Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
neo office or open office
- Thread starter fjs08
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
NeoOffice is very nice, the latest version uses an aqua interface, which makes it just like any other Mac application. I've ditched MS Office completely for NeoOffice, and have not yet encountered any Office files I cannot open (and I get those all the time).
OpenOffice still requires X11 window manager to run, but you get updates faster (NeoOffice is based on OpenOffice, and usually stays one revision behind).
OpenOffice still requires X11 window manager to run, but you get updates faster (NeoOffice is based on OpenOffice, and usually stays one revision behind).
Oh yes. Works very well (uses a lot of virtual memory, but unless you're very pressed for HD space that shouldn't matter).
Just choose the Intel version when you download the application, and later when you download patches (there's not a universal version, but separate PPC and Intel versions):
However, it's not really fast in loading.
I have a macbook with 1 gb ram, and loading neooffice seems to take forever. It's also one big app, in contrast to MS Office multiple programmes.
It's better than paying the MS tax, though.
im using neo office, while i wait for my ms office disc to come in and i hate this thing, its slow and each file is ridiculously large 100+ kb for simple word files. but i shouldnt complain it is free......
That's because it loads that 1GB or so into virtual memory...
And, it's mostly on the first start-up after a reboot it's painfully slow, after that it's just fine...
ok pardon my ignorance (new to mac, used winblowz all my life) but with neo office i can open .doc files and then create files and save them as .doc and open them in microsoft word on an xp machine? is that correct?
if so, sweeeeet if not, then i'm gonna need some explanation on the difference haha
if so, sweeeeet
if not, then i'm gonna need some explanation on the difference haha
Oh yes...
Technically, you don't need NeoOffice either, as TextEdit (which comes with your Mac) also can open/save .doc files, but that has some limitations, especially when there's lots of formatting and/or embedded images/clip art/media files.
I use NeoOffice. As mentioned above it is not the fastest loading, but once it is open it works very well. Best of all you can forget about Microsoft.
I've had NeoOffice on my PowerBook for a while in addition to MS Office. Side by side, I prefer NeoOffice. When I finally convinced my mom to go Mac, I loaded her MacBook up with NeoOffice (and a good haul of free apps and little shareware ones too). Considering this was my mom's first Mac, I didn't really want to hassle with X11 or have to get into Rosetta.
Now, my mom had to have access to a lifetime's worth of WordPerfect .wpd documents in addition to straight Word .doc files. NeoOffice opened them all like a champ. I also set her up with AbiWord as a backup incase NeoOffice corrupted anything, but so far she hasn't had any need.
To fight NeoOffice's slow startup, I just fixed it so it starts up whenever the Mac does, and got my mom to avoid quiting the app everytime she closes a document. Most of the time now, NeoOffice is just running quietly in the background. Whatever virtual memory it may be hogging doesn't seem to be causing any trouble for the rest of the apps, at least no visible problems.
Now, my mom had to have access to a lifetime's worth of WordPerfect .wpd documents in addition to straight Word .doc files. NeoOffice opened them all like a champ. I also set her up with AbiWord as a backup incase NeoOffice corrupted anything, but so far she hasn't had any need.
To fight NeoOffice's slow startup, I just fixed it so it starts up whenever the Mac does, and got my mom to avoid quiting the app everytime she closes a document. Most of the time now, NeoOffice is just running quietly in the background. Whatever virtual memory it may be hogging doesn't seem to be causing any trouble for the rest of the apps, at least no visible problems.