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melismak · Oct 29, 2006, 10:24 AM

I'm a PC user and not really familiar with Macs at all. However, I need to buy a mac laptop that will support Classic mode. Do any Macbooks do this? Thanks.

melismak · Oct 29, 2006, 10:26 AM

Also, what software is included? I really need a good word processor and I'm assuming this comes standard? Thanks again.

slugslugslug · Oct 29, 2006, 10:46 AM

If you want to use Classic, you need to get used or refurbished PowerBook or iBook, unless you want to run OS 9 programs by attempting to set up an emulator like SheepShaver on an Intel machine. But the latter option isn't nearly as easy to use as Classic.

Mac OS X comes with TextEdit, which is a passable word processor that can save in RTF or Word format, but it feels substantially different than Word, if that's what you're used to, and it doesn't have anywhere near the massive feature set (which some folks might view as a good thing).

melismak · Oct 29, 2006, 10:51 AM

I see that Mellel is a more HE word processor...how is it? good? And how much? Thanks.

almudawi · Oct 29, 2006, 05:00 PM

I am a new convert as well, just switched a week ago and let me tell you something mate ! I will never go back to windows !

About the word processor I have the following three:

1- Word
2- Pages
3- Neo office (free)

All of them are great !

Goodluck with your switch !

jesrae · Oct 29, 2006, 06:24 PM

If you're a PC user and used to the Microsoft apps, I'd recommend getting your hands on a copy of Word or Office for Mac. Same apps pretty much as on PCs and all of the documents can easily go back and forth between platforms. It's not included, though if you qualify for student pricing, it's a little over $100 (regular, I think Office runs about $400, not sure about just buying Word), assuming you want to abide by copyright law.

kryptik · Oct 30, 2006, 08:43 PM

If your a student most schools should have Office available through your IT Services.

melismak · Oct 30, 2006, 08:57 PM

Originally Posted by kryptik

If your a student most schools should have Office available through your IT Services.

Yup--I just got all of office for $5 through my university. Yay for that--they also have Adobe Photoshop.

lookmark · Oct 31, 2006, 05:56 AM

Just curious: what do you need Classic for?

melismak · Oct 31, 2006, 08:42 AM

Originally Posted by lookmark

Just curious: what do you need Classic for?

I was hoping to get a laptop that used Classic for an older (and much better) version of some software I need. It's called Notewriter: http://debussy.music.ubc.ca/NoteWriter/index.html

But in the end I decided to get the newer version, which is slighty less flecible. I can't justify spending $185 on a program that no longer works on currently-produced technology!

brettcamp · Oct 31, 2006, 10:31 PM

Mellel is great in many ways, and especially nice for academics. I love its outlining, reliability, text rendering, footnoting and many other features. But I found its handling of styles confusing and unintuitive, so I almost never use it anymore. Definitely worth trying the free demo, though; it works great for a lot of people.

For my needs, a combination of OmniOutliner and TextEdit worked fine, and now I'm switching over to the new Scrivener, which is ideal for many writers. You can search this forum for more info on the surprisingly robust Mac word processor market, including freeware like NeoOffice and AbiWord.

Pages is rumored to be getting a substantial facelift soon, but Apple has heretofore not provided upgrade pricing for new versions -- you have to pay full price for the new version. Not that it's that expensive, but you might want to hold off buying the current iWork for that reason.