Going Apple...maybe

Nate Parady · March 12, 2015 5:54AM

I'm in the beginning stages of buying a laptop. My current, really old, desktop is a dell PC. My question relates to what are the current issues with making the switch over to an apple product for personal computing.

Do Microsoft office products convert? Will I be able to view things like excel on my apple.
Does garmin and powertap work well on apple?
Will I be able to view and upload old powertap and garmin files?

Thanks...

GMAN 19030 · March 12, 2015 7:03AM

Ditched Windows stuff back in 2008 and have been on Apple ever since.

1. No. You will need a Mac OS version of MS Office.
2. Garmin is fine. Don't know about PT since I don't have one but I'm sure I would've read some gripes if it didn't work well.
3. Yes.

rlh2000 · March 12, 2015 7:28AM

It's one of those decisions I was forced into due to work, and I was more sold on Apple than I ever thought I would be once I made the switch. Just to clarify, yes, you can run office, you just need the Mac version. PT works as well. Until recently you couldn't update the firmware throuch a mac, but now you can. Make the switch. You won't regret it!

John Henault · March 12, 2015 8:34AM

I agree with Rachel 100%. I have to use a PC laptop at work, but have an Apple house. My Macs (MacBook and iMac) have Microsoft Office and switching docs, excel spreadsheets or powerpoint presentations between my home and office computers is seamless.

Garmin Connect is web-based, so it works fine. Like Bob, I do not know about whether any proprietary PT software will work, since I use a Garmin to capture all of my data and then upload it to Garmin Connect.

Macs have become much more popular than they used to be, so most software manufactures produce software that is Mac-compatible. I switched from PC to Macs at home about 9 years ago and have never regretted that decision. They just work for me.

Robert Sabo · March 12, 2015 10:53AM

When is wko 4 for MAC coming out?

John Bayone · March 12, 2015 1:32PM

Buy the macbook pro and don't look back. Don't let the sales kid in the blue shirt distract you.
Back in the fall I pondered replacing my old dell laptop, and after asking for help with either to get the new laptop or just a tablet I got the macbook is GREAT. You will not regret it. It is simple to use and is super fast. It Just Works!

As far as Excel. Since I am a government employee I used the HUP (Home Use Program) and purchased the microsoft office 2010 suite for Mac for $10.00. Simple easy and done.
While there is a program called on the Mac called Numbers, I never got into looking at it in great detail as far as how it works with existing microsoft excel files, but it seems very nice. I got the microsoft stuff cause I am use to it and just went with it.

Good Luck.

thekidduxc · March 12, 2015 9:04PM

I switched to Mac as well just over a year ago. I have no office compatibility issues. I've enjoyed every bit of it.

I still require the use of an accounting program for my business that only runs on MS - NOT Apple. I run the full Windows operating system on my Mac via a software called Parallels. It is effortless to switch back and forth between OS X and OS windows.

novaavant · March 12, 2015 10:14PM

Office products will run well, web based stuff is also fine. Per David's comment if you need to run Windows stuff get an emulation product like Parallels that allows you to run windows. My personal preference for this is VMware Fusion but both products are solid.

Jeff Sullivan · March 13, 2015 8:32AM

Long time convert here....I also use dedicated engineering software that only runs in Windows environment....I added parallels to the MAC platform...this allows windows or MAC OS to run simultaneously

Nate Parady · March 13, 2015 9:02AM

Wow, thanks for all the comments.

@John, I'm also a Govt Employee and will look into the Home Use Program to see if I can get access to the software.

again thanks for the input.

Going Apple...maybe

Comments