Mac - worth it?

[Tsarevich]

I was looking into new laptops and most come with Vista or DOS, except for Macs. I like MacBook. What I am hesitant about is that would it run Windows Software? I know my old hardware would run on it. But most useful software in local market is for Windows (in fact all). There is no Mac software.

Why do most people don't buy Macs then? Does it come with a default office? (I don't like MS Office).

[GNU-Fan]

I was looking into new laptops and most come with Vista or DOS, except for Macs. I like MacBook. What I am hesitant about is that would it run Windows Software?

A few years ago, Apple decided to drop the PowerPC and switch to the Intel x86-64 architecture. It is since then that Windows and its software can run natively on it.

Why do most people don't buy Macs then?

Because most people do not know they can install operating systems afterwards. So they opt for devices with Windows preinstalled, which is the only software they feel comfortable with, The price may play a role too.

Does it come with a default office? (I don't like MS Office).

Only if you choose so at ordering.

[thesimplecreator]

A few years ago, Apple decided to drop the PowerPC and switch to the Intel x86-64 architecture. It is since then that Windows and its software can run natively on it.

This isn't true, they did switch to a different set of processors, but windows programs do NOT run natively on a mac.

Because most people do not know they can install operating systems afterwards. So they opt for devices with Windows preinstalled, which is the only software they feel comfortable with, The price may play a role too.

Most people dont want to install another operating system, even if they can. Although a big snag , like with people switching to linux, is probably the small amount of available games for macs.

Only if you choose so at ordering.

It comes with it's own type of office, but if your worried about compatibility with Microsoft office then you could just download Open Office for it.

[Hal343]

Parallels and another program allow you to run Windows under Mac. Not being a Mac user I don't remember what the other program is, but you can google it.

[Rubberman]

Parallels and another program allow you to run Windows under Mac. Not being a Mac user I don't remember what the other program is, but you can google it.

VirtualBox works as well, AFAIK.

[jayd512]

As far as an actual office suite, not that I know of. But Mail is quite similar to Outlook and Evolution in both set-up and functionality. You also would have iCal for dates and event reminders.
Not a complete suite, per se, but it's easy to work with.

And thesimplecreator is right... Win software is still incompatible with the MacOS. But there are quite a few equivalent apps that you can look into (sorry, I don't have a link). And you can always look into Boot Camp.

[GNU-Fan]

This isn't true, they did switch to a different set of processors, but windows programs do NOT run natively on a mac.

And thesimplecreator is right... Win software is still incompatible with the MacOS.

I think these are two different issues here.

From what I understand,
- Windows software can't be run on MacOS-X without emulation
- but Windows software can be run from within Windows, which in turn runs natively on the Apple hardware with the right chips on it

[techieMoe]

I think these are two different issues here.

From what I understand,
- Windows software can't be run on MacOS-X without emulation
- but Windows software can be run from within Windows, which in turn runs natively on the Apple hardware with the right chips on it

That is correct. There's technically nothing stopping you from running MS Windows on current (Intel) Mac hardware. It will work, and all the software designed for Windows will work in that environment. Apple even makes it easier to do with a utility called Boot Camp, which will partition your drive for you and write a driver disk for Windows. I've done this myself before and seen it done a number of times.

[techieMoe]

The last Macs I looked at didn't come with Microsoft Office, but there is an officially-supported Mac version of Office available that (at least in theory) should give you 100% compatibility with the Windows version.

The iWork suite is usually what comes with new Mac computers, and it has some similar applications (Pages, Keynote and Numbers which are a word processor, presentation program, and spreadsheet respectively). There's also (as mentioned above) a version of OpenOffice that works on OS X.

[jayd512]

That is correct. There's technically nothing stopping you from running MS Windows on current (Intel) Mac hardware.

Does this mean that somebody using an iMac can just load up a Windows app and run it natively with no issues?
If so, then I stand happily corrected.