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imac or PC

mduser63 said:
I actually think a big part of the reason why they don't include a very functional office suite is to keep Microsoft happy. If MS stops producing Office for the Mac, that will hurt Apple. By encouraging people to buy MS Office instead of just using a bundled Apple Office package, Apple is ensuring that MS makes money and continues to produce Office for the Mac. There are people who need perfect Office compatibility, no matter how good the alternatives are. Those people won't buy a Mac if MS stops making Office for Mac.

As a side note, I've got Office for the Mac, and it's really quite good. I generally don't like Microsoft's products at all, but they've done a nice job with Office for the Mac (and Office for PC really for that matter).
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That's the big reason why Appleworks was let go, and it's doubly true today. Now that Windows runs on Macs, any toe-stepping on the MS Office cash pony and suddenly OS X is without a mature office suite and instead of encouraging Windows users to get their feet wet, they'll be encouraging Windows users with money to blow to get Apple hardware and never even boot OS X except to install Boot Camp. If the "open document" fad actually takes off and alternative word processors become viable, then Apple might have a shot at putting together their own suite without angering Microsoft.
 
AS I mentioned before I remember in our University library there were macintoshes everywhere and they were specifically used for students to do there thesis, reports etc onso they were really word processors. Surely MS didn't invent this. I also remember Lotus ami pro, word perfect etc etc all with simialr suites. I agree without a credible office suite, apple macs will be brought as just alternate hardware to run windows on (well that's what I was planning on doing until I was told about, at this thread, open office. Had a play with MS Works for the apple at the store and it seemd very nice but it did seem more expensive than the windows version?)
 
needthephone said:
AS I mentioned before I remember in our University library there were macintoshes everywhere and they were specifically used for students to do there thesis, reports etc onso they were really word processors. Surely MS didn't invent this. I also remember Lotus ami pro, word perfect etc etc all with simialr suites. I agree without a credible office suite, apple macs will be brought as just alternate hardware to run windows on (well that's what I was planning on doing until I was told about, at this thread, open office. Had a play with MS Works for the apple at the store and it seemd very nice but it did seem more expensive than the windows version?)
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I would assume that those macs were running MS Office. MS Office has been available for macintosh since its beginning in 1984, and has been a strong selling point for macs. The other, more common, selling point is the OS.

Amazon prices:
Microsoft Office 2003 Standard (pc) = $329.99
Microsoft Office 2004 Standard (mac) = $349.99

Student/Teacher versions are much cheaper for both if you qualify.
 
I understand the desire to have a full office suite pre-loaded and do recommend getting MS Office for Mac education version.

The trouble is that many users also do not need a full office suite and
would prefer to keep prices as low as possible, so Office for Mac is there
but it's optional.

The majority of Mac purchasers use them for generating income or education.

For some, MS Office is a must, for others it may be Adobe CS2 or Final Cut Pro Studio or ProTools 7 and Logic Pro 7 etc.


For simple documents OSX does include TextEdit and it's actually quite usable for drafting reports.
It will also read most documents.


As you get familiar with your iMac and the Mac community, I think you'll be amazed at just how much really useful software is available for Mac OSX.

Generally we recommend purchasing at least 1 and preferably 2 GB
of 3rd party RAM for your system.

The savings of buying your RAM elsewhere, just about covers the cost of
MS Office.

Welcome.
 
I never had a problem with viruses, spyware, etc. so these are my thoughts....

You're going to save a lot of money and be just as happy with the PC if you do what you say you're going to be doing. Go with the Dell. Here in the US, for $500, you get an LCD, keyboard, mouse and system that will be adequate for your tasks. I'm not sure of the conversion but I'm sure it's super cheap in Australia, too.
 
One thing you are overlooking here is that IF you have the misfortune of
being stuck behind a desk working for some large corporation that requires
the use of a full MS Office suite, more than likely, they will provide you
with a multi-user copy so that you fit well into their corporate mold.

If you are running a small business, then it's just part of your business expenses and fully deductible.

The other thing you are overlooking is the value of trouble free productivity.

It costs the corporate world multi-billions just to keep MS Windows running.

If you are an owner operator of a small business or work for a small business, it's a whole different ballgame when your company does not need to hire a MS certified IT staff to keep Windows working properly.

I find it amazing just how much trouble and expense these large corporations are willing to put up with just so their employees can run MS Office.

Of course the MS certified IT staffers are going to be very defensive of Windows, because it's what they know and keeping it working justifies their salary and employment.

If these corporations were running their primary applications under Mac OSX, they could manage their IT systems for about 1/3 the cost in
staffing.
 
Drawing in appleworks is definitely pointless, as it is just a crippled version of painting with dotted lines everywhere.
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Except that it prints without jaggies on a laser printer... and you can draw stuff with it... it works just like a simple Draw program should, what's your complaint again??

I use it to make color certificates, worksheets, permission slips, just about everything I need in my second-grade classroom. Paint wouldn't work at all.
 
FFTT said:
One thing you are overlooking here is that IF you have the misfortune of
being stuck behind a desk working for some large corporation that requires
the use of a full MS Office suite, more than likely...
Click to expand...
Did you post this in the wrong thread accidentally? It doesn't seem to be relevant to anything here.
 
I would love to know how many people have been a pc user, then converted to macs and then then thought, bollocks to these macs, I am going back to a pc. Could I count them on more than one hand, myself, been using macs since 1991. would eat my own hand if I had to give up my mac for a PC.
 
I have just realised another good reason wy my choice of the imac is the right one. I have just installed a wireless router and am writing this on my lap top while I am siting in front of the TV with my new DLink wireless thingy connected. I just love it. Anyway the imac is so portable, I don't have to move a heavy tower, un plug loads of cables so if I want to use it in our upstairs office or outside I can! Its just another hidden benefit, they should play on, this is almost a laptop. I love the attention to detail on the mac and the apple software. Every icon hs been lovingly created to create such a great experience, it's a pleasure to use. Just need to configure this wireless thing to work with osx. Apple have stuck to their guns,not rushed out shoddy product and I am now most definetly a fan. Just want to say that I don't hate microsoft and windows though and can't understand why people hate them with such venom, windows xp has hardly ever crashed (not like earlier versions). Apple and Microsoft can coexist and help one another. I do concede (having used early macintoshes) and DOS that apple really invented the whole 'windows' concept.
Now I need their mobile ipod??
 
needthephone said:
I have just realised another good reason wy my choice of the imac is the right one. I have just installed a wireless router and am writing this on my lap top while I am siting in front of the TV with my new DLink wireless thingy connected. I just love it. Anyway the imac is so portable, I don't have to move a heavy tower, un plug loads of cables so if I want to use it in our upstairs office or outside I can! Its just another hidden benefit, they should play on, this is almost a laptop. I love the attention to detail on the mac and the apple software. Every icon hs been lovingly created to create such a great experience, it's a pleasure to use. Just need to configure this wireless thing to work with osx. Apple have stuck to their guns,not rushed out shoddy product and I am now most definetly a fan. Just want to say that I don't hate microsoft and windows though and can't understand why people hate them with such venom, windows xp has hardly ever crashed (not like earlier versions). Apple and Microsoft can coexist and help one another. I do concede (having used early macintoshes) and DOS that apple really invented the whole 'windows' concept.
Now I need their mobile ipod??
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hey needthephone, nice to hear about it. Welcome ~~
 
epepper9 said:
I have to disagree there. I find it has useful tools in word processing and painting, for when textedit doesn't quite have the options you need (multiple columns, word count, etc) or you don't want to whip out photoshop just for a quick sketch. Drawing in appleworks is definitely pointless, as it is just a crippled version of painting with dotted lines everywhere. :rolleyes:
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I love AppleWorks too!

Great wordprocessor, imo. They should port it to Intel, too - to bad they don't. :(
 
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