Want to buy MAC, but must i pay $300 for Microsoft Office 2004

<p>Hi everyone, I am currently a PC user, and I am considering changing to MAC for several reasons. My brother is the one who persuaded me to get a MAC. He said he purchased multicrappy laptops and desktops which all broke on him. Either the PC's fan broke or the hard drive wouldn't work or there was some virus on the PC. Hearing all about those problems, I've decided that purchasing a MAC might be a smarter choice. I rather have one computer that lasts than several multicrappy PCs that don't. Anyway, my major concern is Microsoft Word. In order to get MS Office 2004 for MAC, I must pay $300 which I don't think is worth the money. I know that I will be using programs like Word, Excel, and Powerpoint at school but I don't want my computer crashing with that Parallels software for MAC.</p>

<p>My intentions are to purchase a MAC with 2GB ram and 160 Hard Drive(The most basic MAC). Then buy Parallels for $66.00 and install Windows XP edition and then Microsoft Office 2007 on the MAC. It sounds like too much trouble and I don't know if the macbook would crash. Can you guys give me some feedback or advice from your own personal experiences.</p>

<p>Does your school sell software? My school buys Office in bulk and the student cost of Office 2004 for Macs is only about $75 or so.</p>

<p>For students Microsoft Office is $125 for OS. Why would you want to use XP on the mac? I understand for games, but why for MS Office?</p>

<p>I'm personally going to try out some free typing programs for everyday stuff and then get iWork for presentations or fancier papers. Its cheaper - $50.</p>

<p>He wants Microsoft Office 2007, which is not yet ported to Mac. </p>

<p>Although it should techinically work, you are right in saying that it is too much work. Running virtualization just for word processing is overkill. Your computer will probably be able to handle it, but it's just a waste of system resources. Also, I would never pay >$100 for Microsoft Office; actually, I wouldn't pay anything for it. Its a monopoly of a program from an evil empire. </p>

<p>If you don't want to pay the money for it, just get openoffice, which is an open source version of it. I use it exclusively and have had no problems whatsoever. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.openoffice.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.openoffice.org&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>No, actually I don't care what version of Office it is...I just use more complicated features in Excel and Word because I'm constantly working with spreadsheets and making data tables for my dad. I heard Iwork is great for presentations but lousy for word processing. I'm not sure if my school, Emory, sells Microsoft Office 2004 Mac edition in bundles. I do however have a Windows XP Professional edition for my PC at home as well as a a Windows Microsoft Office 2007 edition which I could possibly use on Parallels or Boot Camp. I just don't want trouble with Office and some word processing program crashing on my (potential) Macbook. I tried OpenOffice.org and whie it does the job it can't do more complicated tasks that I've been able to do in MS Excel 2007, which is what I need for my dad's work statements. Is there anyplace i can just order or get MS Office '04 Mac edition without paying the $300?</p>

<p>No, actually I don't care what version of Office it is. I jsut want to be able to use the decent version of the real Office version because Im constantly making spreadsheets and tables that require a little more advanced features than what Iwork does. Iwork is great for presentations but not for word processing and I need good word Processing. While OpenOffice.org is good it does not cut it...I need more features. I was thinking about Parallels or Bootcamp but I dont want my computer crashing because of another operating system. I dont know if my school, Emory, sells MS Office '04 for MAC in bundles. Even if they did, I don't think paying $125.00 would be worth it because I have the 2007 edition on PC at home.</p>

<p>open office is only for windows. the mac equivalent (made by the same company, etc) is neo office. <a href="http://www.neooffice.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.neooffice.org&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Open Office is not only for windows, the software is ported to Windows, Mac, and of course, Linux.</p>

<p>Honestly, Pages isn't that bad. After using Word it might take some getting used to, but I have yet to find anything that I can do in Word that can't be done in Pages. Some things are actually easier to do. And iWork 08 just came out. It has a program similar to excel now. When you buy a Mac you get a 30 day free version of iWork. It might be worth it to just try it out, and if you're really opposed you can get Office on XP.</p>

<p>Everyone that I've talked to on Mac forums say they never have a problem running XP on their Mac. I wouldn't be that concerned with it crashing.</p>

<p>Well, Apple released iWork '08 today, along with a sick new iMac...</p>

<p>As mentioned, iWork came out today, and it's been getting excellent reviews.
If you absolutely need Office, Office08 comes out in January, and it should be a UB version, which is what you'll want.</p>

<p>one more thing...I know there are softwares TIGER and LEOPARD for mac. Do they come with the MAC? Leopard looks much better than Tiger but its only be released in October. Can I chose which one I want my laptop (rather Macbook) to come with?</p>

<p>Once Leopard is released all Macs will come with it.</p>

<p>Gotta love all the bias and misconceptions flying around here...</p>

<p>10.4 (Tiger) ships with all current Macs, including the new iMac announced today. Come October, all Macs will come with 10.5 (Leopard). If you get a Mac with Tiger now, I believe you can upgrade in the future with a student discount on Leopard. That's what I'm going to do; I can't wait any longer.</p>

<p>I liked today's iLife '08's improvements, including the much better iPhoto and significantly better iMovie. As for iWork, I don't know. Although I've always felt Keynote has been far superior to PowerPoint, I still think Excel has an edge over Numbers. We will see; I'll swing by the Apple Store tomorrow to check out all the new goodies.</p>

<p>hey diehldun, let me know what you found out at the Apple store. ANy new formed opinions about iWork '08?</p>

<p>Ucapplicant05 - if don't like this thread then simply don't read it. It's that easy. I'm just trying to work with something new..take a chance on a Mac. If you have any personal experiences with a Mac, I would be happy to hear them; whether it's bad or good. Saying that ' there are bias and misconceptions flying around here' does not help me understand what is wrong with a mac. I need specific examples or thoughts on why you think there are misconceptions flying around here.</p>

<p>diehldun - what are the iphoto improvements? What did they change? I have iLife 06.</p>

<p>Open Office sucks....and so do Macs</p>

<p>I had PCs my entire life until a month ago when I got my MacBook. I LOVE everything about it. My best friend, who was completely anti-Mac, fell in love with mine and just got himself a black one and couldn't be happier.</p>

<p>After experiencing how quickly this thing boots up, the two-finger scrolling, etc., I wonder why I bothered with PCs for so long and why they just can't make computers that work as well as this one does.</p>

<p>That's very constructive Sheed30...once again if ur gonna post something bad or negative I need to know why you specifically don't like Macs.</p>