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I have a question. I've been a Windows user for 10 years now, but ever since I got my iPod Nano, I've been fantasizing about the other guy on the block, namely the iMac G5.I'm attracted to the strong, silent type. Besides, I'm fed up with Windows XtraPests and its ServicePak 2 hell. I think I've spent half the budget of the Iraq war on antivirus, antispyware, and popup blasters yet the evil ones are still tunneling their way in. I want the security of the Mac OS platform but the thing is.I'm not a graphic artist or a web designer or a gamer or a video editor.
I'm a writer, and writers do Windows don't they? Since I spend so much of my computer time in MS Word, I'm worried about making the switch and discovering that the Mac wouldn't satisfy my needs. Does anyone know.is the Mac as user-friendly to those of us who spend our days playing with words instead of pictures? Good Lord, of course writers use Mac. I'm a writer and have been on these things for 20 years. Microsoft Word runs perfecty on a Mac (you want MS Office for Mac, easily available on eBay, for instance).
BBEdit is a beautiful code and HTML editor for Mac. It comes with all the advanced features of a powerful code editor. Syntax highlighting, advanced find and replace, autocompletion, quick lookup, multiple tabs, splittable editing windows and much more.
You make your document in the normal way, save it and send as an attachment to an email to submit your work. The system automatically converts the Mac-created document into a PC-readable document when you send it. Same applies to Adobe Acrobat documents, digital pictures (in.jpg format), just about anything else. Naturally, you'll stumble a few times as you get used to a new system, but believe me, it's worth the effort! I use both PC and Mac machines regularly. I know exactly what you mean about viruses, firewalls, pop-ups and spam in the PC world. I get fed up to the teeth dealing with all that nonsense.
When you use a Mac, it's like coming in out of a wild storm, into a calm, peaceful room with a little Mozart playing quietly in the background. No viruses, no nonsense, just an elegantly designed tool that does what you ask it to do without any fuss. The Mac version of MS Office, currently Office for Mac 2004, uses exactly the same file format as the Windows version of Office, currently Office 2003. MS have always said that the Mac version, produced by the Mac Business Unit, is head and shoulders above the WIndows version.
The Mac version is produced first, followed by the Windows version. Given that the file formats are the same, there is NO conversion taking place when a file is emailed. Likewise there is NO conversion necessary for the Adobe PDF documents. There is no need for any conversion.
As Tasman254 points out, Office is available on eBay or from any Mac mail order establishment. Make the change, you will not be sorry you did Get the Mac, life's too short for anything else P.
MrMacfixit, Thanks for your helpful and interesting post. I had no idea that the Mac version of MS Office was produced first, or that one even existed. Guess I need to get out more. As I was telling Tasman254, I just bought my first Mac - an iMac G5.
It will arrive next week. I'm so excited! I ordered it online from Apple as they're currently running a promo offering half off the retail price of MS Office with purchase of a Mac computer. I bought the edition that offers virtual windows - more as a security blanket than anything else. I also upgraded the memory from 512MB to 1 GB. The one thing I'll miss, though, is Webshots. I don't think it runs on the iMac's OS and it will be difficult to part with one photo in particular that greets me each morning as my desktop wallpaper.
It's the most beautiful photo of a California coastline sunset I've ever seen - an especially welcome sight during our cold midwestern winters! Play wmv file on mac. Ah well, can't have everything, I guess. Thanks again for your post. Although there does not seem to be any software for the Mac at this site, the pictures can still be downloaded and converted to JPG with Graphic Converter. After that they can be used as Desktop Pictures.