Microsoft Office on XP or Mac's version of Office?

[Captain Planet]

Hey everyone. I'm not sure if this is the right place for my question, but I wanted to get opinions from you guys. I use Microsoft Word, Excel and sometimes, Power Point quite often at college. They have PCs of course... and I have an iMac. And I wanted to get Microsoft Office at home.

Now, I was looking on the web for different prices and all that. I wasn't sure between buying Windows XP (because I work with XP at college, not Vista) and downloading Bootcamp, or Microsoft Office for Mac. Also, I wasn't sure if the Mac version was similar to the one for Windows... and also if I could transfer files from the PC to Mac versions without problems.

Basically, money wise, if I buy one or the other, there isn't too much of a difference. But I haven't looked everywhere for the best prices available, although I'm guessing it's pretty much the same most places (internet).

So what do you guys think? I read a few reviews here and there and it seems like some people have a few problems with the Mac version, while others say it's great. Any advice? Thanks in advance!

[iShater]

Buy the version of office for the OS where you will be spending most of your time in.

I use Office of OSX and exchange files with work, and I haven't had problems.

If you use VBA scripts, then you should use the Window's version.

my $.02

[Captain Planet]

Alright... and I don't even know what you mean by VBA scripts, so chances are I'm not using those. So should I buy it off Apple's website? You know if there's any discount for students?

[ant-macyourself]

There's a Home & Student edition which is $149 that includes Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Entourage. You might be able to find it for a little cheaper, but not so much that it'll really make a big difference.

EDIT: I found it on MacMall.com (http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail.asp?Redir=1&description=Microsoft%2DOffice+2008+for+Mac+%2D+Home+and+Student+Edition%2DBusiness+Software&dpno=7352258&adcampaign=email,MWBCHNXXXXXX&wt.mc_id=MWBCHNXXXXXX) for $125... looks like a good price to me.

[Captain Planet]

Yeah, I saw that... it's $179 CND. But that's with the purchase of a Mac... so in reality, it's $199. But I really need it so it won't stop me from buying it.

[cathyy]

Depends on which one you're more likely to use it on. Since I'm a programming student, most of my schoolwork has to be done in Windows, hence I got Microsoft Office for Windows.

On the other hand though, it only cost US$9 for my MS Office 2007, and my MBP already comes pre-loaded with MS Office 2008 (for Mac), so I've actually have it in both OSs. :p But I hardly have any use for MS Office in Leopard.

[voxnj]

The Office Suite for MAC is terrible! I wouldn't recommend it for anyone -- even if it was free. They've left off many features and have made others very difficult to find and use. I have abandoned the Suite. I am a very heavy business user of "word", "excel" and "PowerPoint" I recommend two alternatives:

1. OpenOffice.Org -- Now my primary document, spreed sheet and presentation suite. It's free, and in late stage Beta for the MAC. Nevertheless I have never had a problem with it. It looks, feels and operates just like the Microsoft windows platform.

2. Use Windoxs XP Version in Fusion. This also works great for me -- on all apps.


Good luck

[clevin]

mac version has no data analysis pack, other than that, should be fine.

also the windows version has bigger discount now, $84 for 3 licenses at newegg, amazon etc.

[nick9191]

I can get the full version of Office for Mac (not the student version) for £35 ($60).

http://www.software4students.co.uk/Microsoft_Office_2008_for_Mac-details.aspx

And its not a hoax

http://www.microsoft.com/uk/education/buy/pro-default.mspx

[drichards]

Office:Mac is fine, but you might like to give iWork a try. Excellent value and compatibility.

[aznguyen316]

I have Office 2008 but am not using it much b/c I graduated and am not writing essays at all anymore, but I do like iWork 09 although does not seem as nice as Office 2007 for windows. I used Office 2007 for windows for my undergrad though. Try iWork, it's a ton cheaper and plus I like to stay native to OS X.