"Office 2011 for Mac" vs. "Parallels 8 w/Windows 7"

[TommyTwista]

I have Parallels and Fusion and find neither one that resource intensive. However, both programs do require a bit of close management as to memory and graphics allocation. I usually recommend members try out the free VirtualBox from Oracle first as that may be all they need.

Office 2013: I don't have a copy but the reviews I have read state that it's a fancied up version of Office 2010 (which I do have) and not to bother with the update. You use the word "complete" when referring to Office 2013; complete in what way? Mac Office 2011 includes Word, PP, Excel, and Outlook. I guess you can buy the version of Office 2013 that also includes Access and Publisher (Business edition) but will be almost double the price.

Anyway, it's up to you. I will agree that the Windows version of Office is more elegantly done than the Mac Office version.

Thank you for the prompt and informative reply. I work at a hospital that is a MS Gold partner, so I can purchase either MS Office 2013 professional or MS Office for Mac 2011 for $10(!!). But I can only purchase one or the other. So I could have the entire MS Office suite less Visio and MS Project (and additional $14 each) for very little. I will do some more research, including looking at virtualbox, as you suggest.

This is my first Mac and I appreciate your kind help.

 

[chscag]

Wow, if you can buy Office 2013 for that price, don't hesitate especially if it's the better edition which includes Publisher, Outlook, and several other apps that I forget. If you were to purchase Publisher or Outlook alone, the individual street cost would be around $120 or more for each.

And VirtualBox will run Office without a problem. Of course you'll also need a full install copy of Windows. I recommend Windows 7 as I'm not too fond of Windows 8 or 8.1.

 

[Demapples]

Parallels does a nice job of running Windows on my iMac, but the downside are the frequent Windows updates that slow me down. That''s why I migrated to Apple in the first place. Looking forward to ditching it completely.

 

[TommyTwista]

Wow, if you can buy Office 2013 for that price, don't hesitate especially if it's the better edition which includes Publisher, Outlook, and several other apps that I forget. If you were to purchase Publisher or Outlook alone, the individual street cost would be around $120 or more for each.

And VirtualBox will run Office without a problem. Of course you'll also need a full install copy of Windows. I recommend Windows 7 as I'm not too fond of Windows 8 or 8.1.

Thanks very much for the reply (late in my response as I was away for a few days)! I agree with you regarding Windows 8. I loaded it on an old laptop and that's what pushed me to buying a Mac.