I'm getting a mac notebook and wondering whether to just go with i work or whether it is worth investing in microsoft office for mac. I'll be running leopard and not windows and kinda trying to avoid microsoft as much as possible - but not at the expense of compatability.

If someone sends me a word document then I can open it with the mac word processor while retaining all the formating? Can I then insert comments and / or track changes and export that back to word while retaining all the formatting?

Can I open ppt presentations in keynote while retaining animation features? Can I export keynote to powerpoint while retaining animation features?

Are there additional features in either i-work or microsoft works that makes one a better option than the other?

I've always been a PC user but the move to mac seems to be a good one with the system stability, system security (so nevermind cluttering up the system with zonealarm and stuff to get datamines) and lack of viruses (so no need for virus protection)... Just want to keep it uncluttered so it is FAST to startup and get going with a presentation / lengthy word processing document

Okay so you can only use endnote with word. That is a slight bummer... Maybe I'll need to go with word after all...

[wanttoheal]

Yea, sorry Alexandra, I feel the same way about Microsoft products but I do use Word with my mac. I also use Entourage because it has more options than mac mail for the moment.

I don't have leopard yet though but will be getting it in January. I'm looking forward to it.

Yeah... Looks like I'll need Word and Powerpoint. I've heard they are slower to run if they aren't running on Windows and there is NO WAY i'm gonna be running windows. So... So much for the fast start-up sigh. Still, will be that much faster than my old hunk of junk, I suppose.

[wanttoheal]

I've not had any problems with slow start up due to Mac Office. From what I have heard, Leopard OS has a slow start up in general (though still faster than Vista ), but rumor has it that they are coming out with an update in the near future to fix that.

While I don't like Microsoft, it serves its purpose. If your processor speed and RAM are good, you'll be okay with it. There is an alternative to Microsoft called Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org/). It's basically Office with slight variations... and free. I've used it in the past and it's worked fine.

With the new processors, you can run Windows on a section of the Mac, but I haven't found a need to do that because the programs I have are made for Mac.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Perna]

I wouldn't sacrifice the extra money for a Mac if you've got to run Microsoft anything on it anyway; get some hardware to help with the security problems. Stick a wireless router in there and there's no software "hook" for hackers to use; hardware doesn't have programs and that's what the hackers need to get to you. I only have hardware and a good Norton and I don't have much problem.

[wanttoheal]

I'd totally "sacrifice" for a mac, but I'm a mac addict.

"Once you try Mac, you never go back."

Not sure whether it is costing me a whole bunch more than a comperable PC or not...

MacBook 13-inch (Black) - yeah, so I know I pay more for black but I don't care :-p
2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2 times 1GB
2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
250GB Serial ATA drive @ 5400 rpm
Superdrive 8x (DVD+-R DL/DVD+-RW/CD-RW
AUS$2,222.73 (which includes 10% student discount)
(USD$1,916 - though that might not be fair since you guys might pay less for computers like ya do with communications)

Though I'll get the 3 year extended warantee too...
And a travel adapter and dongle for projector and carry case...

One of my mates is telling me I'd be better to go with the entry level macbook pro - but I think I'd rather upgrade the RAM and Harddrive (as I've done above) and enjoy the smaller size, lighter weight, and slightly longer battery life.

I will not play games.
I promise.

So since I won't be using much in the way of graphics (ppt / keynote and word / whatever the mac program is) aren't that demanding I'm not sure what advantage there would be in my getting a macbook pro. And... They're not black :-p

Just want to use it to write my thesis (don't dare crap out on me with a 100 page document)
And do some seminars (yay for the pretty apple remote)

Just want to keep it clean (not junked up with music and video and photos and crap) and hopefully FAST.

:-)

But I don't know anything about computers really...

Oh. And I'm gonna get into Skype and maybe the videochat thing. Maybe...