Need more information on compatable software

Question

I have had this mac mini for about a month now, but it just occured to me that I needed a word processing software. Everytime I needed to type something, it was done either at work, or on my Windows PC (I have only had a mac for a month in my life, which is this one). I have already bought Microsoft Office for my Windows PC and was wondering if it would work on my mac as well. I really would like to not purchase this software again since it is really expensive. Would Microsoft Office (Windows PC edition, not the mac one) work on a Macintosh? If it dosen't work directly, are there any side steps I can take to get it to work? If all fails, are there any programs on par with Office for Mac but at a modest price (no more than $100, because I spent nearly $300 on Office). I know this is a lot of questions, I would really appreciate it if someone would answer my question. Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,
You cannot use the Windows version of Microsoft Office on your Mac unless you install Windows on your Intel Mac.
The Intel Macs can run Windows XP if you download and install Apple's Boot Camp:
http://www.apple.com/bootcamp/
But, then you still have to purchase and install the retail version of Windows XP (about $200).
Now, if you want to do this for free, there is a great solution:
If you want a powerful Office Package that is 100% compatible with Microsoft Word and Office, then look at the free NeoOffice package. You can download it from:
http://www.neooffice.org/
This program is completely free, and will open and create Microsoft Office compatible files. So, it makes exchanging your documents with others very easy.
Everything exchanges back and forth in either direction without trouble.
Don't let the "Beta" status scare you. NeoOffice is always being improved and tweaked. So, in one form or another, it's always in Alpha or Beta stage. I've been using it through all it's revisions from before the 1.x days.
It's essentially a Mac "native" version of OpenOffice.
You can read more about OpenOffice at:
http://www.openoffice.org/
OpenOffice is a free office suite that has been developed from the beginning to be 100% compatible with Microsoft Office. And, OpenOffice is available for most computing platforms.
But, the Mac version requires X11 to be installed, and is not very "Mac-like".
So, that's where NeoOffice comes in. They adapted OpenOffice to run as a regular Mac application is OS X. And, they are always updating it to add new features as OpenOffice is updated. So, it is constantly being improved.
I've never had a single problem with NeoOffice, and it exchanges documents with PC users with ease. Everything I open from them looks like it should, and everything I send them looks as it should on their machines with MS-Office. It even works with PowerPoint presentations.
So, give that a shot. It works great, and it's free. Plus, it will give you an entire Office package for free
Now for the bad news. You didn't need to buy Microsoft Office for the PC either. OpenOffice works great in Windows, and would have saved you a lot of money.
But, look into NeoOffice for your Mac. I think you'll like it.
I hope this helps.
Let us know if you have other questions.
P.S., if you'd like, go ahead and click the "Helpful" or "Solved" buttons on any of the posts / replies above if you feel they were helpful or adequately answered your question.