Best word processor for recent switcher

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What is the best program for lowest cost and most features that has compatibility with microsoft word (mostly newer versions). I am a recent switcher (3 days) and almost everybody who i do document work with uses word on a pc so i need a program where we can exchange files that are fully compatible with each other. i know that there is Mac Office vX but I find that rediculously priced (like almost everything MS)
 
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trpnmonkey41 said:
What is the best program for lowest cost and most features that has compatibility with microsoft word (mostly newer versions). I am a recent switcher (3 days) and almost everybody who i do document work with uses word on a pc so i need a program where we can exchange files that are fully compatible with each other. i know that there is Mac Office vX but I find that rediculously priced (like almost everything MS)

Well there is OpenOffice. You'll need to download and install X11 though, which you'll find all the documentation on the above site. It's the best alternative by far and it's free :) Just takes a bit of installing, etc etc.

Cheers!
 
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Murlyn said:
Well there is OpenOffice. You'll need to download and install X11 though, which you'll find all the documentation on the above site. It's the best alternative by far and it's free :) Just takes a bit of installing, etc etc.

Cheers!


thanks a bunch murlyn i will try that out right now
 
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well i tried to do all the things for openoffice but it got a little complicated for me so i had to cancel. any other suggestions out there. AppleWorks seems like it might work good....anybody have experience with that
 
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trpnmonkey41 said:
well i tried to do all the things for openoffice but it got a little complicated for me so i had to cancel. any other suggestions out there. AppleWorks seems like it might work good....anybody have experience with that

I've only used Office vX so I'm not an expert on the others, however, from what I've read, TextEdit in Panther will be able to read/write Word files. Hopefully Panther *crosses fingers* will be out in September :)
 
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schweb said:
I've only used Office vX so I'm not an expert on the others, however, from what I've read, TextEdit in Panther will be able to read/write Word files. Hopefully Panther *crosses fingers* will be out in September :)

im a week old switcher here but will i have to pay to get upgraded to panther? i have jaguar 10.2.6 already that came installed onmy powerbook.
 
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trpnmonkey41 said:
im a week old switcher here but will i have to pay to get upgraded to panther? i have jaguar 10.2.6 already that came installed onmy powerbook.

unfortunately yes, but panther, unlike windows, actually fixes problems and adds useful features. Apple upgrade prices are usually $100 - $130 depending on where you get it and what kind of discounts you are eligible for. I use Office vX for my word processing needs, but I have used open office in linux and it is pretty compatible with everything. I have been holding off on trying it on my mac until they get the OS X compatible installation done, which has been promised. They may wait until Panther releases because panther will include X11 instead of relying on the user to get X11 installed and working.
 
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hokiethang said:
unfortunately yes, but panther, unlike windows, actually fixes problems and adds useful features. Apple upgrade prices are usually $100 - $130 depending on where you get it and what kind of discounts you are eligible for. I use Office vX for my word processing needs, but I have used open office in linux and it is pretty compatible with everything. I have been holding off on trying it on my mac until they get the OS X compatible installation done, which has been promised. They may wait until Panther releases because panther will include X11 instead of relying on the user to get X11 installed and working.

how often do OS updates come out? If they do student discounts I will be eligbile for those and I got these coupons when i got my powerbook that i think our for software.
 
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trpnmonkey41 said:
how often do OS updates come out? If they do student discounts I will be eligbile for those and I got these coupons when i got my powerbook that i think our for software.

OS updates are usually anywhere from every 12 - 18 months or so I have been told. I just got a powerbook in April, so Im not quite sure how updates work. I am going on what I have been told by a long time mac user friend of mine. Student discount is nice, I believe it lowered the price of OS X.2 from $129 to $100 for my friend. I am not sure how that will work for X.3. I plan on buying it at the university bookstore so I dont have to pay shipping or taxes.
 
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alright i just dont want to be forking out 100 bucks every few months for an update
 
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Note!

trpnmonkey41 said:
alright i just dont want to be forking out 100 bucks every few months for an update

Okay, I can't believe this thread went on this long without clarifying this point!!!! You get Mac OS UPDATES for free whenever you run Software Update. You can download them and update your OS 10.2 system to 10.2.6, and get the latest version of iTunes for free. What you guys are talking about, however, is an OS UPGRADE! The difference between 10.2 and 10.3 is nothing like the difference between XP Service Pack 1 and Service Pack 2! It's more like the difference between 2000 Pro and XP Pro. You have to pay because it's a signifigant upgrade, with not only bugfixes, but new features (fax through print dialog, file vault, exposé, new finder, fast user switching, PDF options, Xcode, open Word docs in TextEdit, etc.). Going from 10.2.5 to 10.2.6 doesn't introduce new features, only bug fixes to the existing feature set.
 
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jcromartie said:
Okay, I can't believe this thread went on this long without clarifying this point!!!! You get Mac OS UPDATES for free whenever you run Software Update. You can download them and update your OS 10.2 system to 10.2.6, and get the latest version of iTunes for free. What you guys are talking about, however, is an OS UPGRADE! The difference between 10.2 and 10.3 is nothing like the difference between XP Service Pack 1 and Service Pack 2! It's more like the difference between 2000 Pro and XP Pro. You have to pay because it's a signifigant upgrade, with not only bugfixes, but new features (fax through print dialog, file vault, exposé, new finder, fast user switching, PDF options, Xcode, open Word docs in TextEdit, etc.). Going from 10.2.5 to 10.2.6 doesn't introduce new features, only bug fixes to the existing feature set.

Isn't it also going to be G5 Optimized :D :confused:

sKaD
 

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