From Windows to Mac Leopard

Hi everyone. I am a windows user since I was very young, and right now I am a high school student in Grade 11. I found out that Windows was not really the right operating system for me, and once I started to use the Mac's at school and using my friend's Macbook, it has really impressed me. For one, I am waiting for the Leopard operating system and I would just like to know if anyone knows when it would be released?

Secondly, I am a Windows user so I am very new to the Mac OS. I am just wondering what I should look out for with the switch. For me, I just use Word on my Windows all the time so the only software I am going to buy is the Word for the Mac (Can Word files on Mac's also work on Windows?). I would also like to know if I needed any more other software other than iLife and Word.

Lastly, are there any compatiblity issues regarding the Mac? The only problem right now is that my dad believes that many things may be not compatible with the Windows based PC around the house, and also the printers, Wifi, etc. The only things that I mainly use that are important are itunes, msn, microsoft office applications and such.

Any help would be greatly appreciated and I look forward to joining the Mac user community soon!

 

Hi Hinz! Welcome to the Apple forum .

First of all, Leopard is still on track for release this month. Rumours are pointing at October 26th as the release date for Leopard.

Yes, Microsoft Office is available for Mac, and is absolutely compatible with the Windows side. The next version of Office for Mac is going to be Office 2008, being released in January 2008. This is the same version as Office 2007 for Windows.

In fact, you may not even need Microsoft Office; if you just use Word for say essay writing, then you may just need NeoOffice, which is free and basically the Mac version of OpenOffice, and if you need a little more than NeoOffice but you don't want to buy Microsoft Office you can get Apple's iWork '08, which works fine with Word on Windows as well, unless you go really deep into page layout, but I don't think you will.

WiFi will have no problem connecting with your Mac...Macs use the same 802.11, they just call it AirPort. As for printers, there are some issues with printers but that's usually not a problem.

The applications you listed are widely available on OS X .

 

1. Leopard out sometime in October.

2. What version of Word were you using in Windows? I use NeoOffice (the Aqua-enabled version of OpenOffice for Macs) and it imports my Word files from both Windows and Mac, BUT I am using older version of the software (2003).

3. WiFi should not be an issue, but printing to a networked Windows printer will take some doing. If you're interested, I can dig up an article on how to do it.

Edit: Sorry if my info is same as Sam's above ... he's quicker on the response apparently.

 

Thank you both for such nice and helpful responses!

Now I am more confident in buying a Macbook in the future. But then as a student, would the Mac help me out more? I feel that it is the more appropriate OS for me, but then I have an Asus G1 right now and I am deciding to sell it in order to buy the Macbook. Would it be worth the upgrade?

 

Whether the Mac will help you succeed in school more than a Windows notebook is strictly your personal preference . For me, I like how OS X is more uncluttered and I spend less time maintaining the OS and more time working. However, maybe you will find that you feel more comfortable working in a Windows environment. So yeah, its a personal preference, and there's no right or wrong.

With that said, most Mac users are extremely satisfied with OS X, while the same cannot be said for Windows .

 

A Macbook might help you succeed in school, if losing the gaming capabilities of the G1 gets you to spend more time on schoolwork. (Unless you meant the MBP of course.)

 

That's true . Another built-in feature of the MacBook - lack of graphics card to keep your kid focused on schoolwork!

 

I find that iWork 08 seems to be very interesting and is very much more worth it than Microsoft Office (with almost thousands of combinations) since it is only $79.99. One question is that I checked futureshop.ca, but then I saw that they had iLife 08 for sale, but to my knowledge, doesnt the Macbook come with iLife 08? Does this mean I have to purchase both iLife and iWork?

 

If you get a MacBook now, yes, it will come with iLife '08. Future Shop has iLife '08 for sale in case anyone who doesn't have it yet (those that bought a Mac before iLife '08 was announced) wants to buy it.

iLife is bundled free with new Macs; you will have to buy iWork.

 

Also, say that I buy iWork 08 when Leopard comes out, but then my printer does not work with my Macbook. Could I simply use a USB drive, put the file on it, go to my Windows Based PC thats connected to the printer, and open it through Word and print it? Sorry for the massive amount of questions, but it's just that $1500 is a lot, and I know it's worth it but then just have to make sure before making any decisions. THanks for the help everyone! you have been great!

 

Yes, almost all files are transferable between Windows and OS X just fine. MP3, JPEG, Word Document, PowerPoint, MP4, WMV, PDF...etc. etc. They all work fine on both sides. So yes, if the printer doesn't work you can just drag the file to a flash drive and then plug in the flash drive onto Windows and print.

And no problem about all the questions. A notebook is a large investment and being cautious is important.

 

IIRC, Apple bought the CUPS code base earlier this year. So if you hang on till Leopard comes out, it should definitely be much better with most printers shared on a Windows network. So far as gaming is concerned RTS, RPG and sport gamers should be happy with what is available for Mac OS X. In case you want more, you can always dual-boot to XP using Boot Camp.

 

Sorry for not rounding up all the questions into one post, but they just come up to mind. I have a external harddrive that is NTFS and I would want to know if it is compatible with Leopard? I would want to port my whole itunes library there, but i'd wouldnt want to do that with a usb drive. Also, is there any other way to port my whole itunes library instead of dragging all my music along? Thanks for the trouble guys!

 

sorry but here comes another question...
since i read and listen to chinese songs and texts, i was wondering if the Mac is able to read it on Safari and on itunes. I dont need to type it since i dont know it, i just want to know if they are readable.

 

Don't you have to format the flash drive with FAT something and not the HFS+ for it to work with both Windows and Mac? Or was it NTFS? I'm confused...

 

OS X and Windows can read data drives formatted NTFS and HFS+ respectively but can't write to them (add additional data). OS X and Windows can both read and write for FAT32.

 

Yes, the flash drive will have to be FAT32.

Windows can read and write to FAT32 and NTFS, but cannot read or write to HFS+.

Mac OS X can read and write to FAT32 and HFS+, but can only read to NTFS.

 

Well i was wondering if Leopard can also read and write on NTFS?
Also, what do you mean by read? Can I put my files on it and copy them onto my Mac? or am i wrong??

 

As far as I know, Leopard is not adding write capabilities to NTFS...and OS X can already read NTFS.

And by read, I mean you can access files in a NTFS partition, but you cannot add files or edit them.

So yes, you can open files from the NTFS partition and you can copy and paste them onto your Mac, but you cannot add files to the partition or edit an existing file.

If you want write capabilities to NTFS (write being you can add and edit files in a NTFS partition), get the free MacFUSE.

 

Sam, sorry for the take over here, but read/write questions anout NTFS are becoming common; have you considered putting this onto the sticky, with links to MacFUSE, and other projects? Someone could do a review of these applications and give feedback here (works, not work, problems, etc).
tah,
S

 

Not a bad idea at all...I'll add a little part about hard drives and file formatting when I have time. Thanks for the suggestion !

 

Regarding my previous quuestion, does Mac OS X also read foreign languages like Chinese or Japanese?

 

I heard the rumor that Leopard will come out on Oct 22nd 2007.
When you switch from windows to Mac, remember to buy a regular mouse for you, like a logitech optical mouse, that way you will not complain about the only one button.
I think that mac really rocks. I have a imac G5 17 inch model which works great. My wife like skype on the mac.

 

Well actually, i like the idea of the one mouse button and i have kind of gotten used to it since im using my friends and using the one at my school. I believe that it makes things simplier and it just feels better for me. But i'd really like to know if Mac OS X supports foreign languages like chinese and japanese

 

Well, what do you mean by "supports foreign languages"? When you install OS X, you can choose what language you want it to be in; if you want Japanese or Chinese, then select that.

 

Mac OS X Features: International

 

What I mean is that i have songs with chinese and japanese names on them, so if i put it on itunes, would they read them? cause i've had an experience on windows where it just appears as squares.

 

It'll appear properly. I have the square problem like you mentioned in my window box. I never had a problem on my MBP.