“From my position as a Mac user and Apple watcher for more than 20 years, it seems to me that there are three kinds of Mac users,” Bambi Brannan writes for Mac 360. “Those who need and use Microsoft Office. Those who do not need Microsoft Office and have moved on. Those who are afraid not to use Office but are willing to try an alternative.”
“A few years ago I managed to kick the Office habit because my workflow had changed sufficiently that complete and total file compatibility with Office documents was no longer an overriding issue,” Brannan writes. “If you’re a small office, or a home office with multiple users, LibreOffice gives much of the same functionality as Office and the whole kit and caboodle is free. Most of the time, files you send to or receive from Microsoft Office users are still compatible and often require little if any tweaking… Or, if file compatibility is becoming less of an issue each year, you can take a different route and use Apple’s iWork– Pages, Numbers, Keynote. Also free.”
Read more in the full article here.
that’s a question?
That’s two questions
I will go one step further and distill it to One question, if you please: Do the above two questions really need to be asked? answer: yes, but not of us in knowledge, only the less informed that don’t know that you can be free of the bloat, and the viruses.
thanks for keeping count hannahjs !-)
FUD will keep Office on people’s Macs for years to come, “just in case.” I agree it probably isn’t necessary at all, except in business environments where it is mandated, but PC users looking to make the switch still need Office on the Mac (or in a Parallels mode with Windows) as a crutch.
I was speaking to a non-techy person just this last weekend who wants to switch, but won’t without the Office option.
I decided to finally get rid of office about a year ago and couldn’t be happier. I’ve just been using Apple’s suite and it has done just fine, if not better.
Over many years of tech support, I started to load http://www.openoffice.us.com (free) in people’s Mac’s who insist they need MS Office. I’ve only had one tell me it wasn’t enough. All other never asked me for MS Office again.
the only 2 office apps I absolutely need are Excel and Outlook.
Everything else can be handled by other packages for me.
The answer to this is always EXCEL!
There are plenty of Word options…
Plenty of PowerPoint options (hell most are way better)…
No “real” options to Excel for those of us that have deal with real spreadsheets with macros and formulas. Excel for the Mac SUCKs and methinks that is NOT by accident.
Why do you think you can’t buy Excel by itself…
I agree, Numbers is great but under featured.
I use Office, but, of course I wouldn’t pay for it!
Totally agree Excel for Mac sucks badly!
A long time ago I bought Mac versions of Word & Excel at a Microsoft warehouse sale. I never upgraded them. I tried Open Office after a while, but now I’m happy with iWork.
Apple’s recent iWork’s update that screwed up everyone’s iWork documents was a real thumb in the eye for getting enterprise or just ordinary folks to trust their precious documents and hours of work to Apple or anyone else for that matter. Worst of all was that it could have been avoided, but by the time a user had figured out that there was a problem, it was too late. I’m still trying to muddle my way through the mess. Backups? Of course. Now try figuring out which version do docs and whether that doc was touched by the new iWorks apps or not and etc., etc. I can’t imagine how this old have fouled up someone with hundreds of iWorks docs entrusted to Apple’s iCloud. They should be ashamed and heads should roll for this. Then again, it is a recent trend, right? That a, for Apple to release half-baked software a nod declare it the best thing the world has ever seen. It all began with MobileMe, perhaps. Then Maps, iOS, Mavericks and now iWorks. And yes, I left out several. What in the heck is going on at Apple?
I do understand your point. One thing Apple does badly it explain their new concepts well. They tell their new software idea at a big event that gets overshadowed by the great new gadget they came out with to run the software. One of the big bitches about iWork for iOS was that it was incompatible with iWork for Mac. Also everyone forgot about iWork in the cloud, or what ever it was called. Now they have rewrote all three to be compatible. Documents are now updated on all your devices automatically. They have made it so you can collaborate with others in real time. This is a great change, however it is a total rewrite and does not play well with the old iWork. Like all their other rewrites. Apple could solve some of their problems by advertising their software after it’s release or doing events that focus on software with no hardware release. However they say nothing and let all the negatives discouraged anyone from using it.
Aperture – left to whither on the vine.
Final Cut – an industry standard turned into an industry joke overnight.
iLife – features ripped out with no warning or explanation, dumbed down and yet UI harder to use.
Mail – attachment woes persisting for going on a decade, spam filter is rubbish as are the hopeless ‘smart’ folders.
Finder – Mavericks has the same shortcomings and bugs that Tiger had. There are a host of UI improvements Apple could bless the Finder with but choose not to bother. Green button is still useless.
TS: The reason M$ has no need to fear Apple is because they take the professional seriously. Apple treats pros like like consumers, not like people who rely on software to earn their living.
It’s a matter of trust.
Apple TV is a ‘hobby’ apparently, because Apple does not put a lot of resources and effort into making it better. By that measure Apple’s entire Mac business is a hobby.
I agree with aspects of what you’re saying but the brush is way too broad and in that flawed. Microsoft is no angel to business. Balmer just about ruined Microsoft with his lack of technology focus and focus on sales. Windows 8 is no friend to business and cost a fortune to implement as it’s so different.
Programs like Word have almost become unusable to people that used it in the 80s.
However, with that said I happily use my Mac with Office 365 using Exchange online plan 1. I don’t really use Office software though. It’s a good system and possibly something Microsoft could focus on but … and then I could take that broad brush.
MS has pissed off tens of millions of small business people and others who must use MS Office stuff from time to time just to be able to review documents in native format or make minor changes.
Buying MS office for hundreds of dollars is mostly a waste and finally users are getting other good and mostly free options.
MS is faced with an endgame which looks like Windows OS and MS Office are getting whittled down on both volume and eventually price. That is a dire scenario & I don’t know how long MS can keep bundling its products into computers.
MS is not going to be able to sell tablets with a charge for the OS and for MS Office, as that just won’t fly, given Apple’s products.
How enthusiastic I’am about Pages, Keynote and Numbers, its not a replacement of Office as I work in a business environment. Apple software still does not support two-way compatibility of Office files to be a replacement. Besides it still lacks key functionality for average business user as I am. On the contrary, there is an increasingly number incompatibilities between different Office versions. So maybe the problem solves itself?!
I have to grudgingly agree. I still need compatibility with Word for various reasons because I receive Word files from many people. Pages simply doesn’t support and/or translate everything in Word well, and I can’t waste time reformatting documents or trying to figure out the problem when I open a Word file. I use Pages for documents that I know I won’t send to someone, or that I create myself and convert to Word format if necessary, or send as a PDF.
Apple really missed the boat here. It had a golden opportunity to lock in iWork as the go-to office suite for those who want compatibility and platform usage with iOS. But instead Apple dragged its feet on updating iWork, even starting with iOS versions that were not particularly compatible with OS X versions. It’s really too bad, because Microsoft left the barn door WIDE open, and Apple just looked at it.
Funny thing is, right here on this website, every time I’ve mentioned that iWork is a poor substitute for Office – I get ripped by people saying “No one ever said iWork is a replacement for Office”.
The UK is buying a clue for substitutes:
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/29/uk-government-plans-switch-to-open-source-from-microsoft-office-suite
Believe me, I’m no fan of Microsoft. I hate MS Office, talk about a bloated piece of crap, with one exception, MS Outlook (previously Entourage on Mac). I was never a fan of accessing my email through a web browser, I always preferred using a dedicated email client.
I like the integration of email, address book, and calendar in one place within the program. Apple has these three things set up as three separate programs, which I never understood since Mac Mail does integrate with Contacts.
Where you really appreciate Outlook is in the corporate environment that’s running Exchange server. Apple Mail looks pretty lame and is quite weak in features in comparison. The global address book is a must in the corporate environment.
So, until Apple integrates the three main features of Outlook, adds Global Address Book, sharing, the meeting maker, and some other features that exist in Outlook but not in the Mac Mail client, it will remain my number one goto for Mail. Apple does some cool great software, but, Mail, Contacts and Calendar aren’t one of them.
Yep still need Excel. Though I might be able to do what I do in Filemaker. Everything else in the Office Suite is expendable as far as I’m concerned.
I’ve been using Microsoft Office for over 20 years at work and at home and I currently have both Mac and Windows (in BootCamp) versions on my Macs. They’re both pirated versions of MS Office. I’m used to using them and see no reason to change. I’ve always loved the deep power of MS Word and used to use it extensively for word processing assignments.
Now that I’m retired I keep MS Office around just in case someone sends me MS Office documents to look over or show some people how to use some specific features they might need. MS Outlook makes Apple mail look rather lame in comparison but I don’t require the power of Outlook at home.
Please don’t pirate dude. You’re feeding the paranoia of our Corporate Oligarchy. With great alternatives like LibreOffice and iWork, there’s no reason to bother.
I’ve been looking at Calc in LibreOffice as a replacement for Excel. They’ve just added a nonlinear solver. (It appears to be using genetic algorithms, but I didn’t find good documentation on the procedures it implements.) Does anyone know how robust LO’s Solver and nonlinear solver extension are?
Yes, we need MS Office. Neither Excel nor Word are completely replaceable by any other programs. Cheaper lesser programs are a dime a dozen. None offer better value. Apple’s suite is worth about what Apple charges for it to any company with multi-platform users.
We’re not swayed by MDN’s incessant anti-MS propagada either. If you run a business, then old politics has no place in software selection. You have to use what works best for your business. We don’t evaluate productivity software based on how flat and white the interface is.
Office may be far from perfect, but nobody’s invented anything better for true professional use, at any price.
I am still trying to quit MS Office, however people keep sending my .doc files.
Were’s the problem? Just open them with Pages!
Only if I HAVE to. Some clients business are so deep into Microsoft, they demand you use Office File formats to work with them. No not Office compatible or files from Open Office, but native Microsoft Office Files. Even basic stupid letters must be Microsoft Word Native Office File Format. Geeeeez that pisses me off so much. Dumb!
MUST have 100% compatibility with heavily formatted Word files in academic setting. 100%. That’s why I canno’ rid meself of Office.
I sad Office because it’s better to just get the whole thing instead of buying only Word, etc. Plus, I too like having contacts, notes all in Outlook, and Outlook allows me to delete message from a server but keep it in me Mac. I loathe using a browser for email…
I dumped everything Microsoft over a decade ago. I don’t have a copy of office. I have a lot over alternatives instead, including the free and highly functional LibreOffice, which I prefer to any rendition of OpenOffice.
Despite my NOT having Microsoft Office, I am THE person in my neighborhood and local social groups people go to for document translations. It is easy to make and translate Microsoft Office files WITHOUT having Office.
IOW: No one really requires Microsoft Office. The alternatives and translators are plentiful. I very much prefer the OpenDoc standard that’s free as part of OpenOffice versions as well as LibreOffice.
Microsoft-Free Forever
Completely delusional, if for no other reason than Apple’s iWork operates according to M$’s Office standards or it’s useless. M$ still calls the shots, and with Apple’s woeful performance recently that’s not likely to change.
In the current form, iWork fails miserably to meet the needs of serious professionals. This is not debatable.
It’s like saying Pixelmator is a viable alternative to Photoshop.
Sorry, it just isn’t.
I’m not just using iWork. MS provides a free translator for .docx files. OpenOffice.org. LibreOffice. And so on. Not kidding! I couldn’t care less about Microsoft. When confronted with one of their files, I have a solution.
“A few years ago I managed to kick the Office habit because MY WORKFLOW HAD CHANGED sufficiently that complete and total file compatibility with Office documents was no longer an overriding issue,”
THAT is the point! Not all of us have a workflow that has changed to that degree! It would be GREAT if it could!
(I wish I knew how to add “bold” type on MDN posts.)
Well, the way I do it is add HTML tags. To bold the word Bollocks, type Bollocks (without the spaces)
That didn’t fool the parser.
Starting boldface: left caret ()
Ending boldface:left caret ()
Damn that’s one smart parser. Actually, dumb as stone parser. Never mind.
DEREK!
In the corporate environment, if you are using a Mac, Windows is essential to full collaborate with colleagues. For example, our company (>35,000 FTE) relies on Exchange, SharePoint, etc. The biggest things for me, and the reason I “have” to run it in Parallels, are:
1) My team is highly OneNote centric and the shared notebooks are stored on a SharePoint. We cannot sync to Skydrive / iCloud for security / proprietary / protected information reasons. This is a key tool for me on an hourly basis when working. There is NO Mac equivalent, yet, that can sync with SharePoint (yet).
2) As others mentioned, full Exchange access. I admin many distribution groups within Exchange/AD and I can only do this with the Win version of Office, not even in Mac Office 2011. Argh.
3) We also rely heavily of MS Project and MS Visio. I must be able to open, edit and share in this format, again, no Mac version available.
For many of us, there is NO alternative but office and FULL Office in Parallels or BootCamp. I hate Win so I use Parallels in Coherence mode and its tolerable. Barely. If I wasn’t in the corp environment or had more control over it, I would drop MS in a heart beat.
The entire office suite now with outlook is $99 a year for five licenses that’s 20 bucks apiece and you get everything. if you have to argue that you must simply be poor. in the meantime Apple has not put together the software To compete with Microsoft office sad but true
Been Microsoft free for 3 years at home.
Without Office for mac I would not be able to use a Mac. 100% Word compatibility is essential to me. Not 95% or 99%. I will often start a document in Pages or Scrivener, but in the end it always goes to Word format, for when I get to the office tomorrow and grab that file from dropbox, I must be able to load it into winword and not spend the first half hour looking for subtle formatting changes.
The web version of Pages? Maybe, one day, when it is finished.
Unfortunately, only MS Office has the features that many small businesses use on a daily basis.
About six months ago my brother moved my Dad to Pages and Numbers, then Apple stripped out Merge functionality. Now my Dad will be forced back to Office if merge it is not restored in the new edition.
Ironically, MS Office usage as a percentage is higher on the Mac then it is in Windows.
Apple needs to produce a real iWork suite that will compete with MS Office. Currently, Apple expects owners of $2,000 Macs to accept the functionality of an iPad when using iWork. This will not fly with small business.
In addition, Apple needs to improve their quality control with their Apps. Read the newest reviews for iMovie and Compressor.