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OS X even comes with a program that can edit Microsoft Word documents.
 technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

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Mac OS X computers might not need extra-cost software


August 18, 2004


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, The Post-Standard

   If you're considering switching to a Mac, you're probably wondering if you'll need to buy a lot of new software.
   Maybe not. Apple's OS X ("oh ess ten") computers might not need extra software to do the tasks you have in mind.
   For example, I'm often asked if first-time Macintosh buyers should get Microsoft Office for the Mac. The answer is not as obvious as you might suspect. It's both "Yes" and "No."
   Yes, get Office 2004 (the current version of Microsoft Office for the Mac) if you use Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel at the office and need to work on those documents at home. Or if you have a small business you run out of a corner of your living room. In such cases, you need Microsoft Office, period.
   If you need Office and if you're a student, a teacher or a school administrator, get the so-called Student-Teacher version of Microsoft office. It's less expensive and comes with a license for multiple installations.
   But that's not the full story.
   The answer is No if all you need is a way to open Microsoft Word documents that come in the mail.
   You don't need ANY extra software, in fact, if all you want to do is open Word documents. All OS X computers come with a competent word processor called Text Edit, and it knows how to deal with Microsoft Word documents. It will open them so you can read them and it will save documents in Microsoft Word format, too.
   What about e-mail? Apple's OS X comes with a program called, appropriately, Mail. It's excellent. It has a built-in spam filter and a built-in spelling checker. Apple's Mail software can even group your mail by message topics (putting related mail together in threads). And it lets you find replies you wrote to any message with a single click alongside that message.
   Will you need a digital photo organizer? No. Apple's iPhoto software is superb -- the industry leader -- at managing and displaying your digital pictures, and it does spectacular slide shows. It even has a few simple picture-editing functions. Later, when you need to get serious about image editing, buy Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0.
   What about Web browsing? If you're used to Internet Explorer under Windows, you'll find you actually get a special Macintosh version of Internet Explorer with OS X. It's much safer than the dreaded Windows versions of IE. (Even many of Microsoft's own employees have stopped using the Windows versions of Internet Explorer. It's THAT bad.)
   But my advice: After a few weeks, forget Internet Explorer for the Mac; use Apple's own Web browser, Safari. It gets my vote for top dog among browsers for any computer. It's very fast, and its tabbed windows are a delight. (Be sure to turn them on in Safari's preferences or in its menus.)
   For CD burning, you can burn any CD from the desktop in OS X, but Apple made it hard to do. Take the money you saved by not buying Microsoft Office (or by choosing the Student-Teacher version) and buy Dragon Burn. For my latest review of Dragon Burn, go to http://technofileonline/texts/mac063004.html.
   For fans of instant messaging, OS X comes with iChat, which connects to standard instant-messaging services. Or you can use Microsoft's OS X version of MSN Messenger or AOL's OS X version of AOL Instant Messenger. Find them by adding the word DOWNLOAD to a Google search for the specific name of each program.