i'm thinking of buying a new Macbook.. not pro, just the regular one.

the problem is, in my uni, the computer lab is using microsoft.. like words, powerpoint etc..

so my question is, say i already own a macbook.. can i copy the work i've done on my mac using ms word(mac) to a pendrive then use the windows pc to open the word document again with windows ms word? in short, is microsoft word(mac) compatible with mcrosft word (windows)?

another thing, can i get Parallels Desktop 3.0 for free on my laptop? if u know what i mean..

for all of your questions..
yes

benQue, did you even read all the questions?? ugh

To vetkin_gray, the current Microsoft Office for Mac 2004 supports doc,xls, & ppt files without problems... It does not support docx, xlsx, pptx, which are the new file formats introduced in Microsoft Office 2007.. If your uni uses older versions of office, you shouldn't have any problems... If your uni uses Office 2007, you can just simply save the files as standard doc/xls/ppt formats... There are methods to convert the Office 2007 formats to the standard format, which you can read at http://apcmag.com/4853/four_ways_for_mac_u...7_docx_lock_out

As for the free Parallels, I don't think there's a way to get it for free, not that I know of anyway... Retailers sometimes do offer discounts if you bundle it together with your macbook purchase... If you meant free as in "free", I'd rather not get involved... I'm not sure whether there are "free" copies out there anyway... Parallels requires an activation code... Buy an original copy, it's a great piece of software and it's worth the money... There's always the free bootcamp(which has less features) if you insist on not paying...

Well, ms office 2004 is not free yet it's not UB (Universal Binary, which contains PPC codes and Intel codes). I recommend you get neoOffice which is open-source(Free of cos). Btw, neoOffice is great alternative.

Yup, I agree with allvin I also use NeoOffice.

Yes to all your questions. Office 2004 might be slow for Intel users as it uses Rosetta to translate PowerPC instructions to Intel. A good alternative might be NeoOffice , But I still prefer to use M$ Office because of its name

everything is yes to your question
problem is how good u are to get the source

but getting a parallel desktpo (PWP) is only RM 288
i will say quite ok for the price yet

all the .doc, ,xls, .ppt can be read and edit for both systems
but beware that, the aligthment of your things will off when comes to use in different OS.
example: u wont get the prefer alightment for your .ppt file in Mac if it is develepment/create by using windows xp/vista but it still readable.

I used Mac version of MS Office before. No problem on bringing the files from MAC to my PC.

But with NeoOffice, erm.. there are some alignment problem. It seems that NeoOffice has a "longer" page..... Still i am using Neooffice because i have deleted the MS OFfice

what do u meant by that?
there are always sources to get office mac and parallels for free..
you just have to look for it

ive been using msoffice in mac for years.no prob whatsoever.

Hmm i just curious, how can you get a LEGAL office mac and paralles for free?

Hmm seems like you still don't get it. MS office 2007 format like (docx, xlsx, pptx, etc) cannot support in the older version of ms office(window or mac platform). So you need to save as "Standard" version in order to be able to open in older version of ms office.

oh okay... thx for the replies..

i'll try hard to get it for free

my worst fear is when opening the ms word doc(mac) with a pc, the words or objects or symbols will bcome messy or does not appear. cz that's what happened to my science teacher a few years back ago.

acrobat reader is available for mac right??

my uni uses ms word 03, acrobat reader 7, powerpoint, ms visual c++

on my pc, i always use applications like bitcomet,limewire,google earth, vlc, live messenger etc

This post has been edited by vetkin_gray: Sep 6 2007, 05:27 PM

Yeah sometimes certain thing goes missing. You should double check by clicking save as and then hit on compatibility check as it runs a check to see if its okay. For Powerpoint always use JPEG , otherwise TIFF Images does not even get displayed on windows pc (unless they have quicktime compresser)

Yeah , OSX comes with a PDF Reader . So it shouldn't be a problem. Plus there is always Acrobat Reader for it


The Alternatives :-

BitComet <----> Transmission
VLC <-----> VLC
LimeWire <----> LimeWire
Google Earth <----> Google Earth
Live Messenger <----> aMSN

try Vmware fusion instead of parallels. much betta.

I am holding back to get the new iMac. Just another one or two months, you get a new OS for free !