Software recommendations please

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MartinM
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Software recommendations please

Post by MartinM » November 17th, 2010, 12:47 pm

Well, the beast has arrived and I'm enjoying getting aquainted!

First I'm going to need a bigger desk for that brilliant screen, but I also need some good office type software. IWork seems ok, but does not include a database? and is a bit the equivalent of MS Works, ie not as feature rich as I might like.

I've had a brief look at Open Office but can't make up my mind..

Can anyone recommend some good software, or comment on the two above? I've got stacks of Office files (and I don't see much point in getting Office for Mac)which I want to move over to my new machine, but of course i need something to read and edit them!

Many thanks in advance.
Martin
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Turboladdade
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Re: Software recommendations please

Post by Turboladdade » November 17th, 2010, 12:58 pm

iWork is not equivalent to Microsoft Works at all. Pages and Keynote especially are extremely powerful composition tools especially compared to Word and PowerPoint. You'll find many designers who use Pages in lieu of "pro" page-layout applications like Adobe InDesign for a significant number of their projects. Keynote also has a following of designers using it for not just advanced presentations but stuff like motion-graphic mock-ups and such.

If databases are what you need, then databases packaged with office productivity software are not what you want. Have a look at Bentoo or FileMaker if you're needs require more power and flexibility.

One thing you should do when getting your first Mac is completely forget all the applications and utilities you've traditionally considered the first choice on PCs. The Mac software landscape is totally different. It's time to clear your mind and start anew!
I am now telling the computer exactly what it can do.
MartinM
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Re: Software recommendations please

Post by MartinM » November 17th, 2010, 1:09 pm

Thank you for the correction Turboladdade. It is only my first afternoon with a Mac after all!

I appreciate also, the advice to forget all that went before on the Windows boxes. I'm certain that is good advice, but is also difficult to do after so many years working with them! I'll try though.

So the question is rephrased: What word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and database software would you experts recommend? (regretably they do need to be able to read MS Office files, and probably save to that format too)

I'm just going to have another look at Open Office...
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Turboladdade
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Re: Software recommendations please

Post by Turboladdade » November 17th, 2010, 2:22 pm

MartinM wrote:So the question is rephrased: What word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and database software would you experts recommend? (regretably they do need to be able to read MS Office files, and probably save to that format too)
iWork can do all the above except databases, for which you I recommend you choose between Bentoo or FileMaker Pro.

When you use iWork, iWork never actually works with Microsoft-formats, rather creates new Pages or Keynote or Numbers files based on the contents of your original document. It's generally recommended you save your documents in native iWork formats unless you need to share them with PC users in which case there are many options one of which is exporting to equivalent Office formats. I've been going since 2006 without ever touching Microsoft Office applications. It's slightly confusing at first but once you're used to it it's like second nature and the benefits are way worth it.

You'll also want to learn about PDFs and how integral they are to the Mac OS experience. Every application on your computer can save PDFs.

Check out this article I wrote about using iWork as your primary productivity suite when you need to collaborate with MS Office users. Also be sure to take more than a cursory look through Apple's iWork Tutorials to get a feel for what iWork is all about.

And don't waste your time with OpenOffice :D
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tedbliss
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Re: Software recommendations please

Post by tedbliss » November 21st, 2010, 10:53 am

Why do you say "don't waste your time with OpenOffice"?
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Turboladdade
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Re: Software recommendations please

Post by Turboladdade » November 21st, 2010, 12:02 pm

tedbliss wrote:Why do you say "don't waste your time with OpenOffice"?
In practically every benchmark, OpenOffice falls far short of iWork and Office. From graphics capability to user interface fit-and-finish to ease of use to integration with Mac OS X services and APIs, OpenOffice feels a lot like using Office 98 hastily ported to Mac OS X. If you use iWork for any extended period of time you'll realize that it's practically impossible to make documents that are not beautiful, whereas with OpenOffice it's an absolute chore, especially with it's woefully clumsy un-Maclike interface.
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chasm
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Re: Software recommendations please

Post by chasm » November 21st, 2010, 8:02 pm

I'm one of those pro designers Turboladdade was talking about, I now use InDesign for the serious work and Pages for everyday stuff -- it's fabulous. As far as Keynote goes, there is no finer slideshow program on the planet period end of discussion.

I also agree with him about OpenOffice -- if I wanted FUGLY I'd switch to a PC. Yes, OO is very capable at doing all your basic (and some not-so-basic) Office stuff, and its free, so it's not useless -- but I prefer to use something beautiful and elegant and "Save As" MS Office format rather than something that does the job but looks and acts like Dilbert's company designed it.

That said, if you need compatibility with all the most advanced features of MS Office, then get either the Mac version or OpenOffice. If, on the other hand, you'd rather create terrific-looking documents, get iWork and save as Office format or PDF.
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