I just saw on the MBP specs page it says that iLife '06 comes bundled with the MBP. Has this always been the case or is it a new development?
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iLife '06 comes bundled?
- Thread starter Trepex
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Hmmm cool! And I guess since you mentioned iWork, maybe I could ask a follow-up question.
Background: I have been primarily a PC user although I've used Macs in various positions at work for development. My new MBP is going to be my first mac purchase though, for personal use.
Question: I'm going to need some sort of word processing / document suite; is iWorks a better candidate or should I spring for Office 2004? I'd prefer iWorks if it works really well. I hear it lacks some features like change tracking and whatnot but that wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.
Background: I have been primarily a PC user although I've used Macs in various positions at work for development. My new MBP is going to be my first mac purchase though, for personal use.
Question: I'm going to need some sort of word processing / document suite; is iWorks a better candidate or should I spring for Office 2004? I'd prefer iWorks if it works really well. I hear it lacks some features like change tracking and whatnot but that wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.
Fortunately for you, iWork '06 and Office 2004 both have trials that come bundled with your new Mac. Office '08 will probably have a trial version before it's released and NeoOffice is free, so you're able to try them all and compare them. If you find that one suits your needs better, then go with that one.
NeoOffice is free, but doesn't look as nice as the other apps, in my opinion.
iWork is pretty cheap but doesn't have the features (or a spreadsheet app in '06 - but the next version will most likely have one)
Office 2004 is a good program but it's more expensive and isn't universal, so it may be a little slower with some tasks.
Office 2008 will be universal, but may be more than you need.
Also, Office 2007 (windows) has and presumably 2008 will have a student/home version which is considerably cheaper.
NeoOffice is free, but doesn't look as nice as the other apps, in my opinion.
iWork is pretty cheap but doesn't have the features (or a spreadsheet app in '06 - but the next version will most likely have one)
Office 2004 is a good program but it's more expensive and isn't universal, so it may be a little slower with some tasks.
Office 2008 will be universal, but may be more than you need.
Also, Office 2007 (windows) has and presumably 2008 will have a student/home version which is considerably cheaper.
I'd hope its always been the case since it's the basis of one of the "i'm a mac, and i'm a pc" ads...
About purchasing Office for Mac, I happened to find that my University bookstore sells Microsoft Office Professional 2003 (Windows) for $89.00 or Microsoft Office: Mac 2004 for $79.00.
And the student edition sold by Microsoft is $150...
So be sure to check with your university bookstore and they may give you a great deal
And the student edition sold by Microsoft is $150...
So be sure to check with your university bookstore and they may give you a great deal
Don't know if this is important to you but MS Office 08 will not have VB scripting in it. If that is important you will need to stick to Office 04 or NeoOffice.
Always....BUT its not included in the OS, so if you have an old system before Tiger with iLife '05, iLife '06 is not included with a Tiger disk purchase, and that is why you see iLife being sold separately
I imagine right now it's just the MacBook Pro until a new refresh of others is out.