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ehwang114 · Apr 6, 2004, 02:20 AM

ok i am a newbie. ive only used macs a couple times and that was for surfing the web. i recently bought the pb 12 inch. i got sick of my toshiba satellite and it was old anyway. i just downloaded the msn messenger (i know i cant get away from the evil empire) and ive installed it and everything. but i want to be able to locate it. i have it on my dock because i did a search and was able to drag it on. in windows i can run windows explorer and find file and programs. i just want to know for my own knowledge where everything goes. i downloaded explorer and it was located in my applications but i cant find the messenger. can someone help me with this? other than that i must say i am enjoying the mac experience tremendously.

Lateralus · Apr 6, 2004, 02:25 AM

Welcome.

The easiest way to find a file in OS X is to, when at the desktop, go to the File menu and then to Find.

You downloaded MSN Messenger on it's own? I know that when you install Office for OS X, it installs a copy of Messenger inside of the Microsoft Office folder in the Applications folder.

But if you installed MSN Messenger seperately, it should be in the Application folder in plain sight.

Lateralus · Apr 6, 2004, 02:27 AM

Also, if you want to actually keep Microsoft software off of your computer but still use the MSN network for chatting, download an application called Fire. It works with ICQ, MSN, AIM... etc.

ehwang114 · Apr 6, 2004, 02:35 AM

gosh i feel so stupid. it was located in my ms office folder. it never occurred to me that it may be there. thanks for the help powermacman. i did download it separately when i didnt need to. my other question is: do i need office to read office documents like word excel and ppt? i just wnat to know if i should purchase it.

brapper · Apr 6, 2004, 02:47 AM

Originally posted by ehwang114:
gosh i feel so stupid. it was located in my ms office folder. it never occurred to me that it may be there. thanks for the help powermacman. i did download it separately when i didnt need to. my other question is: do i need office to read office documents like word excel and ppt? i just wnat to know if i should purchase it.

alright, let's see where to start. I assume you have microsoft office test drive on your comp right now?
If so, and if you have Appleworks, delete the test drive. It runs a small program in the background all the time that checks to see if the test drive has expired and it you just don't need your resources being used by that.
Plus, you can open .doc (word files) with Appleworks, so use that for now, and if you like the Office 2004 when it comes out in May, get that.
Now, I think the msn messenger that comes with the Office test drive is an old version. Get the newest from the microsoft website (3.5.1) OR, get an alternative msn client such as Fire, Proteus, or my suggestion, aMsn. Search for them all at: http://www.versiontracker.com/.
Hope that helps!

Lateralus · Apr 6, 2004, 02:50 AM

Most people will try to say that AppleWorks does the job of Office. It does not. Trying to open many Office files with AppleWorks seems to involve too much hoping and praying.

There are ways around this besides shelling out for Office.

For starters, Apple's 'Keynote' is a PowerPoint competitor, and it is a very well made piece of software, far better than PowerPoint. And AFAIK, it opens PowerPoint documents perfectly.

And as far as Word and Excel documents, I strongly recommend The Mariner Pack, which includes Mariner Write and Mariner Calc. Both are extrordinarily well written pieces of software for OS X. I use Mariner Write exclusively and I have nothing but praise for it, and it has yet to refuse to open a Word document. As far as Mariner Calc, I have yet to use it but I have heard nothing but praise for it as well.

Keynote and The Mariner Pack will cost you about $240, which is a bit better than shelling out for Office, and you would be getting better over all software for your money.

madmacgames · Apr 6, 2004, 03:09 AM

welcome to the Mac ehwang114.

for future reference, if you are not not sure where something is located on the hard drive, but had a link to it in the dock or some other place, you can ctrl + click on it and use "Show in Finder"

PS. I too use MSN messenger as it is all some people I know use. ughh... haven't seen that "fire" app before.. think I will check it out. Wish iChat synced with more than AIM though.

madmacgames · Apr 6, 2004, 03:13 AM

Originally posted by PowerMacMan:
I use Mariner Write exclusively and I have nothing but praise for it, and it has yet to refuse to open a Word document.

I think most people would be most concerned about that question the other way around. ie, alot of people work with office type documents on their mac but also need it to open correctly on PCs (ie MS Office).

Lateralus · Apr 6, 2004, 03:38 AM

Originally posted by madmacgames:
I think most people would be most concerned about that question the other way around. ie, alot of people work with office type documents on their mac but also need it to open correctly on PCs (ie MS Office).

Saves to Word fine.

threestain · Apr 6, 2004, 07:52 AM

the thing I found most useful when I got my mac is launchbar - it finds everything for you. try it out as its in version4, beta 1 and so is free to use till the end of april - worth the money if you like it too!

Link · Apr 6, 2004, 08:01 AM

There's quicksilver too

brapper · Apr 6, 2004, 02:40 PM

Originally posted by madmacgames:
PS. I too use MSN messenger as it is all some people I know use. ughh... haven't seen that "fire" app before.. think I will check it out. Wish iChat synced with more than AIM though.

seriously, if you want a version of messenger that's up-to-date with the windows version, look into aMsn: http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/22504
It's the closest mac version to MSN Messenger 6 out there.

runejoha · Apr 6, 2004, 05:22 PM

Originally posted by ehwang114:
gosh i feel so stupid. it was located in my ms office folder. it never occurred to me that it may be there. thanks for the help powermacman. i did download it separately when i didnt need to. my other question is: do i need office to read office documents like word excel and ppt? i just wnat to know if i should purchase it.

No, you can get openoffice for free!

CyberPet · Apr 7, 2004, 10:49 AM

I use Proteus for most of my IM's (not AIM since I use iChat for that). Proteus handles AIM, MSN, ICQ and YIM. Looks pretty cool too, but doesn't support filesharing much.

Text Edit (or whatever it's called in English) that comes with Panther can open and save .doc files. No need for Office and Word if you don't want to. Doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but at least it let you handle the files.

ehwang114 · Apr 7, 2004, 05:36 PM

i appreciate all the feedback and this is by far the most helpful forum. i have downloaded the fire program for my chatting pleasures. thanks again