Other - Word an Powerpoint viewers for mac - Mac-Forums.com

James Medic · 07-01-2009, 01:49 PM

Can anyone help???

I am a new mac user, trying to find a program that will allow me to view and edit word and powerpoint documents on my iBook G4... I have tried Neo, OpenOffice and the free trial of OfficeForMac from Microsoft... they are all proving difficult to install.
I would be happy to simply view these documents as many are work related and I need to be able to project these documents in order to carry out a successful and appropriate presentation. As yet, I have been unable to use my mac for this purpose and as the G4 is the only laptop I have, I am stumped. HELP!!!!
I basically need a .dmg download link that is free, so I can use these documents

vansmith · 07-01-2009, 02:11 PM

Did you make sure to download the PPC version of OOo? The G4 is a PPC Mac so if you try to install an Intel version, you're going to run into trouble. Here is the download link for NeoOffice PPC. Office 2008 is a universal application so it should have no problem running on your machine.

What specific errors are you having?

James Medic · 07-01-2009, 02:38 PM

I have tried to download various versions of office suites as detailed, some have not been dmg files and subsequently have not installed, others i.e OOo have downloaded and installed but once opened, it has just sat there looking confused, not running beyond saying it is open on the tool bar. It simply didn't run.

I have managed to install Neo in the last five minutes but that too seems to be just doing nothing, the Neo icon is on the task bar but it is not even registering on the top of the screen

James Medic · 07-01-2009, 02:49 PM

Neo is open on the task bar but a press on the mouse pad reveals that is it unresponsive... any ideas?

I appreciate your initial rapid response, thank you

vansmith · 07-01-2009, 02:57 PM

Did it install okay? What are the specs of your G4?

James Medic · 07-01-2009, 03:07 PM

Machine Name: iBook G4
Machine Model: PowerBook6,5
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (1.2)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1.2 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 256 MB
Bus Speed: 133 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.8.7f1

vansmith · 07-01-2009, 03:42 PM

That's not a super fast machine and OOo/NO are fairly hefty programs. They may not be responding because they are taking a long time to load. For example, the system requirements for OOo 3 on a Mac list 512MB of RAM as a minimum, as do the system requirements for Office 2008.

louishen · 07-01-2009, 04:04 PM

The CPU speed would easily run NeoOffice, but the RAM you have really needs upgrading to run anything at a decent speed

James Medic · 07-01-2009, 04:13 PM

Thank you both for your help...
Regarding RAM... How do I upgrade it?
Regarding initial question... Are there any downloads that would enable me to simply view powerpoint as a presentation?

louishen · 07-01-2009, 04:21 PM

Here's the spec for your model, so its PC2100 DDR SDRAM

Apple iBook G4/1.2 14-Inch (Early 2004 - Op) Specs (iBook G4 - Early 2004 - M9419LL/A) @ EveryMac.com

I would install a 1 gig chip if I were you

Apple iBook G4 Memory Upgrades at OtherWorldComputing.com

And Microsoft used to make Office viewer apps years ago, but with so many free tools to edit Office docs around, the demand for simple viewers has evaporated

James Medic · 07-01-2009, 04:26 PM

Again, thank you for that... I will certainly get my RAM upgraded.

I still need to access the Powerpoint files I have tho... can it be done, if so, how?

Cheers

vansmith · 07-01-2009, 04:35 PM

I can't think of much right now except for maybe Google Docs. If you do decide to go this route, thoroughly test the pres before you do though just in case. Perhaps someone knows of a better alternative.

James Medic · 07-01-2009, 04:38 PM

Thank you... You have both been a great help.

elpepo · 07-23-2009, 06:28 AM

which one should i buy ?? ( i want to run windows ((office 08-09 , and open .pps files )) on my mackbook 4gb ram , 160gb )

VMware fusion 2.0
office 2008 for mac
Parallels Desktop 4 Mac