considering powerbook

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ladyjladyj
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
Hi,





I'm a long-time pc user and I will be making a laptop purchase in the next couple of months. I am a total apple 'outsider' and I have a few questions...excuse me for my lack of apple know-how.



I apologize in advance if someone has already asked these questions...I did a search and couldn't find the answers here.



1)can I use pc software on a power book, or do I have to buy 'Mac' versions of the software?



2)I will be working with people who will most likely be pc users. Any problems with collaboration--will files go back and forth ok?



Thanks,

LadyJ

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    kingofsomewherehotkingofsomewherehot Posts: 4,185member
    Windows applications do NOT work on OSX ... but you don't HAVE to buy Mac versions. the iBook and iMac come with Mac apps ... AppleWorks (or iWorks) can save its files as .doc and they will open just fine on a Windows machine. With a Powerbook or PowerMac you'll have to buy AppleWorks.iWork ... but it's WAAAAY cheaper than MS Office.



    In fact, most file types will play on both platforms (text files, music files, movie files, etc.) and are portable from one to the other.



    If you are collaborating on projects done in Office applications, then you'll probably need to buy MSOffice for Mac to keep work flowing smoothly ... but most people think Office on the Mac is actually BETTER than Office on Windows.



    HOWEVER, ... if you want to have the same experience as your co-workers (viruses, driver conflicts, system crashes, etc) then you should probably just consider an Intel/Windows computer.
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  • Reply 2 of 10
    tofachinotofachino Posts: 69member
    Hey there



    I'm a new Mac user myself.. last august i i was asking questions similar to yours. (and still do ). anyways..



    all of my friends and familly are windows users and I don't know anybody with a Mac.. but that didn't cause any problem i can share with them every file (picture, video, document,.....etc).



    and I'm using a network to connect to the internet.. and all of network are windows users. again i didn't face any problem when trying to connect.



    The ONLY thing i missed is some of the games on the PC ( red alert 2 sighs ).



    don't worry you'll love your PB. I love mine i just can't imagine how it took me that long to convert to Mac.
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  • Reply 3 of 10
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    The question is, what software do you need?



    Lots of it comes with the Powerbook, check out the Apple webpages for basic info.



    Also, a lot of quality software is available free so you don't have to pay for it, you just have to find it off the web. Here's some, not all, I use on the Mac...



    web browser - Firefox

    e-mail, newsgroups - Thunderbird

    chat - AdiumX

    word processing - Abiword

    music player - Audion3

    BitTorrent - Azureus

    video player - VLC Player, MPlayer, Windows Media Player
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  • Reply 4 of 10
    ladyjladyj Posts: 4member
    Thanks for the feedback all. I'll be a grad student and may need specialized programs...sounds like I should look into the specific softwares specs!



    LadyJ
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  • Reply 5 of 10
    tednditedndi Posts: 1,921member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ladyJ

    Thanks for the feedback all. I'll be a grad student and may need specialized programs...sounds like I should look into the specific softwares specs!



    LadyJ



    What kind of specialized programs are you talking about?



    I am sure there are many here who can recommend a great alternaive. Or even the Mac version of the software you need.
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  • Reply 6 of 10
    vox barbaravox barbara Posts: 2,021member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ladyJ

    Thanks for the feedback all. I'll be a grad student and may need specialized programs...sounds like I should look into the specific softwares specs!



    LadyJ



    What do you mean "specialized programs"?

    I am stretching my imagination, ...
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  • Reply 7 of 10
    ladyjladyj Posts: 4member
    SOme software programs I think I'll be using are LaTex, Mathematica, & Matlab
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  • Reply 8 of 10
    ladyjladyj Posts: 4member
    It appears they're all available for Mac. Now for the biggest hurdle: I have to convince my husband to get a Mac instead of a windows based system too!
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  • Reply 9 of 10
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ladyJ

    It appears they're all available for Mac. Now for the biggest hurdle: I have to convince my husband to get a Mac instead of a windows based system too!



    that's easy take him to an Apple store - he'll fall in love!
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  • Reply 10 of 10
    tednditedndi Posts: 1,921member
    you can always try out your appleness on a mini. A decent platform and a decent price. Bring your own keyboard mouse and monitor and with a Kvm switch you can switch between and share the keyboard mouse and monitor on both systems.



    Just remember as your husband uses "your" mac he will use it more and more and then will want one of his own.



    My wifes powerbook is on order and her existing laptop is gathering dust in a corner.



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