Gosh, it's on!

[pandorasblog]

I'd misunderstood the LJ mail and thought it was going off now, but turns out it'll be 8.00am Pacific, not Eastern time, which means 4pm GMT rather than 1pm. And since it's 1pm now and I have a bitch of a computer crisis and need advice, that is a very, very good thing.

Comments

[dfordoom]

I'd understood from Rem that Macs had software of their own which could open and edit Word and Excel files

They do. My Mac is a totally Microsoft-free zone, and I have no problems at all with Word or Excel files. I bought an incredibly cheap Mac software package called iWorks. It cost the equivalent of about forty quid.

I burnt all my files onto a blank DVD, then transferred them from the DVD onto the Mac. It took no time at all, and was no trouble at all.

Transferring my internet connection to the Mac took a few seconds. Literally. And I'm so computer illiterate I don't know what a USB stick is!

[pandorasblog]

I must say that's very reassuring! Later I'll go through the programs on the Mac and see what else is in there. I do know there's another text editor; maybe it's just a question of finding one of those "what do you want to open with this?" lists...

[dfordoom]

iWorks has a word processor called Pages, and a spreadsheet called Numbers. They open Word and Excel files without problem. They're a bit basic, but then they cost a tiny fraction of what MS Office costs. I find them quite good enough for my purposes. I loathe and detest Word! I'm so happy to be MS-free.

There might be something in System Preferences, in the Apple menu.

[pandorasblog]

Thanks! *adds that to the list of stuff to check for*

[starlaborne]

ack i really wish i could help you out here because i too, recently moved from PC to iMac, but i am that dumb, i am still trying to figure out basics with my mac!

just be careful that you don't end up needing to bring your mac to an expect because he/she may refuse to fix the problems for you, if they see that you had already tampered with it yourself. this is because someone i know had a similar problem & he tried fixing it himself, which resulted in the mac expert then refusing to fix it.

i'm not saying this is going to happen you, but just be careful.

& enjoy learning how to work your new mac! i love mine, but there is still so much i need to learn.

[starlaborne]

oh yes, & i too, bought iWorks for my mac, for £55 from PC world. it's a fantastic package. i would stay clear off installing windows onto mac. it takes up way too much space & there is absolutely no need for it. just buy yourself a copy of iWorks. it's so much better than microsoft works anyway.

[dfordoom]

Why would you want to put Windows on a Mac? You buy a Mac so you never ever have to use Windows again! ;-)

iWorks is cool, isn't it? And that's the only software I needed to buy. Everything else, graphics programs, all that stuff, was all there on the Mac.

I don't miss Windows at all!

[starlaborne]

lol i've no idea what i was thinking when i put windows onto the first mac i got a couple of months ago. (there was this deal on macwarehouse.co.uk for £900 where i got windows XP installed too. at the time i didn't realise what a silly idea this was & how much space it used up!) but anyway, that mac then broke on me a few days later so i returned it & bought one close to where i live, instead of buying online. so i decided to go with iWorks instead, which is great! it's so handy with all the templates for brochures etc, because i have my own photography business. so that's handy. :)

so you were happy enough with the graphics programs, without deciding to install a copy of photoshop? to be honest, i haven't really tried out the graphics software, but i am currently installing photoshop CS4 because that is the one program i would only work with for editing my images.

& i agree, i no longer miss windows at all any more either!

[teylaminh]

Try speaking to jackiesjottings - I don't know if you were ever on her f-list or vice versa from the MHgeek adding spree, but anyway... She has a Mac and works on a Helpdesk (where the majority of users are PC-owners) so may be able to help...

I've never even touched a Mac myself so am absolutely no help beyond this comment...

[pandorasblog]

No, I don't know her, but if you reckon she wouldn't mind a random person showing up asking...? :)

[teylaminh]

I'll leave her a comment now to ask / warn her, but I imagine not...

[pandorasblog]

Thanks. <3

[zhonghua2000]

I know nothing of Mac's except my friend Danielle just got a Macbook Pro and loves it. She used to be a PC-user. I dunno...

And why is LJ still up I ask you? I mean it's 8 a.m. PST now? Ahh mysteries of life. <3