Dec 3, 2008
Macbook or iMac users
Hi all Mac users,
Can you tell me what extra software and hardware costs you have to pay, for things that are not already included in your mac? I am trying to estimate the additional cost to a possible macbook purchase, in order to make it fully functional for daily use.
Of course, exotic software like Final Cut or Logic Pro or games are not in discussion here. But things like Chinese fonts, input method or anything that you think a Chinese pastor (like me) might use!
Please help!
Filed by edmund at 12.20 pm under Tech |
22 Comments
Vincent
Isn’t your neighbor who is sitting next to your room is the best person to ask???
Dec 3rd, 2008
edmund
isn’t this post the most explicit answer to your question?
Dec 3rd, 2008
alan yu
all the things you mentioned are included. if you’re not settled with GoogleDoc, you’ll need MS Office. That’s all.
Dec 3rd, 2008
edmund
Um… Alan, is iWork included or not? How do you compare iWork and MS Office on Mac then?
Dec 3rd, 2008
Vincent
I think I’ve got what you are trying to say…
Dec 3rd, 2008
edmund
haha…. : )
Dec 3rd, 2008
Anson
iWork comes with Pages, but it is really not a Word substitute, because it is so different from Word, it’ll drive you nuts. I would suggest going for the free OpenOffice 3.0, which is totally compatible with MS Office. Btw, MS Office for Mac is still radically different from its Windows counterpart, so you are not retaining much familiarity by choose MS Office for Mac. Therefore, if OpenOffice works for you, then there’s no need to go for MS Office. (I do use MS Office 2008 for Mac, but that’s because my friend works in Microsoft and he picked up a copy for me dirt cheap and gave it to me for free.)
Keynote from iWork although is different from Powerpoint, it can make your slides look much nicer. I prefer using Keynote for presentations.
As for chinese input method, if you like Cantonese input method, I can send you the free software later on. (It used to be on the web, but the link is down now). For OSX, all input methods are basically a flat text file, so you can even tweak and customize your own pinyins and word choices.
A few Chinese fonts are already included in OSX, if you are not that picky.
Everything you ever need to know about Chinese computing on mac can be answered here: http://www.yale.edu/chinesemac/index.html
As for additional cost, I would highly suggest getting the AppleCare warranty. It’s because when a Mac breaks down in the hardware level, no matter how familiar you think you are with computers, there’s really nothing you can do by poking at it. One of the circuit boards went defunct once, and the extended warranty took care of everything (and it was before the first year included warranty). My screen’s hinge at some point broke (because I held the notebook by the screen and not the body), and AppleCare fixed without charge for me. My power adapter’s light was not on, and they just replaced the whole thing for me. So get AppleCare if your budget allows.
If you are keen on running Windows side by side with OSX, get Parallels 4.0 ($79.99). Or else, you can still dual boot to Windows just with a little more hassle.
Basically everything else comes in open source free programs. It’s really good timing to jump into Mac now, because almost all open source softwares include the OSX platform. It wasn’t true just 1-2 years ago. So software-wise, there’s nothing to sweat about it. (I would even say there are many more high-quality and interesting softwares created for Mac nowadays.)
Hope this helps =)
Dec 3rd, 2008
edmund
So Anson & Alan, you are saying:
1) The (only) good thing about iWork is Keynote.
2) iWork is not a come-with.
3) Unless I use online wp (how is that even possible, Alan!?) or openOffice (anyone use it on a regular basis?), I still need MS office for mac.
4) need Parallels 4.0
5) need AppleCare
And that’s pretty much it.
Dec 3rd, 2008
Anson
I used to use NeoOffice regularly before, which is a port of OpenOffice before it can run natively on OSX (but since now OpenOffice 3.0 does run natively on Intel Macs, NeoOffice became redundant.)
You can configure OpenOffice to save .doc/.xls/.ppt by default, which then you can just treat it as MS Office. For pure text-based documents, you won’t have any compatibility problems. Things can a little weird when you start to add graphics, charts, publishing layouts, tracking changes to your document. You can hardly get a 100% identical copy when you load an OpenOffice-created document up in MS Office if there are those extra stuff present. Pure text is fine though. If you ever need a precise document, it’s better just to create a PDF, which OSX natively supports (i.e. you can print anything as PDF from any application)
I suggest just start off using OpenOffice, and when you can’t stand those subtle compatibility differences or GUI differences, then consider going back to MS Office.
Dec 3rd, 2008
Andy
1. For Openoffice, it can be downloaded freely and there are versions for multiple platforms. Try it and see if it suits your needs.
2. For Parallels, there is an alternative called Virtualbox, which is free as well.
3. For Chinese input method, you can try the yahoo one (http://tw.download.yahoo.com/keykey/) or OpenVanilla. Both works great.
I believe there are lots of free alternatives for software. So no worries. But one thing you might have to notice is hardware issue. Let’s say:
– there is an internal mic only in imac and no mic input. So you cannot use external mic directly.
– printer / scanner drivers might not work / fully function in mac version
So i suggest you better check out what equipments will be connected to you mac.
Just me 2 cents.
Dec 3rd, 2008
edmund
Wow, thanks everyone for your valuable input!!
Dec 3rd, 2008
alan yu
1. i do not like Pages either because i prefer more control of what i’m doing over user-friendly-ness. Same with Keynote. So I stick with Word and Powerpoint
2. but for less complicated work, I usually use GoogleDoc instead, which is completely free and cross-platform.
3. but for more complicated work (like those that includes graphics and footnotes), I still use Word.
4. i’ve developed my own cantonese input method. can send you if you need it.
5. yes, i recommend AppleCare. Apple’s hardware is not as reliable as it used to be.
6. i’ve been a mac user for so long i have never used parallel software. but if you use BootCamp you can actually boot your mac with Windows… but i doubt you’ll need to do so…
Dec 4th, 2008
edmund
Actually, I am surprised all of your (relatively) negative comments on iWork. I always thought (of course, never use) it is mac’s killer app.
One last thing, have you use (or heard about the quality of) apple’s refurbished products? Same warranty, and AppleCare also available…
Dec 4th, 2008
Anson
Blame it on M$, for our brains are hard-wired from the beginning to use Word/Excel/Powerpoint, so when anyone tries to change the menus or workflow just a little bit, we immediately grind to a halt in productivity.
Pages and Numbers are really nice programs, just that I am unable to unlearn the MS way of doing things….
Talk about bondage.
Dec 4th, 2008
Joanna
Hey i didn’t come across this post until now. if you need MS Office for MAC, i have the Original CD.
for Chinese Fonts, it should’ve already come with all MAC computers.
btw, why are you leaving your church? and where are you going?
Dec 11th, 2008
edmund
Thanks Joanna. Let’s see how “parallels” runs on my macbook first.
Dec 11th, 2008
Anson
Have you bought parallels yet?
You can try this open-source option:
http://www.virtualbox.org/
Dec 17th, 2008
edmund
Yes, I am using parallels. But thanks for telling.
Dec 17th, 2008
Anson
I found more mac tips here:
http://www.tuaw.com/category/Mac-101
Enjoy!
Jan 2nd, 2009
edmund
Thank you, Anson.
Jan 3rd, 2009
Patrick Martin
I am thnking about going Mac and would be most interested in inputing Chinese by Cantonese pinyin? Anyone out there can give me some advice? Thanks!
Jan 13th, 2009
Anson
Patrick Martin, read this:
http://blog.theoryspace.com/2009/01/05/howtotypechineseonamac/
Jan 13th, 2009
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