Help a girl out

[aptget]

Im using Linux right now and I use WINE alot to emulate windows apps, and it works pretty well.
This is essentially a port of it, so it should be good.
This may be of interest to you: http://appdb.winehq.org/

 

[jaguarr]

There's a commercial port of WINE from Codeweavers called Crossover, but it's full of security holes from what I understand. At least the product has some commercial support and is optimized for Mac OS X.

As far as OpenOffice, NeoOffice is the best implementation for Mac OS X. Runs very well and will probably be compatible with the new XML format that the Windows Office release is going to support before MS's own Mac version of Office is. Heh!

jag

 

[aptget]

Sorry but their logo isnt as nice

 

[jaguarr]

Sorry but their logo isnt as nice

jag

 

[wiegeabo]

Crossover has potential, but the programs I wanted to use wouldn't work (correctly).

 

[aptget]

Crossover has potential, but the programs I wanted to use wouldn't work (correctly).

I think OrgasmSimulator runs natively in OS X, so it isnt a big deal.

 

[Kritish]

Ugh, Linux is crap, don't get it honey. I didn't know that Vista had problems with software, I don't care if it rips OS off though.

 

[twylight]

Right...No Linux..Kritish called me 'honey' (bookmarks page)....and...aptget is forgiven.

Still on the fence though.

I'll let ya'll know what I decide.

*to bad jag doesn't get commisions he's good at selling Macs*

 

[PuMpKiN EsCoBaR]

PuMpKiN EsCoBaR We have 20" at school for students and the Teachers use 24"...

The 24" is a dream, especially if you're working on a large project ^_^

*melts*

Awesome! I'm definitely leaning more towards the 24". Gonna buy it probably in February once I get my tax refund

 

[wiegeabo]

If you decide to buy a mac, it may be best to wait until Leopard (the next os) is released. It's going to have a lot of cool things (many that haven't been announced)
http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/index.html

My favorite is Time Machine. Spaces looks very useful.

And BootCamp comes pre-installed.

 

[twylight]

But...I don't wanna wait any longer!



I suppose you're right.

 

[twylight]

Since my place of employment uses Windows, mostly Publisher and I bring my work home with me, and most of my professors have me turn my documents in on Word, how would I do that without having to buy a Windows OS?

Is there a program that's cross compatable for Office?

 

[jaguarr]

The thing about Leopard is, nobody really knows when Apple's actually going to release it. It could be in a month, it could be in June. I've seen some places offering a voucher for a free upgrade to Leopard when it's released when you buy a system now. And, really, you need the system now rather than later, right?

And, no, twy, I don't work on commission. The fact that I support Apple so much despite that should tell you something. I used to be a die-hard Windows NT Systems and Network Admin before I basically got forced to learn Macs as part of my job. Two weeks later I was a full fledged Mac Zealot because I was so impressed with their systems and their OS. The thing about a Mac is, once you set it up and configure it, it just works without a need to keep tinkering with the damn thing to make sure it keeps running. And, no viruses. No malware. No trojans or spyware. As my creative side (making music and writing) has taken more importance for me, I realized that not only do I like the tools that are available for Macs for these purposes, but I have the time to actually create rather than doing virus scans, tweaking and optimizing the system, trouble-shooting blue screens of death, resolving hardware conflicts, defragging the hard-drive all the time, etc. It just works so I can do the things I really want to do with the system. Some people like constantly mucking with their systems and spending time tweaking it and geeking it to their heart's content and that's where a home-built system and a copy of some Linux variant come into play. Some people don't know any better and just use what they may have always known even though it requires a lot of effort on their part to keep it going, and that's where Windows comes into the picture. But for the average consumer who just wants to have a system that runs, do some creative things and get some work done and maybe have the option of running a couple different OS's, Apple just can't be beat, IMHO.

jag

 

[jaguarr]

Since my place of employment uses Windows, mostly Publisher and I bring my work home with me, and most of my professors have me turn my documents in on Word, how would I do that without having to buy a Windows OS?

Is there a program that's cross compatable for Office?

You can use Neo Office for your standard MS Office functions. It's free and works very well and presents pretty much no learning curve to someone familiar with Office.

As far as Publisher, MS doesn't make a version of that software for the Mac platform. (I'm surprised your teachers aren't making you use Quark or InDesign since those are the industry standard). I've seen people talking about various alternatives to MS Publisher on the Mac such as Create, Ragtime Solo, Canvas, Pages, Desktop Publisher Pro and of course InDesign and QuarkXpress, but none of them are probably what you are looking for.

That said, XP runs great with Parallels from within OS X and should run Publisher just fine for you. If you already have a computer running XP, then you probably already have an install disc and license key that you can use to install XP inside Parallels and then install Publisher so you can use it without having to reboot.

jag

 

[twylight]

You can use Neo Office for your standard MS Office functions. It's free and works very well and presents pretty much no learning curve to someone familiar with Office.

As far as Publisher, MS doesn't make a version of that software for the Mac platform. (I'm surprised your teachers aren't making you use Quark or InDesign since those are the industry standard). I've seen people talking about various alternatives to MS Publisher on the Mac such as Create, Ragtime Solo, Canvas, Pages, Desktop Publisher Pro and of course InDesign and QuarkXpress, but none of them are probably what you are looking for.

That said, XP runs great with Parallels from within OS X and should run Publisher just fine for you. If you already have a computer running XP, then you probably already have an install disc and license key that you can use to install XP inside Parallels and then install Publisher so you can use it without having to reboot.

jag

My job and my schooling is seperate,
I live in a tiny little town and I do the flyer/ad work for a church there. And they aren't so technologically advanced to have Macs.

Also, my school has Dells in all the computer labs except the Digital Areas area, so my English and Humanities teachers have me turn papers in through e-mail, on Word.

As for my degree, I haven't pinpointed exactly which field of Art I'm going to be taking, so I like to have my bases covered. But yes, I do need it now and it needs to be a multi-tasker, a woman so to speak. But most of my classes are Digital Arts.

Also, I'm allowed to use the same OS on two systems?

*rubs nose*

Now I'm even more confused and stressed because all the laptop companies went over to Vista already and none of my games work well on Vista and I'm not yet ready to tackle a new OS.

I'm tempted just to lay out what I want and have someone tell me which one to get. >.<

 

[aptget]

Ugh, Linux is crap, don't get it honey. I didn't know that Vista had problems with software, I don't care if it rips OS off though.

You can't really say "Linux is crap".
Maybe you didnt like the Distro you used.

You're essentially saying the Linux kernel is crap.
What do you know about it?

 

[jaguarr]

Well, the idea was that you'd stop using your old system and convert over to the Mac and use your XP license on it rather than using it on both your old system and your new one.

But, yeah....Vista sucks and the gamer community is pretty well resisting it from what I've observed. Basically it's going to come down to flexibility and the ability to have some versatility in your system so you can deal with whatever environment you need to, be it Mac or Windows. Only a Mac is going to give you that. If you're going with a laptop, the MacBook or MacBook Pro would be the way to go. For a desktop, an iMac would work well for what you need.

jag

 

[twylight]

I can't, since the system I use right now isn't mine

See the pressing need for a computer?

 

[wiegeabo]

Office files created in one os is compatible with the other os. When I was teaching, the faculty laptop they gave me was a Mac. But I was Windows at home. No problem, because I had Office on both. You could copy the files between the systems and open/edit. (The only issue I found was that animations in PowerPoint didn't translate well from one to the other. For some reason they were always out of order.)

Of course, Mac Office doesn't have Publisher, yet. But Pages is pretty cool and might fill your needs. But I think you have to pay extra for the software.

 

[twylight]

So...now I'm thinking of a cheap PC laptop and then an iMac *which are priced much better for my means*

I dunno...why can't life be easy?

I seriously have a headache from all of this, because of the Vista shift I'm hesitant to order a new laptop. I'd rather stick with XP till Vista has the kinks worked out.

 

[aptget]

Just do what Jag said.
Get a MacBook
Put XP on it.

 

[twylight]

Any suggestion as to the configuration of it?

 

[aptget]

Parallels is fine
Edit- is that what you meant?
Or did you mean what components?

 

[wiegeabo]

You'll want at least 1GB of ram.

MacBook's aren't a bad choice. But the screens are so small. You're limited to a 13 inch monitor. And they tend to run very hot (unless Apple finally fixed that problem).

If you do go with Apple, think about getting the AppleCare Protection Plan. It seems pricey, but it's a three year warranty for everything. If anything goes wrong, no matter how minor, you can ship it to Apple for free, and they'll ship it back fixed. Our lab administrator sent one in just because the plastic around the keyboard had become discolored and cracked. They fixed it.

 

[wiegeabo]

And, just to confuse things a bit more, there are ways to put Mac on a PC.