Questions about the Mac? Get them answered here.

It is the best decision you would ever make in your life...your life productivity will increase multi-fold using Apple MacBook Pro Retina. I recommend the following:
1. Buy the max hard disk space available if you plan to download your pictures and videos from your iPhone and iPad AND old emails. I bought a 256GB hard disk and have only 16GB left. FIrst analysis is how much space you will occupy in the new MacBook and decide accordingly. You cannot upgrade later.
2. You don't have to install Parallels at all.
3. iWork is great, but you don't have Access. If you need Access, then I suggest you install NeoOffice. Cost is US$ 10 per year. It has everything and more than Office Professional and it will work flawlessly on Retina Display. I evaluated all the other Free Office softwares and chose NeoOffice.
4. I have Parallels and my old Office 2003 Professional, but seldom use it. I use NeoOffice everyday, but miss the feature that iWork would offer me to upload all iWork files automatically on iCloud! I already have bought Keynote and plan to buy Pages and Numbers soon. Unfortunately Apple has stopped trial versions of iLife. I wish they would allow trial before purchase.
5. I do miss Outlook and the ease of emails in Outlook. Mail in Apple is not great. Other than Outlook, you can give up Office.
6. Of course you have one more choice - you can choose Office for Mac including Outlook - NO Access -, over iWork.
I hope this helps.

• Answered by Ruumi D
• 21-May-2013
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I have older versions of both iWork and Microsoft office. These do not pose any problems on my Mac. They all work just fine.

• Answered by Julie G from Conway
• 23-Feb-2013
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No, MS Project isn't produced for Mac. You may want to have a look for software called open project

• Answered by Hamad A from Dubai
• 07-Apr-2013
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Yes, but you'll need to purchase "Microsoft Office for Mac". The current 2011 version is available in the apple store for £89

• Answered by Michael B
• 02-Sep-2012
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Yes, if you install Parallels Desktop 8 on your Mac and add Windows then you can use IE on your Mac.

• Answered by John U from Bellevue
• 02-Apr-2013
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Short answer - yes. Microsoft has a Mac Native version of Office that comes in Home/Student and Professional flavors. I like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel 2011 on the Mac better than the current version of the same programs on PCs. Unless you need to interface with an Exchange Server and require the full functionality of Outlook, go with the home/student version that doesn't include Outlook.

Alternatives: Apple's iWork components are Office Compatible and they do a pretty good job for a smaller price tag. There's also Open Office which is a free, Open Source effort (like Firefox) that is also pretty good. However, neither option is a complete replacement for MS Office.

• Answered by Christopher H from Virginia Beach
• 28-May-2012
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I use Microsoft Office 2008 on my older Macs at home and Office on my Intel based laptops and the Macvat school. I am a mathematician and need the features of symbolic capability and other necessary reference identifiers. I get all I need with Word. Colleagues with more publication needs use the software sold thru the American Mathematical Society. Also, Mathtype is available for use with Mac OS.

• Answered by Thomas R from Troy
• 01-Mar-2013
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Yes. BTW, you can already do this with MS Exchange accounts at work and your mac, iPhone, iPad, etc., at home.

• Answered by Tom S from San Diego
• 21-Apr-2013
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Not with the HDMI port. The HDMI port on nearly all laptops is an output only and cannot accept input. You can connect a game console through a USB video capture device. Look for a "VHS to DVD kit", and make sure it is Mac compatible. Many of these devices are Windows/Linux only.

• Answered by Alexander J from Winston-salem
• 31-Oct-2012
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If you've been using Office on Windows and those are the files you're concerned with, you can buy Office 2011 for Mac Home and Student for low $$ and you're home free. The files are completely interchangeable. Don't let anyone convince you that Apple's Pages, Keynote, and Numbers will open your old MS files correctly. Yes they will open, but the results always reflect some incompatibilities and you will be disappointed. You won't be disappointed with a Mac, I can assure you. At my office, we are all issued Dell Windows laptops because we're a Microsoft shop. I have stayed with my Macbook Pro, because of the increased productivity. You will be amazed. I have the Office for Mac version mentioned above, and for the MS Project and Visio files, I've used VMWare's Fusion 4 to run Windows 7. I don't think you'll need all that but I wanted you to know that you won't be boxing yourself into a corner if you switch to a Mac.

• Answered by Bob L from Portland
• 25-Mar-2012
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