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Macbook Questions

S

SenatorBen

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 5, 2007
13
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Hey all, I am a former iMac user who decided (unwisely) to go the cheaper route and get a Vista notebook instead of a Macbook, and now am switching back to Macbook after bad experiences with Vista...anyway...


1) I've been looking at Macmall online because they seem to have good deals, but I have a few questions: is buying from Macmall the same as buying directly from Apple? For instance, do I still get the 1 year AppleCare warrenty included, is the RAM included Apple RAM, etc?

2) I have to do a lot of work with documents, moving back and forth between French and English...is there a French language pack for Leopard or Office 2008, as with Vista, to enable French spell checking and menus and the like? Is it free or does it have to be purchased?


3) I'd like to stick with Office 2008 to have full compatability, but I've seen the horror stories...is there a 30 day trial version of it available for download to try out? I couldn't find one on Microsoft's web site.

Thanks so much!
 
1) You will have a 1 year AppleCare warranty. As for the RAM, Apple themselves don't actually make RAM, so... it will be RAM that is compatible with the machine in question.

2) OS X itself supports switching languages for the interface out of the box, and I'd assume Office is localized. Not sure about spell-checking in Office 2008 personally (since I don't own it) but I believe there are installable dictionaries for other languages that come with it, if it's anything like older versions.
 
SenatorBen said:
3) I'd like to stick with Office 2008 to have full compatability, but I've seen the horror stories...is there a 30 day trial version of it available for download to try out? I couldn't find one on Microsoft's web site.
Click to expand...

I haven't had my hands on a new one for a few months, but they had been including a 30-day trial pre-installed.

You should also look at neo office/open office suite, which is extensive, free, and supports all of the MS office files I've had to deal with.
 
I know there are some people having problems with Office 2008, but I know quite a few people who are happy with it. Also, I mainly use iWork, and I've never had compatibility issues. It's been flawless, and I deal a lot with Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.
 
1. I've heard bad things about the MacMall return policy (ie, it's non-existent). That's a deal-breaker for me, and I'd rec either Apple or Mac of all trades instead.

2. Office '08 has recently been repeatedly crashing on me whenever I run the spellcheck. Not sure why. Besides that, it's decent (though I'd seriously consider going back to '04 if it came with a Leopard gui). I know Office '04 has a French spellchecker, so I'd assume '08 does as well.

3. I think a trial is bundled with the laptop. Maybe. When I got my MB, I believe it had '04 bundled. If I were you, I'd just go with Open/Neo Office, or MS '04 if I absolutely had to have Word. '08 is just a fatter version of '04.
 
SenatorBen said:
Hey all, I am a former iMac user who decided (unwisely) to go the cheaper route and get a Vista notebook instead of a Macbook, and now am switching back to Macbook after bad experiences with Vista...anyway...


1) I've been looking at Macmall online because they seem to have good deals, but I have a few questions: is buying from Macmall the same as buying directly from Apple? For instance, do I still get the 1 year AppleCare warrenty included, is the RAM included Apple RAM, etc?

2) I have to do a lot of work with documents, moving back and forth between French and English...is there a French language pack for Leopard or Office 2008, as with Vista, to enable French spell checking and menus and the like? Is it free or does it have to be purchased?


3) I'd like to stick with Office 2008 to have full compatability, but I've seen the horror stories...is there a 30 day trial version of it available for download to try out? I couldn't find one on Microsoft's web site.

Thanks so much!
Click to expand...


I'd buy a refurb Black MacBook from APPLE for $1049,(while they last)
Put in 4GM Memory and never look back. Don't know about MacMall, but Apple comes w/ a 1 year, and then,before it's up, buy AppleCare for an additional 3 more
Language support is in all MacBooks, (deleted all but english in mine)
30 day trial for MS Office 2008 is available but Pages opens all my Word stuff
I be done w/ PC's:D:D:D:apple::apple::apple::apple::apple:
 
Cheffy Dave said:
I'd buy a refurb Black MacBook from APPLE for $1049,(while they last)
Put in 4GM Memory and never look back. Don't know about MacMall, but Apple comes w/ a 1 year, and then,before it's up, buy AppleCare for an additional 3 more
Click to expand...

Applecare will extend it for an additional 2 years on top of 1 year complementary service. So the total is 3 years with Applecare.
 
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