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Microsoft Office for the Mac?

K

kermythefrogy

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 6, 2010
3
0
So, I am customizing my Mac after being a long time windows user(this is not by choice, but rather cause I used whatever my parents had) but I am heading off to school and in need of a laptop so I am switching over.

and I was just wondering if the Microsoft Office option was worth it, I know there are plenty of free word processors like Open Office or google.docs and what not, but is it necessary really?

How about the iWork? Is it better than any of the aforementioned ones?

IDK, help would be appreciated as, ya know, I don't wanna mess up.
 
 
Wait for Office 2011

As to whether you buy MS Office or not, I recommend you just try the alternatives to see if they meet your needs. If you decide you want to get MS Office, wait for 2011. I have been using the beta versions for the last couple months and it is much better than 2008. Loads faster, better interface.
 
I would only buy MS Office if a specific course required it. For note-taking and writing reports, the free solutions are more than adequate. If you want more features or fancier documents, iWork is a cheaper option than Office.
 
jahala said:
As to whether you buy MS Office or not, I recommend you just try the alternatives to see if they meet your needs. If you decide you want to get MS Office, wait for 2011. I have been using the beta versions for the last couple months and it is much better than 2008. Loads faster, better interface.
Click to expand...

Office 2011Office 2011Office 2011Office 2011Office 2011Office 2011Office 2011Office 2011Office 2011Office 2011Office 2011Office 2011Office 2011:)

You could download some alternatives while your waiting. Also I think you are able to purchase Office 08 after a certain point then upgrade for no-cost to 011 when it is released. Although I gave up on 08 and took the office 07 -10 route through bootcamp I will be purchasing 011 when it is released as it seems to more on par with it's windows counterparts for features etc
 
jahala said:
As to whether you buy MS Office or not, I recommend you just try the alternatives to see if they meet your needs. If you decide you want to get MS Office, wait for 2011. I have been using the beta versions for the last couple months and it is much better than 2008. Loads faster, better interface.
Click to expand...


I believe if you buy Office now you'll get a free upgrade to Office 2011.
 
So, I think I decided to buy with iWorks and then download and use alternatives until the 2011 office comes out.
Thanks guys
 
MAN I bought '08 in July without any clue of this! You think they'll let me slip in an upgrade?

I bought it from a third party re-seller though...!

These types of things happen to me so much!
 
Unless you're a hardcore user, iWork will be so much better and easier to use. Plus, it's almost fully compatible with Office.

I say "almost" because even though iWork can open all Office documents and can save to all Office formats, if your files are fancy, there will be a few minor discrepancies from time to time. But if you're just an everyday user, you will not notice this.

I only have Office for Mac tainting my iMac because I frequently make and share PowerPoint presentations for work (which is 100% PC) and I don't want to bother with going back and forth between Keynote and PowerPoint.

For everything else or for my personal documents, I use iWork all the way.

And don't forget iWork is only half the price of Office!
 
Amasashi said:
I only have Office for Mac tainting my iMac
Click to expand...
I don't know why people have this attitude about MS Office. So many seem to forget that MS Word was written for Mac before Windows, and MS Office was released for the Mac first. It's not like they're taking something intended for Windows and re-engineering it for the Mac. They started with the intention of making Office software for the Mac.
 
GGJstudios said:
I don't know why people have this attitude about MS Office. So many seem to forget that MS Word was written for Mac before Windows, and MS Office was released for the Mac first. It's not like they're taking something intended for Windows and re-engineering it for the Mac. They started with the intention of making Office software for the Mac.
Click to expand...

Office may have started for Mac, but now it's certainly focused primarily for Windows. Otherwise, the Mac version wouldn't always come out a year AFTER the Windows one.

iWork 09' has been near-perfect since the day I got it. Office for Mac 2008 has updated nearly 2 GBs worth of crap in 6 months time. It's also much too complicated for the everyday user.

I'm not saying that Microsoft is the devil and I shun all things from it, it's just that I switched to Mac for the simplicity and fluidity, and Office for Mac reeks of Windows complexity, which is what I'm trying to escape from.

But like I said before, if you're a hardcore user, iWork will not be enough. You'll need Office.
 
GGJstudios said:
Searching the forum with MRoogle will usually find answers to most of your questions:

iWorks vs MS Office. Which to get?
Microsoft Office 2007 Home and student vs I Work
iWork vs Office
iWork or Office 2008 for Mac?
iwork, office for mac or open office for mac???
As a businessperson: iWork or Office for Mac?
iWork or Microsoft Office for Mac?
iwork 09' or office 08'?
MS Office 2008 - iWork '09 - iWork '10
IWork or Office for college?
iWork vs. OpenOffice
iWork '08 vs. NeoOffice ?
iWork '09... Goodbye to Office '08???
Neo-Office or Open Office?
... and many, many others.

As you might guess, there are as many opinions on this as there are people.
Click to expand...

In the time it took you to write that post, you couldve just wrote a quick opinion and answered the question.

For me I prefer Office, just cause i was so used to it from using a PC at work and school. But iWork does have some nice features.
 
I don't like either. If I'm using it, it's probably for a lame paper for school, hence why I don't like it. ;)
 
Mac7 said:
In the time it took you to write that post, you couldve just wrote a quick opinion and answered the question.
Click to expand...
That post took less than 10 seconds, since I had it saved. If I wrote my opinion, that's all the OP would get: one opinion. By posting the links (which, by the way, the forum rules says is a preferred response), the OP gets access to dozens or hundreds of opinions, instead of just one. Plus, by mentioning MRoogle, the OP now knows how to find answers to other questions faster, by searching, instead of posting a new thread and waiting for responses.
 
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