Numbers is the weakest in a feature comparison with Excel, but Keynote and Pages have all the same basic features of PowerPoint and Word. I would suggest she use the trial version and see if it does everything she needs it to do.
Next, when you shop, check out the Apple Store If you look in the frame "Apple Store" on the top left, you will see "Education Store". Apple offers discounts to student and faculty. For example, standard price for IWork single is $79, but $71 in the Ed store. Not much, I agree, but when sending a daughter off to college, every little bit helps. Many college bookstores also sell Mac items at the student discount price.
Hey, tell the DD congrats for me!!! You have two options: for basic note taking and typing up papers your DD can use the iWork suite available for $79 online or at any apple store. Remember that the online apple store and all physical apple stores give a student discount of close to 15% with student ID. The iWork suite includes Pages (= Word), Numbers (=Excel), and Keynote (=powerpoint). All three programs will both open and save files in the MS Office compatible file types (.doc, .xls, .ppt). This should be fine for most students. For very intensive formatting environments she will probably need MS Office 2008 for Mac. This DOES NOT require windows of any kind but it is quite expensive. Try first to get it from the college bookstore where it should be available for $10-$20.
Finally, if you have a copy of Office for windows, and a license and copy of Windows XP (or vista) laying around unused then you can buy Parallels for the Mac ($89) which will allow you to run Windows as a program and inside that you can install Office 2003 or 2007. This solution is not too bad as once you set it up the launch time is very quick and you can even place shortcuts to the programs (Word, etc) in the "dock" (start bar looking thing at the bottom) for direct access. NOTE: if she's going into a major that requires a lot of work on the computer and specialized software that only runs on windows she may end up needing this ANYWAY. Also, you should be able to purchase Windows licenses at the college bookstore for $5-$10.
Please feel free to PM me with other Mac questions if you want.
Josh
03 Ram 1500 Quad Cab with Hemi 5.7, HD tow package, K&N Cold Air, B&W Companion + Ball, Prodigy,
1987 Prowler 27.5',
Macbook Pro 17" (Fastest Vista Laptop, iPhone)
Me and the DW and our
2 Dogs: Jackson (golden), Pumba (min-pin)
Works great for Windows and says it works on those Mac things!
Dave
Best? Nope. Neo Office is the ported version of Open office for Macs. Located here. Many people don't have X11(needed to use open office) installed on their computers. It's on the install disc.
For the OP You can get MicroSoft Office for Mac. Use her student discount. That's if she really needs/wants Office. The "sales person" is WRONG.
If it's just for her so she can do her reports etc.. Then iWork will work just fine for her. It has a word processor(Pages), spread sheets(Numbers), and presentations(Keynote). Plus, it's cheaper then office.
Works great for Windows and says it works on those Mac things!
Dave
OpenOffice works very well and you can't beat the price. Even better IMHO is NeoOffice which is based on OpenOffice but has a more Mac friendly user interface. It is also FREE. Ditch that Microsoft bloatware!
* This post was
edited 07/18/08 07:59pm by an administrator/moderator *
Open office is free and yes it works on macs without any issue. Completely compatible with the real microsoft word, excel etc
Neo Office is also available for free and it's what I use all the time
A great source for programs is Versiontracker for Mac OSX They do have sections for Unix and PC. You can download trial version of software without going to their site and most updates are listed there. They have user comments, cost etc for most programs. Has been one of my favorite sites for years
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