Compatability with iMac - Really

[JDL51]

I'm considering purchasing an iMac. While very highly rated in most respects,
the iMac doesn't seem to be particularly compatable with most business
software and MS products - including Office 2008. On the iMac forums and
product reviews, the conscenus seems to be that the MS products don't work
well with the iMac; that the modified software for Apple products as an after
thought (or, perhaps, something more sinister). Complaints about slow speeds,
programs crashing consistently and unfamilar layouts are common. Since I've
gotten the iMac users view, I'd be interested in comments/complaints from
Office aficionados. Thanks! -JDL51-

 

[Diane Ross]

I'm considering purchasing an iMac. While very highly rated in most respects,
the iMac doesn't seem to be particularly compatable with most business
software and MS products - including Office 2008. On the iMac forums and
product reviews, the conscenus seems to be that the MS products don't work
well with the iMac; that the modified software for Apple products as an after
thought (or, perhaps, something more sinister). Complaints about slow speeds,
programs crashing consistently and unfamilar layouts are common. Since I've
gotten the iMac users view, I'd be interested in comments/complaints from
Office aficionados. Thanks! -JDL51-

Runs great on my iMac. IMac 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo, Memory 2GB, Mac OS
10.5.4

It could be the users have the default RAM installed that will barely run
the OS.

Frankly, this has never come up on this newsgroup in all the years I've been
on this group. What forums are you seeing this reported?

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

I'm considering purchasing an iMac. While very highly rated in most respects,
the iMac doesn't seem to be particularly compatable with most business
software and MS products - including Office 2008. On the iMac forums and
product reviews, the conscenus seems to be that the MS products don't work
well with the iMac; that the modified software for Apple products as an after
thought (or, perhaps, something more sinister). Complaints about slow speeds,
programs crashing consistently and unfamilar layouts are common. Since I've
gotten the iMac users view, I'd be interested in comments/complaints from
Office aficionados. Thanks! -JDL51-

Hi,

The complaints I have usually revolve around the fact that Microsoft did
not properly adapt a wonderful Macintosh application, Microsoft Office,
when they ported it from Mac to Windows.

Don't be taken in by the arrogant assumption that Microsoft Office
started off as a Windows application. It's heritage is Mac, not windows.

There's features in Mac office that still haven't made it to Windows.
There's some Windows only features in Office. If there's something
specific, please elaborate.

As far as crashes go, most of them are taken care of in service packs.
Only the ones that can't be reliably reproduced remain. That's true of
both Mac and Windows, and holds true of all practically all programs and
operating systems.

As far as unfamiliar layout - you can't top Office 2007 on Windows. I
think Microsoft went off the deep end with that one. At least Mac Office
2008 kept the menus, even if they needlessly moved a few things around
on them.

Is there a particular "must have" feature you think isn't on the Mac?

-Jim

--
Jim Gordon
Mac MVP

MVPs are independent experts who are not affiliated with Microsoft.


Visit my blog
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-i7JMeio7cqvhotIUwCzaJWq9

 

[JDL51]

Thanks for your response, Diane. The reviews I read are on the Apple web
site at the following link:
http://store.apple.com/us/reviews/TQ744LL/A?fnode=home/shop_mac/software/productivity

Could you elaborate a bit regarding the "default RAM"? Do you mean the RAM
that is standard on the iMac? If so, how much RAM did you add? (Am I even
asking the right question?)

 

[JDL51]

Thanks for the great input, Jim. There is nothing special or elaborate that
I need Office to do - just as long as it does all of the standard stuff well.
Based on my limited research, the principle complaint seems to be how
S-L-O-W Office 2008 for Macs runs. As Diane pointed out, this may be related
to fixable issues such as RAM. Any additional input you can provide about
this is greatly appreciated! -JD-

 

[Diane Ross]

Thanks for your response, Diane. The reviews I read are on the Apple web
site at the following link:
http://store.apple.com/us/reviews/TQ744LL/A?fnode=home/shop_mac/software/produ
ctivity

You'll find that most people that are not pleased write bad reviews. The
ones that are satisfied are not going to hunt this down to write a good
review. If you stick around a bit on this newsgroup, you'll find we
generally find a solution for why Office is so slow on their computer. See
the recent thread "SLOW launching Office08 apps" as an example.

If you have trouble with the Mactopia interface, use a newsreader. This is
not an actual forum. It's an interface to a newsgroup.

Could you elaborate a bit regarding the "default RAM"? Do you mean the RAM
that is standard on the iMac? If so, how much RAM did you add? (Am I even
asking the right question?)

As I listed, I have 2GB RAM. 512MB is usually the default. Always buy as
much RAM as you can afford. I could go for another couple of GB if I had
the dough.

iMac 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo, Memory 2GB, Mac OS 10.5.4

 

[Mr. Strat]

I'm considering purchasing an iMac. While very highly rated in most respects,
the iMac doesn't seem to be particularly compatable with most business
software and MS products - including Office 2008. On the iMac forums and
product reviews, the conscenus seems to be that the MS products don't work
well with the iMac; that the modified software for Apple products as an after
thought (or, perhaps, something more sinister). Complaints about slow speeds,
programs crashing consistently and unfamilar layouts are common. Since I've
gotten the iMac users view, I'd be interested in comments/complaints from
Office aficionados. Thanks! -JDL51-

While I'm not a fanboy of Microsoft, I've had no problems with any OS X
version of Office.

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Thanks for the great input, Jim. There is nothing special or elaborate that
I need Office to do - just as long as it does all of the standard stuff well.
Based on my limited research, the principle complaint seems to be how
S-L-O-W Office 2008 for Macs runs. As Diane pointed out, this may be related
to fixable issues such as RAM. Any additional input you can provide about
this is greatly appreciated! -JD-

Hi again,

Thank you for clarifying.

Office for Mac does all of the standard stuff well. In many cases I
would argue that it does it better than the Windows version. An
important, striking example of the difference is doing Mail Merge. I
find the Mac's interface to be far superior (logical, easy to use and
understand) to the Windows way (commands splayed all over the place).

The List feature in Mac Excel is still more mature than it is in Windows
Excel, and I've come to rely on Lists heavily.

Mac PowerPoint's Save as Movie feature has become very popular with the
advent of Web 2.0 collaborations, iPods and iPhones.

Then there's the advanced Project Gallery and Projects that just isn't
even in the Windows version of Office at all! You don't hear the Windows
folks talking about that very much, do you? Windows users don't even
know about it for the most part.

I have seen occasional postings complaining about speed. These problems
seem to affect only a few specific people. I've also noticed that
Microsoft employees have responded to some of these people requesting
further information from them, which leads me to believe that these few,
isolated problems are being addressed.

My advice is go for the Mac. On the whole, most people who make the
switch seem very happy about it.

-Jim

--
Jim Gordon
Mac MVP

MVPs are independent experts who are not affiliated with Microsoft.


Visit my blog
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-i7JMeio7cqvhotIUwCzaJWq9