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Additional costs of MBA?
- Thread starter raptorstv
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It depends on what software you need. Many apps have free alternatives.
I prefer MS Office for Mac, for maximum compatibility with Windows users. If you don't want MS Office for some reason, there are many alternatives, such as iWork, NeoOffice, LibreOffice, OpenOffice, Google Docs, etc.
To run Windows apps on your Mac, you need to install Windows via Boot Camp or use Parallels or VMware Fusion.
If you don't have a Windows license, you can use CrossOver to run some applications. Not all Windows apps are compatible with CrossOver. Check their site for compatible apps.
For more information about running Windows on your Mac, check out the Windows, Linux & other on the Mac forum.
For other software recommendations, click the link below:
Helpful Information for Any Mac User
Necessary software is a matter of personal preference. Bootcamp is built into OS X but you will need to purchase a legitimate copy of Microsoft Windows to put on it.
Then you have the choice of buying Microsoft Office for Windows and/or Microsoft Office for Mac.
Check on the document size you going to useto see if 64GB is enough. Have Windows in addition will consume quite some part of your storage. Or you plan is to connect external disk via TB or USB3; which might be required very soon.
In the UK, I got massive discount on Office for Mac because I am a student, it cost me £40 to use on 2 different Mac's. Maybe you have something similar in the US?
$30 less on Amazon for $89.
You might give the free Libre Office a try to see if it will meet your needs.
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You'll have to get the 128GB MBA if you want to run bootcamp and have disk space for anything. With bootcamp you partition your drive into two parts, one for Mac OS, one for Windows. You can decide how much for each, but even with 128GB, it will probably be pretty tight.
Like everyone else said, do not get the 64 GB version of the Air if you want to use Bootcamp. Even 128 GB might be pushing it depending on how much other stuff you have.
On the up side, Windows 8 is only ~$60 on Amazon if you preorder it... Which, oddly enough, is a lot cheaper than some of the versions of Office. If you're a student, you can always look and see if your IT department offers Office/Windows for free or Microsoft has a student discount as well.
On the up side, Windows 8 is only ~$60 on Amazon if you preorder it... Which, oddly enough, is a lot cheaper than some of the versions of Office. If you're a student, you can always look and see if your IT department offers Office/Windows for free or Microsoft has a student discount as well.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I got the latest copy for £14 with an educational offer.
And it has to be said, if you are going to run another OS be it by bootcamp or other, you will need to get the 128gb.
And it has to be said, if you are going to run another OS be it by bootcamp or other, you will need to get the 128gb.