Some questions about switching to mac

[rollecoasterfan]

Hi all - I am looking to buy the less expensive aluminum macbook, this will be my first mac so I have some questions:
1. I will be buying Microsoft Office for mac. Will this be exactly the same as the windows version, just for mac?
2. I will need to print things, and I already have a printer for my desktop PC. Can my macbook wirelessly connect to that (if there is a way with a wire, how would you do it)
3. If I want to play Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 on it, will it work, or will I have to get some kind of mac version of the game?
Thanks for answering my questions

 

[CrzyCanuck72]

1. It's not exactly the same... the interface is different... but the files are interchangeable between Macs and PCs, and the majority of functions are there

2. Depends on the printer. At the least it should work through USB. Do a google search for the model of your printer + "wireless Mac"

3. You'll either need the Mac version, or play it through Parallels or Boot Camp. You can't directly play PC games (or run PC programs) in OS X.

 

[Bacong]

Don't waste your money on MS Office, download Open Office instead. It's free.

Then use the extra money and get the better Macbook

 

[dsnort]

Don't waste your money on MS Office, download Open Office instead. It's free.

Then use the extra money and get the better Macbook

I'd second that, only I'd vote for Neo Office. More Mac like. It's not the same as MS Office, but you can accomplish MOST of the same things. (There are some obscure features in Excel and Word the Open Office and derivatives can't do.)

 

[MTI]

What, no love for iWork?

As for printing . . . it truly does depend on the printer. Some printers just don't like talking to Macs, like the HP Color Laserjet 1600. If your printer can emulate a compatible printer, you may be in luck.

 

[Jethryn Freyman]

1. Mac Office is pretty much the same, but the latest version doesn't support macros.

2. Yes

3. Boot the Mac up in Windows (via Boot Camp) to play games. Games on OS X are usually slower, buggier, and are only supported for a few years.

 

[miles01110]

Don't waste your money on MS Office, download Open Office instead. It's free.

I'd second that, only I'd vote for Neo Office.

While OpenOffice and NeoOffice are both adequate alternatives, if formatting is important to you (for example if you work in a company that has templates) you're going to want to get Office 2008 for Mac.

2. I will need to print things, and I already have a printer for my desktop PC. Can my macbook wirelessly connect to that (if there is a way with a wire, how would you do it)

Is it connected to your PC or to your home network?

 

[dsnort]

Another note on MS Office for Mac, while Excel, Word, and PP play nice with their Windows counterparts, be aware that Entourage is not a Mac version of Outlook. It is in fact, a very poor substitute.

 

[WickedRabbit]

What, no love for iWork?

I'm new to the Mac myself (have only had it for a few weeks now) and I bought iWork 09'. I was told by friends who've been using Macs for years that iWork is a love it or hate it type of deal and after using it for a few weeks I definitely found myself on the hate it side of things.

It's fine if all you are doing is opening common (i.e. nothing with too many scripts) .doc or excel files and things of that nature. It's also a bit more simple when trying to create an elegant word document and things of that nature. But, where it seriously fails is when trying to open more complex Excel and Word files that contain a lot of scripts, as iWork does not properly support the majority of it. Nearly every excel file that I opened from my work, iWork (or lack thereof) did not support the formatting and this lead to tables that I could not edit or drop boxes that I could not use and things of that nature. It was pretty annoying and I soon found myself buying Office for Mac.

Office for Mac is not as complete as its PC counterpart (as MS surely doesn't want to give Mac users "all" of the features), but it gets the job done. It's got a much nicer interface and is significantly easier to use on Mac though due to the design changes that heavily borrows a lot of Mac philosophies, which sort of makes you wonder why they don't just do that for the PC versions.

Still, my issues that I have with iWork 09 probably wouldn't affect most people since I'm dealing with work related files most of the time. Daily/common usage is fine and if you're constantly trying to put together a pretty word document or simple excel file with a few scripts it's definitely easier to do in iWork (especially with Excel type files if you're unfamiliar with all of the commands in Office). And, at $79 you can hardly say it's not worth buying if not only just to have an extra option to use.

 

[indigotheory]

I think iWork is a love or have thing, i love it, in my opinion the end results of keynote do seem to have the edge over powerpoint. and theres little issues with compatibility as you can export to pdf, .doc and doc.x etc...

 

[rollecoasterfan]

Thanks for the current answers, now I have some follow-up questions:
1. My main need for Microsoft Office is for it to be compatiable with Windows as I will need to present powerpoints and possibly print somethings that were originally started on a mac and sent to a PC. I like Microsoft Office because I already know how to use it. I don't need outlook, so the stupid version doesn't worry me. Is Microsoft Office the best choice for me?

2. I am completely clueless about the technical computer terms, so after researching my printer, it is not clear to me whether it will connect wirelessly to my macbook. This is what I came up with:
Operating System Compatibility PC, Mac
Compatibility Requirements MacOS X, MacOS 8.6, MacOS 9.x, Windows XP, Windows Me, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows NT 4.0

http://printers.bizrate.com/hp-deskjet-5650-inkjet-printer--pid7794845/ <-- if that is not the info that is needed, check here

Thanks for helping me, I am absoulutely clueless about th is

 

[MTI]

Office for Mac is not as complete as its PC counterpart (as MS surely doesn't want to give Mac users "all" of the features), but it gets the job done.

Ironic, isn't it . . . since Office was originally developed for the Mac.

Luckily the OP's printer is natively supported by OS X

 

[angelwatt]

1. My main need for Microsoft Office is for it to be compatiable with Windows as I will need to present powerpoints and possibly print somethings that were originally started on a mac and sent to a PC. I like Microsoft Office because I already know how to use it. I don't need outlook, so the stupid version doesn't worry me. Is Microsoft Office the best choice for me?

I'd say go ahead and get MS Office. It won't completely feel like the Windows version, but it will more so than the other options.

 

[Jethryn Freyman]

1. My main need for Microsoft Office is for it to be compatible with Windows as I will need to present powerpoints and possibly print somethings that were originally started on a mac and sent to a PC. I like Microsoft Office because I already know how to use it. I don't need outlook, so the stupid version doesn't worry me. Is Microsoft Office the best choice for me?

I like Office better than any of the other options.

It's also far better for compatibility.

 

[rollecoasterfan]

Sorry if this is annoying but I have one more question:
If I want to play a DVD, will it just work, or do I need a special program?

 

[agl82]

.

 

[Jethryn Freyman]

DVD Player is included with OS X.

VLC also plays DVDs.