12-13-2009, 03:38 PM

I have never used a mac before but I have become interested in switching over since acquiring an iPhone. If such a small phone/handheld computer does what it does so elegantly then a real apple computer must be a dream.

I have a key question though, and it is a dealbreaker.

I work a lot from home (about 50% of the time), so my work will be split between a mac environment (at home if i get a macbook pro) and a windows environment at work. I use Microsoft Outlook for my email needs. Each time I switch from work to home or vice versa I save all of my emails as a .pst file on a memory key and upload them to whichever computer I am working on. This is a very simple process taking less than 30 seconds each time I do it. It means that I have a complete archive of emails both at home and at work.

Is it possible to get Microsoft Office operating on a Mac in exactly the same way as on a PC? Will I still be able to save my files as .pst files and upload them quicky as I do now.

I have seen hints that Microsoft will produce Outlook for Mac next year. Will this give me the flexibility that I want? I am aware of software like Outlook2MAc but this will not give me what i want as I will be switching from a mac to pc environment several times a week and I want complete access to my emails in each location.

12-13-2009, 07:13 PM

For now, you will need to convert your Outlook email to a format which can be read on the Mac. The fastest and most simple way is to buy a small program called "O2M" from here and use it to do the conversions. The cost is $10.00.

Microsoft has already announced that the next version of Office for the Mac will include Outlook and will also reinstate macros. Mac Office 2010 will probably be released sometime in the second half of 2010 according to the MS pre-announcements.

Regards.