real world speed tests for Word on PPC, Intel Macs and older Macs?

[California]

I'm still mystified by on issue that got me on MR in the first place:

Word for the Mac.

Now, am i correct in assessing that basically no one has done speed tests on Word for Mac, like, uh ever?

Because this is what I use EVERY DAY on my macs and have since 1989.

And the speed for Word is the same as it was since 1989.

Or am I wrong?

Does everyone know that at MSoft, there is this little outpost of an office where the Word for Mac people work? Like, three people total? And yet, every Mac person I know is COMPLETELY DEPENDENT upon Word.

Yeah yeah, I know there are other programs.

I don't want to learn another program.

I would like some speed tests.

 

[emptyCup]

I'm still mystified by on issue that got me on MR in the first place:

Word for the Mac.

Now, am i correct in assessing that basically no one has done speed tests on Word for Mac, like, uh ever?

Because this is what I use EVERY DAY on my macs and have since 1989.

And the speed for Word is the same as it was since 1989.

Or am I wrong?

Does everyone know that at MSoft, there is this little outpost of an office where the Word for Mac people work? Like, three people total? And yet, every Mac person I know is COMPLETELY DEPENDENT upon Word.

Yeah yeah, I know there are other programs.

I don't want to learn another program.

I would like some speed tests.

So are you saying that you type much faster now than you did in 1989 and Word, which hasn't gotten faster, can no longer keep up? There are many things I don't like about Word. That is why I generally use one of the alternatives you do not want to try. Word's speed is not one my problems. What, specifically, bothers you?

 

[After G]

What would you test with regards to speed?

I mean for document loading, Word is kinda slow. I think that formatting/style should be separate from content, so that docs would load faster depending on if I wanted to just get information or publish them. I haven't found my ideal document editor yet, though.

Document saving is acceptable, though. I'm not worried as much about speed as about feature bloat, readability by other document creation software, and general clunkiness.

Disclaimer: I type slow, so I guess I don't find typing delay bothers me that much since I think more than I write.

 

[dukebound85]

Is office for mac (ppc mac) as optimized as office for windows. I know in doing excel calculations it seems the mac version is slower when using ppc on i would say close to equivalent systems. however ppc systems did not compare easily performace wise to windows machines so that may be an issue as well

 

[omeletpants]

I just upgraded from my old G5 IMac to a new Intel IMac. I was expecting noticeable increases in speed on MS app loading and internet surfing. No improvements to report and the MS apps actually load much slower

 

[dukebound85]

I just upgraded from my old G5 IMac to a new Intel IMac. I was expecting noticeable increases in speed on MS app loading and internet surfing. No improvements to report and the MS apps actually load much slower

well thats because office (i assume thats the app you are talking about) has to be emulated since it is not yet ub. this would make it slower for sure. to help compensate for this iin the meantime, ram is the answer

 

[California]

So are you saying that you type much faster now than you did in 1989 and Word, which hasn't gotten faster, can no longer keep up? There are many things I don't like about Word. That is why I generally use one of the alternatives you do not want to try. Word's speed is not one my problems. What, specifically, bothers you?

No, it is just that it feels like a dinosaur. It is confusing to me that a machine like the 145b Powerbook circa 1993-94 runs Word the same as my 2006 end of PPC lineup Macs: 1.5ghz, 2.0ghz machines. And getting on the internet with that old dialup modem was not really that much slower than Safari. What has sped up on modern Macs? I don't get it. My G4 mac mini 1.5ghz with 1 gb of ram is really not that much faster than my old 400mhz Tibook. And that Tibook was not that much faster than that old 1993 145b Powerbook. I mean on the internet and on Word.

 

[emptyCup]

No, it is just that it feels like a dinosaur. It is confusing to me that a machine like the 145b Powerbook circa 1993-94 runs Word the same as my 2006 end of PPC lineup Macs: 1.5ghz, 2.0ghz machines. And getting on the internet with that old dialup modem was not really that much slower than Safari. What has sped up on modern Macs?

Okay, I think I understand. You are complaining that the machine itself does not seem to have gotten faster. For one thing, there is a limit to how fast a word processor needs to be. My 6 MHz. Mac could keep up with me in 1984. But, and I think this is why you feel the way you do, the improvements have gone into other areas. In 1984 the Mac may only have had a 6 MHz. processor, but it also only had a 9" monochrome screen that could only run one program at a time. Now we have large monitors, running many programs at once at "millions" of colors while playing music and running animation. Much of the performance increases have gone into making our programs more powerful and more usable.

If you were a film editor in 1989, rather than a writer, you would definitely notice speed increases. In 1989 editing film on a personal computer was unimaginable. Ten years ago it would have taken hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment. Now you can do it on a Macbook for $1000. People in fields like this notice speed increases. That is why they are glad to buy maxed out Quads and are waiting for the 8 core machines.

I do not understand why you complain about Safari running like it did on a dial-up. When I switched from dial-up to fiber optic my download speed went from hours to seconds. You could use this to test the speed of your connection. Since you have a G5 you don't have emulation issues. How much RAM do you have and what do you usually run at once?

 

[California]

Okay, I think I understand. You are complaining that the machine itself does not seem to have gotten faster. For one thing, there is a limit to how fast a word processor needs to be. My 6 MHz. Mac could keep up with me in 1984. But, and I think this is why you feel the way you do, the improvements have gone into other areas. In 1984 the Mac may only have had a 6 MHz. processor, but it also only had a 9" monochrome screen that could only run one program at a time. Now we have large monitors, running many programs at once at "millions" of colors while playing music and running animation. Much of the performance increases have gone into making our programs more powerful and more usable.

If you were a film editor in 1989, rather than a writer, you would definitely notice speed increases. In 1989 editing film on a personal computer was unimaginable. Ten years ago it would have taken hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment. Now you can do it on a Macbook for $1000. People in fields like this notice speed increases. That is why they are glad to buy maxed out Quads and are waiting for the 8 core machines.

I do not understand why you complain about Safari running like it did on a dial-up. When I switched from dial-up to fiber optic my download speed went from hours to seconds. You could use this to test the speed of your connection. Since you have a G5 you don't have emulation issues. How much RAM do you have and what do you usually run at once?

Dude you did a good job of explaining things to me. Yes, I once edited some music videos I directed on old 3/4 inch machines and then Avids. I do know the progress of editing on a Mac, tho have not yet had a chance to go for it. It just seems like I'm trying to optimize my own vocational experience with better macs and I still get beach balls and bogged down, when ram is maxed, hard drives are maxed etc.

Granted, I'm chicken to go Intel. Not quite ready. But still, Word and Safari are pretty dang slow. That there is any lag time amazes me. But your points make sense and actually make me feel better. I love my Macs, but these little questions do bug me.

 

[wordmunger]

MS Word is unbearably slow on the Mac. I try to avoid using it at all costs (I use Pages or TextEdit), but sometimes there's no choice -- for example, if I need to track changes.

It's sad, really. Maybe the next version (2008?) will be faster, but I'm not holding my breath. And I don't like the way the "ribbon" in the Windows 2007 version robs me of vertical space.