I'm at a bit of a dilemma, if I were to get a Mac, what productivity software should I choose?

Should I use the freeware OpenOffice/NeoOffice?

Should I buy the dated AppleWorks?

Should I buy iLife '06 and use Google SpreadSheet/OpenOffice for the spreadsheet component?

Should I buy the dated Office 2004 for Students and Teachers.

Also, should I even bother spending $200 for a copy of Parallels + Vista for the Windows functionality? Will I even need it?

I only plan to use the machine for basic web surfing, word processing, and the occasional spreadsheet/presentation. BTW, any software recommendation must have full compatibility with documents that were originally made using MS Word/Excel/Powerpoint, as I may be doing some file exchange.

Thanks in advance.

 

use office x 2004. you def don't need parallels, or vista. just use boot camp and XP, which is all free.

appleworks hasn't been used since 1993, so forgot that one.

the new iWork which will be out in the next few months will have a spread sheet component in it.

if you really want to be productive, then read up on some of the GTD techniques described all over the net. There's tons of mac specific routines and tips to help.

 

I don't care for MS Office on the mac. I prefer NeoOffice.

 

I thought it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Apple was going to start charging Tiger users for Bootcamp when Leopard came out. Granted, if that turns out to be true then you'll probably get Bootcamp for free if you pay for the upgrade to Leopard.

I use Office x 2004 without just fine. Word is definitely the slowest application I personally run on my MBP which I guess isn't terribly surprising. Besides the occasional sluggish response it works just fine though.

 

Office for Mac. I think it's a PowerPC compiled product but Rosetta makes it run fine on an Intel-based Mac (I use a MacBook). Yes, it does have its slowdowns (I see the 'wheel' mouse pointer every once in a while) but you can port the document to a PC seamlessly.

Other productivity -- Firefox or Safari (Mac built in web browser) should be fine. I have to use Firefox because Blackboard (web based program for school) some how isn't 100% compatible with Safari.

No need for Parallels (unless you want both OSes running at the same time). Personally, I thought I would NEED it, but there's a program for Mac that works just fine.

 

i recommend photoshop and a wacom tablet with every mac.

 

Astro,

Do you think the new iWork '07 will be superior to MS Office, both in terms of functionality and price? Or will MS Office still reign as King and have your recommendation?

Thanks.

 

Office = Lot's of functionality, bloated, ugly, and inefficient.

iWork = Limited functionality, sleek, simple, efficient.


As it is right now, I use iWork for word processing (Pages) and presentations (Keynote). It does both better than Office, IMO.

We have no idea what will be included in iWork '07 yet. We're speculating that it will include a spreadsheet package, but who knows.

Even if it does, Excel is one of the few things Office implements well. iWork may fill the void that is currently only occupied by Google Spreadsheets (which sucks in it's own special way). iWork Spreadsheets will be light and simple, it'll be my spreadsheet app of choice for 90% of the spreadsheets I make, I'm sure.

But there will always be a need for Excel in all it's specialized glory for the other 10%.

You are a student, so you will need all of Office regardless. You need to share and collaborate on documents/projects with fellow students. You need office.

 

So, are you saying that Pages, Keynote, and possibly the upcoming iWork spreadsheet component lacks the ability of true compatibility between the MS equivalents as far as sharing/editing goes?

Thanks.