Switching from Microsoft to Apple....?

Question

We've got Microsoft Office suite at the moment. If we switch to Apple, can we still use powerpoint, word, etc [or their equivalent] and would it still be able to use our other current programmes e.g. open song? Would we have to make major changes? If someone else gives us a word doc or powerpoint could we open it with the new apple? Thanks.

Answer 1

You are looking at buying all new software. Apple is proprietary. Macs were designed around the idea that if you bought one, you had to buy your software from Apple also. It AINT cheap either nor will you have anywhere near the selections you had with your PC. Welcome to the world of Apple! You just gave up a ton of freedom of choice in software and hardware both.

EDIT: Thats the typical Mac logic....spend a fortune on a Mac, then spend more money on it to run Windows when you could have gotten a PC with more power for half the price to begin with..

Answer 2

There is a Mac version of Office. If you have a legitimate copy for Windows, contact Microsoft about doing a cross platform upgrade. I think you can get the Mac version for the same price as the upgrade version.



I suggest looking at two alternatives.



1) Apple's iWork suite. It comes with Pages for word processing, Numbers for spread sheets, and Keynote for presentations. Each will import and export to Office formats. iWork costs $80 - or $100 for a "family license". I use iWork for most of my office needs. The only exception is for a large set of Word documents that I copy and paste into Dreamweaver. Pages does not copy the formatting like Word does. When I copy from Word, I spend less time tweaking the formatting of the text.



2) OpenOffice, is a free suite that will open and save office files. I used OpenOffice for a while and although it worked well, I found it to be a be awkward for what I was used to. If I hadn't had Office or iWork to fall back on, I'm sure that I would have because accustomed to OpenOffice in short order.



And to clear the air of BS:



Don't believe the clueless people who tell you that a Mac is nothing but a PC that runs Mac OS. This lie comes from the idea that is a Mac uses an Intel processor, then it is the same as a PC. Using this logic, the Nintendo Game Cube and the Wii must be Power Macs, since they use the Power PC chip. Oh yeah, and the Vehicle-Management computer for the F-35 fighter Jet is also a Power Mac since it uses a Power PC chip.



Apple is no longer innovative? Where does that come from? The Dell Envy and the Sony Vaio both copy Mac notebooks. Apple brought us the first true smart phone, which is now being copied by three companies. Apple is the first (and only) company that makes an MP3 player with a video camera. Apple is the first to make a notebook with a multi-touch trackpad. Apple was the first company to make wi-fi standard on all computers and the company that made wi-fi and a standard. Microsoft is the company that takes feature bloat and feature cloning to an art form.



Windows is just as proprietary as Mac OS. You can run only Windows software on Windows. Apple branded software amounts to about 5% of all software titles that you can run in Mac OS. You are not tied into Apple software. You have just as much freedom of choice with the Mac as you do with Windows. A Mac with the same specs (not just CPU, RAM, and Hard drive) as a PC is faster - as proven by PC Magazine. It is also cheaper - as proven by anyone who knows how to compare the two after adding to the PC to make it the same as the Mac.



Don't believe the lies.

Answer 3

I have used both Apple and Microsoft professionally ever since they were invented. So I cannot recommend switching from Microsoft to Apple unless you are getting it for free including the softwares you use most.

There was a time, over a decade ago, that Apple was more innovative and capable, but now Microsoft has more capabilities and choices in software.

Choices in software is especially relevant for any consumer, as it makes price/features your choice.

Even if you don't want to pay the high cost of Microsoft Office with all of it's thousands of integrated suite of features you can use the free open-source software with just hundreds of features that is called "Open Office".

Sorry... to answer your question. If you buy a MAC you have to buy the MAC version of Microsoft Office or you will not be able to use Microsoft Word document formats or Excel spreadsheet formats.

Answer 4

Microsoft Office is available in a Mac format, but is not totally identical. The two suites are released separately, so the current version of Office for Windows is 2007, Office for Mac is 2008.



Except for some major design and communications applications, you will find the choice of applications different between Mac and Windows. Mac may have more well known design and education applications. Windows will have a more diverse set of applications, and these will tend to be cheaper than a Mac equivalent.



The above does not apply to applications that are largely server hosted and run in your browser.



Also there is a Get Out Of Jail Free Card. The Windows PC won the desktop some years ago, Macs are just PCs running different software. Because of this they are quite capable of running Windows. They are supplied with Bootcamp that allows you to install Windows and choose when the machine starts whether to use the Mac or Windows personalities. You can also use 'virtualisation' software to run Windows within a Mac.



Macs are considerably more expensive than equivalent PCs, however they are a useful wheeze in a business environment for getting that high end hardware to run Windows on. Other than the funny keyboard and the annoying mice they run Windows brilliantly.

Answer 5

You will need to purchase the Mac versions of all of your software, assuming it exists. MS Office for Mac is available, and the current version is Office 2008.

Answer 6

You'd have to repurchase Microsoft Office for Mac, but they would fundametally be the same programs. However, all your other Windows-based programs will not work on Mac OS.

Answer 7

Can anyone shed some light on current 2014 practice?