Which Office type software is best for home use?

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Hi Guys,
I have only recently switched over to using a Mac and my computing needs are simple. I need to browse the web and write stuff down. That's it. Of course, there are other things that I do such as watching Youtube videos but that's classed as "FUN". I don't actually NEED to do it.
It's this "Writing stuff down" bit that is making me think. On my Windows based PC I had a genuine copy of MS Office which was massive overkill when you compare what it contained and what I actually used. So now, after reading a bit on the web, I have a few choices. I can buy another copy of MS Office for Mac. That could be a cheap, older version 'cos there is no need for me to have all the whistles and bells. I could buy iWorks with the same sort of caveat. Or I could get a free download of Open Office or Neo Office. But you know what they say. "You get what you pay for".
So for a simple programme that will let me write masses of stuff and with no need to organise Presentations or Spreadsheets, which would you guys suggest I get?
Cheers,
Steve
 
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Maybe textedit is enough?



I wouldn't buy an old version of office at the moment, it may be out of date sooner or later. My opinion is that you go for something free. Neooffice or Openoffice. They are free to use and is regularly updated.
 
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chscag

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So for a simple programme that will let me write masses of stuff and with no need to organise Presentations or Spreadsheets, which would you guys suggest I get?

Try "Bean". It's a small easy to use word processor that has many features similar to iWork Pages. The nice thing about Bean is you can set it to default to save as *.DOC. (MS Office)

Bean is free.
 
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I'm not a big office user. Use word and some spread sheets thats about it. I downloaded and am using Open Office. Have been very pleased with it. Does what I need. The learning curve was easy.
 

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Don't know what you do or if you need an office app, or just think you do because everybody has one.

I have iWork '08 and Open Office - have kept Open Office on my Win machines for maybe 10 years?? - use Office '07 at work (all day :Grimmace:).

Don't believe I've actually created a document using a word processor (at home) in at least 5 years, maybe longer. l do use a spreadsheet on occasion.

Use Textedit on rare occasion. Quick notes to myself, lists, and other stuff like that, I use SideNote. Just for jotting stuff down, this has been a great app for what I need.
 
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I have downloaded the "Bean" software and that seems to do the trick.
The original question was what you might call Budget based. I mean, if you just have to have a certain brand of software to do a particular job then you just have to bite the bullet and buy it. However, if there are free versions around and folk have tried them and found them to be fit for purpose, all the better.

Thanks for all the info, guys.
 
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Useing Neooffice very happy.
 
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Another vote for Bean. Great stuff for free, and not overkill like an entire office suite would be.
 
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Useing Neooffice very happy.

Had my new iMac for two weeks now and downloaded and installed OpenOffice a day or two after bringing it home. But in those two weeks I have not had to use any office software and so haven't really tried it (I've been using OO for quite a while now on Windows and Linux though -- I avoid MS products as much as I can).

I used NeoOffice on my old iMac G4 and while it ran and worked fine, start up took forever. So my question is how does it work on your computer? Was the snail-like startup due to an old and slow computer, or does NeoOffice just take a long time to load?
 
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Hi,

When I first got the Macbook I loaded OpenOffice but then found NeoOffice for Mac so changed and find no difference in loading time between the two. And from what I understand others may correct me NeoOffice is not for the PC platform so this is why I went for it, I do not want to run Bootcamp or any PC orientated software on the Mac just personal preference.:D
 
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Hi,

I do not want to run Bootcamp or any PC orientated software on the Mac just personal preference.:D

I would agree with you there, but I'm not sure OpenOffice should be considered PC-oriented software. It's cross-platform and runs natively on Windows, MacOS X, and Linux. If I were to go their web site and check, I'm sure I would find other platforms that it runs on. For example, since it's produced by Sun, I would think it run on Solaris too. (I know I could check this all out easily enough to be sure, but it's very late and it's time for bed.) OpenOffice is the default office software for Ubuntu Linux.
 
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Hi,

Yes OpenOffice is cross-platform but I do not think NeoOffice is, and that was my point. Absolutely nothing against OpenOffice in fact when I was a PC user that was the office suite I used.;)
 

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The NeoOffice interface is much nicer and Mac like for OS X. Open Office Mac is amateurish in its look and feel. As a matter of fact, IMO, it's ugly. OO is much nicer in the Windows and especially Linux version.

However, if you don't need a suite of Office apps, but just a word processor, you can't go wrong with Bean. It's a real Mac application not something that was ported over - like OO.
 
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Hi,

Yes OpenOffice is cross-platform but I do not think NeoOffice is, and that was my point. Absolutely nothing against OpenOffice in fact when I was a PC user that was the office suite I used.;)

Sorry, my mistake. Your wording made it sound like you were loading up Bootcamp to run OpenOffice, which seemed strange to me. Many apologies.
 

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