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Will my old Ti Book do this?

Hi I have an 867mhz Ti Powerbook which still works. Amazingly after 12+ years I can still get online wirelessly using Airport and use the tenfourfox browser to access sites. I hate to see it go to waste and rather than buy a new laptop, I'd like my daughter to be able to use it if possible. She only needs to use it for MS Word online which after a quick test seems to work okay. But before I commit and she starts saving work online and relying on it, does anyone know if it actually will work or have I just been lucky and it'll fall down at some point? I can't really find an answer to the correct specs for the free version of Word online. Any help appreciated. Thanks

PowerBook, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Mar 14, 2015 4:44 PM

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6 replies

Mar 14, 2015 8:25 PM in response to Geordie

There seems to be a disconnect between versions of Microsoft Word that

suggest to be free and the supported systems involved. Where did you see

the reference to a MS Word version that runs free, not just a free download?


The Office 365 offers a short-term trial use for free, but that isn't supported

by the Tiger 10.4.11 or PowerPC vintage Mac. A new App for MS Word is

said to exist and may be available, but that requires access to the iTunes &

App Store to get X Word. Tiger cannot access the App or iTunes stores online.


So the information does not seem to match. Could you specify where you

read about this version and how Word is proposed to be used in Ti Book?


{An idea regarding servicability of TiBook: check into sources of a second

battery and also look into the specs to see if that model uses a PRAM cell

on the logic board, as some portable Apple computers do. They can fail.}


Thanks...! 😐

Mar 15, 2015 8:11 AM in response to K Shaffer

Although it's a little stripped down it's perfect for my daughter who's just getting into computing. And it's free. The other alternative if this is just too slow working in the Dolphin browser I have on the Ti Book, is to buy a Chrome Book and run it through Chrome. See here –


http://www.howtogeek.com/183299/a-free-microsoft-office-is-office-online-worth-u sing/

Mar 15, 2015 1:00 PM in response to Geordie

The MS Office version (is not "word") involves online storage and those options

may not be available to the older OS X system; also this utilizes bandwidth to

upload & download files, so that may be slower than expected or not work at all.


An older version of Word that may run in the computer's system may be a better

bet. Or see if there still are Google Apps that may work (in TenFourFox) to include

a word processor. There were a few fine word processors that run free, you could

get as a download and install. One was Bean. Another with greater potential in

other ways (as system editor, to implement command-line or code, etc) is Text-

Wrangler. Also TextEdit that is already in the system does OK, while not offering

the fine properties of the earlier Word application. AppleWorks was OK, but huge.


•TextWrangler is a bit advanced, since it can be used for more:

http://www.barebones.com/products/textwrangler/


•Bean (note older version downloads for Tiger 10.4+, not the latest one in main link)

see download Bean 3.1.1 for PPC Mac for 10.5+ AND older: Bean for Tiger 10.4+)

http://www.bean-osx.com/Bean.html


Another software that bridges the gap between Apple's TextEdit and a word processor

is this product known as Tex-Edit. It will run free, but is shareware. See Maker's page:

http://www.tex-edit.com/


Anyway, if you have online storage acceptable to Office or Google Apps, then the

resulting documents saved to the internet may be OK; however they're accessible

only with an internet connection. And subject to loss in several ways.


An ideal vintage version of of Word, if you had a copy, was MS Word 5.1a.


Good luck in this matter & happy computing! 🙂

Mar 16, 2015 4:53 AM in response to K Shaffer

Thanks for taking the time to reply with such detail. Whilst it's not the full version, the online version is perfectly adequate for her. And yes I tried lots of places to find Office 2008 but seeing as the CD/DVD drive isn't working either on it, it's nigh on impossible to find, let alone one I could download.


I'll keep on with the MS online version thanks for the alternatives but I think it's better for her to learn the MS software than confuse her with anything else. Thanks.

Mar 16, 2015 11:41 AM in response to Geordie

Perhaps an older Office version such as 2004 or before may be supported but not

likely when or if the computer is still using Tiger OS X 10.4.11. Office for Mac (2001)

and a little later would still work OK in Tiger 10.4.11 due to the ability to use Classic

mode (via OS9.2) under OS X. Unless the computer also dual-booted Mac OS9.2.


There had been free download/free use word processors that mimicked Office.

Open Office, NeoOffice, and a few others whose files could be read by either.


If the online approach works out OK, I'd suggest that a copy of any documents sent

to an archive held there, also be stored offline. Test them to see if text pages are

readable if saved to a local in-computer software, such as TextEdit in Tiger OS X.

The 'rich text format' may or may not saved correctly, to Office level of detail.


Good luck and hopefully that works out OK. Another angle may be to get an inexpensive

MacBook (circa 2006 through 2010) that is no longer made, as they can be very good.


Best regards! 🙂

Will my old Ti Book do this?

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