First Mac soon

[CARIBOU]

Hi All

I will be purchasing my first mac (imac 20/24) as soon a Leopard is released, and have a few questions.

1) I want to run office, is it better to install it using bootcamp on the primary hard drive, or buy an external which can also be used as abackup for files?

2) I will need to install windows xp and office. Can I use the reinstall disks that come with my curresn system (dell) or do I need to purchase a new copy of xp/office?

3) Would it be a good idea to add another gig of ram or would 1 gig do, considering I want to run office.

4) Are there any other suggestions you might have for someone making the jump to Apple, your help will be much appreciated.

Thanks

Randy

 

[iBookG4user]

1) I want to run office, is it better to install it using bootcamp on the primary hard drive, or buy an external which can also be used as abackup for files?

I assume you mean windows? And if so, I'd install it on the internal hard drive and get an external hard drive for Time Machine to backup to.

2) I will need to install windows xp and office. Can I use the reinstall disks that come with my curresn system (dell) or do I need to purchase a new copy of xp/office?

I doubt it, PC vendors usually tie the CDs to that particular hard drive.

3) Would it be a good idea to add another gig of ram or would 1 gig do, considering I want to run office.

If you're only going to do tasks like word processing, then you won't need more than 1GB. However if you want to run windows in Parallels or VMWare, you want 2GB.

4) Are there any other suggestions you might have for someone making the jump to Apple, your help will be much appreciated.

Are there any programs that you normally use on windows that you'll want Mac equivalents of? Like for instant messaging adium is great.

 

[xUKHCx]

By the time Leopard is released Office 08 for Mac (or whatever is will be called) should be released or nearing completion (as we will be in Q4). Then hopefully you won't need to install Office inside Parallels or bootcamp to get the latest version and features as you will have them natively in the mac platform.

 

[Eraserhead]

By the time Leopard is released Office 08 for Mac (or whatever is will be called) should be released or nearing completion (as we will be in Q4).

Well unfortunately its been delayed until January. Though I'm convinced that Apple will have native OpenXML support in the next version of iWork.

 

[xUKHCx]

Well unfortunately its been delayed until January. Though I'm convinced that Apple will have native OpenXML support in the next version of iWork.

Just read the news on the front page and was going to update this thread. Shame it has been delayed.

 

[emptyCup]

1 & 2. Unless you need Windows for something else, buy the Mac version of Office (even if it is Office 2004). The Student version is cheapest. Do you actually need all of Office or will Word do? Do you actually need Word? There are many fine mac word processors if you do not need absolute compatibility.

3. One GB is fine. If you need more later you can add it.

4. Switching to the Mac: Tiger Edition. Even though you plan to wait for Leopard, reading this ahead of time will make the transition easier (and give you something to do while you wait).

Best wishes.