To Mac or not to Mac?

MickiSue

Level 2 Member
I've been using Mac laptops for over 9 years. My iBook from May of 2005 refused to die, long after Apple stopped supporting it--it was pre-Intel. Even so, the Genius bar kids would help, when needed. When it started to run slower and slower (I used it hours, daily, for my from-home business), I bought extra RAM, and installed it myself.

I bought a 13" Air in 2012, and will probably not need a new laptop till 2019, if it's as long lasting as its predecessor. The only issue may be that, as newer apps grow to use the RAM available, I may need more, and the Air won't allow me to install it myself.

Husband has a 2009 15" Pro. It has only 2G of RAM, and is currently using 1.9G of that...it's gonna have to go, I think. But it will, of course, be replaced by an Apple product. Yes, they cost more than Windows. And yes, they can have bugs. But in 9 years, I haven't experienced 1/10th the number of issues as in a day of using some of the Windows releases.

FWIW, I use OpenOffice, which is free, for spreadsheets, presentations and writing. You can save your work in OpenOffice format, or in Excel or other formats, for sharing, and can open attachments from MicroSoft Office users, as well.

My POV is that you will spend it now or spend it later...and spend more time being aggravated, as well, with a Microsoft product.
 

MarkD

Level 2 Member
I'm still using Office 2011 (which I bought for $9.95 through Microsoft's Home Use program (that's offered for employees at select companies). Sad they haven't released a newer version!
Huh? I'm using Office 2013 bought through the Home Use program right now. Maybe they are just not offering it to your company?
 

InstinctX

Level 2 Member
Huh? I'm using Office 2013 bought through the Home Use program right now. Maybe they are just not offering it to your company?
(Microsoft's HUP) For Mac? Or Windows? There isn't an Office 2013 for Mac -- even a full price retail version. Microsoft was suppose to release a new version for Mac late this year (Computerworld article). But it's been delay. Most likely it's going to be Office 2015.
 

skibum3d

Level 2 Member
This. For travel, I LOVE the macbook air. It's almost as light as a tablet, and the aluminum frame is tough. Dropped mine from 3 feet, while it was open, and the only ill effect was that a corner was slightly bent. :eek:

I do hate Excel on the Mac.

I don't understand the Mac user that said he wants to get back to Windows/Linux. On reason I actually got the Mac was the fact that it uses Linux. Use terminal and pull up a bash shell. :D
Apparently I'm nit-picky tonight. Mac doesn't use Linux, it's based on a Unix system derived from FreeBSD called Darwin. Darwin does have bash as you say, but Apple stopped updating to newer versions of bash at in 2007 because they're (rightly) scared of the GPL version 3. In fact, GPL-3 is a strong reason as to why Apple funded and built a large portion of the LLVM project.
 

InstinctX

Level 2 Member
5 years later ..... A free *BETA* version of Microsoft 2016 for Mac is available for download!!! BETA = buggy, "unexpected" features. Proceed with caution for critical, important documents!!!

http://products.office.com/en-US/mac/mac-preview

From the FAQ on their website, this beta version will be free for Yosemite users until mid-2015, (when the finalized version goes on sale).

It's stated on the site that these betas will function for about month after the official product-release, (in mid-2015), and it looks like after that you'll need to purchase it, (or perhaps a monthly-subscription for $7. per month?).

From their site; "Every build will expire roughly 60 days after it is posted. The last preview build will continue to function for roughly a month after our official launch date."

EDIT: the Microsoft servers have been slammed... the size of the download is 2.5 GB ... but it took over an hour for me to download!

Note: You must be running Yosemite... You can install this in a separate area from Office for 2011.
 
Last edited:

Matt

Administrator
Staff member
5 years later ..... A free *BETA* version of Microsoft 2016 for Mac is available for download!!! BETA = buggy, "unexpected" features. Proceed with caution for critical, important documents!!!

http://products.office.com/en-US/mac/mac-preview

From the FAQ on their website, this beta version will be free for Yosemite users until mid-2015, (when the finalized version goes on sale).

It's stated on the site that these betas will function for about month after the official product-release, (in mid-2015), and it looks like after that you'll need to purchase it, (or perhaps a monthly-subscription for $7. per month?).

From their site; "Every build will expire roughly 60 days after it is posted. The last preview build will continue to function for roughly a month after our official launch date."

EDIT: the Microsoft servers have been slammed... the size of the download is 2.5 GB ... but it took over an hour for me to download!

Note: You must be running Yosemite... You can install this in a separate area from Office for 2011.
Got it, stoked for excel as Numbers really sucks.. but the Beta is buggy as heck. Looking forward to a stable release soon!
 

InstinctX

Level 2 Member
FYI: Production version of Office 2016 for Mac, subscription based aka Office 365, is now available for purchase (though IMO, 2016 is still buggy and not ready for prime-time). Unfortunately, the option to buy it as a one-time purchase is not avail until September --> this is the better value.

If you haven't already, download & install the beta versions (if still available). If you already have Office 2011, those apps are saved in another folder.

Office 365 Personal, which includes Office access for 1 computer, 1 phone, and 1 tablet, is priced at $69.99 per year or $6.99 per month. Office 365 Home, with access for 5 computers, 5 tablets, and 5 phones is priced at $99.99 per year or $9.99 per month. There are also Office 365 plans designed for students and businesses at different price points.

https://blogs.office.com/2015/07/09/office-2016-for-mac-is-here/
 
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