Windows compatibilty

Hello Marina, welcome to discussions.

Microsoft makes a version of Office (with Powerpoint, Word, Excel, etc..) that is fully compatible with Mac OS X. You wouldn't need Windows XP at all.
If you do end up getting an iBook, I would recommend that you purchase the Mac version of Office as well.
If you are a student, I believe you can get some good discounts on both the hardware and software.

You cannot run Windows XP natively on an iBook. You can run it using Virtual PC, but it will run with severely reduced performance.

If all you want is to run Office though, you can always buy the Mac version of Office, which includes all the same programs as the Windows version except for Access. The professional version of Office for Mac includes Virtual PC.

You can also use a number of programs besides Office to open powerpoint, excel, word, etc. documents. You can use suites like OpenOffice or NeoOffice. Pages can open Word documents, and Keynote can open Powerpoint documents. Appleworks can open Excel files and Word documents.

You have a few choices.

So I was wondering if there is a way to have the i book but with windows xp.

No, you can't install Windows XP on any Mac as its sole operating system. It's a Mac. The hardware (mainly the Motorola CPU) is completely incompatible with Windows. It's not compiled to run directly on a Mac.

The only problem is that Im used to windows xp, and I need Microsoft office for my school courses.

No problem. You can do two things.

1) Buy Virtual PC and install it on your iBook. You'll need a version that includes a license of Windows. Then you can install your copy of Office for Windows and run Windows XP on your Mac in emulation.

2) Buy the Student/Teacher edition of Office 2004 for OS X.

In option one, the emulation will kill you. It will be nowhere near as fast as a real Windows box. You'll get tired of that real fast. On the other hand, with option two, you can get the Mac OS X version of Office just about anywhere for about $120. Less than the cost of Virtual PC with no reason to use it in emulation as it's a native OS X application. All of the files you would create with it will be completely compatible with the Windows version.

Actually, you have another option. Get your iBook, and then a copy of AppleWorks. It's kind of the Apple version of Office, and while not as robust (yet), about everything you do in AppleWorks can be translated by MS Office on a Winbox.

Should be noted that iBooks come with AppleWorks so that's one less step.

Another option is to use NeoOffice which will allow you to open and save Office documents in their native format.

http://www.neooffice.org/

It is an open source application which means you can download and use it for free.

You can also try the free open source suite Open Office.

When did Apple Works come bundled on the new Macs? My wife bought her iBook last October, and no Apple Works, and I bought my G5 Tower about three months ago, and no Apple Works. ilife yes, but no Apple Works.

Appleworks has come bundled with iBooks, iMacs and eMacs since forever. It came bundled with my Bondi Blue iMac in 1998, and it came bundled with my G5 iMac last May, and it came bundled with my brother-in-law's iBook last August.

It does not come with Powerbooks and PowerMacs.

NeoOffice is a free software port of OpenOffice to the MacOS X platform.

You can run OpenOffice on the X11 Windowing system but this is not necessary with NeoOffice.

http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/ooo-osx_downloads.html

] When did Apple Works come bundled on the new Macs? My wife bought her iBook last October, and no Apple Works

Last line of http://www.apple.com/ibook/software.html

Use AppleWorks 6 to write a book report.

As stated Apple's Pro range (PowerBooks and PowerMacs) do not come with Appleworks.

HI iFelix,

I just noticed yesterday that NeoOffice was a port of OpenOffice. I was trying to see why there would be two versions of essentially the same thing, but didn't really have time to look. NeoOffice is obviously the better choice since it eliminates having to install X11. I'll be linking to NeoOffice in the future instead.

Thanks!

Get your iBook, and then a copy of AppleWorks. It's kind of the Apple version of Office, and while not as robust (yet)

And will probably never be. AW is no longer being "actively" developed, now Apple is focusing on iWork.

BTW you should have gotten AW on your wife's iBook, however, it may not have been preinstalled and could still be on her install discs somewhere, although it seems unlikely. If she has upgraded the iBook to Tiger doing an Erase & Install, she will have lost AppleWorks. She may not have noticed that AppleWorks was there until the upgrade, and then obviously it's gone, although she can reinstall it from her original install discs ... otherwise I dont know why AW wasn't there.

To the Original Poster :

I use NeoOffice and it works fine, I am able to read and edit Word files w/out problems. You might want to try it first, and then decide if you still want to buy Office:mac ...

Unless you are a heavy gamer, you will probably get used to OS X very fast (and undoubtedly love it). Helped by these forums, it took me 2 weeks at max. 🙂

Since nobody mentioned it, the education verision of MS Office 2004 can be had for as little as $139, and includes 3 licenses. If you can get a buddy or two to go in, that is less than 50 bucks per machine for Office. Quite a deal by any standard.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/72504/wo/cf4P88V G4Hu02zca0nx1UsLL88G/1.SLID?mco=76AF8DD&nplm=T9188LL%2FA

Note that is does include Virtual PC or Access, and MS does not sell updates to the education versions. So when next verison of Office shows up, you have pay full price again.

Alas the licence is for three computers in a single household and therefore you need to ensure that the two buddies live in your home.

Also you do need to fulfil the student/education aspect of the licence as well.

If you can get a buddy or two to go in, that is less than 50 bucks per machine for Office. Quite a deal by any standard.

Just an FYI... this is illegal.
The three licenses are to be used for three machines within the same household.
Sharing amongst friends does not qualify.