Quote:
Originally posted by azasadny
I'll be getting a new laptop soon and I would consider an Apple, but I'll need to share MSOffice docs with others, especially MSWord, MSExcel and MSVisio docs. It would be easy to get another Dell laptop and run Windoze on it, but I am really considering the Apple, I just need to research it a little, especially considering the applications I use.
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If you get a Mac you have several options:
Apple Boot Camp.
Boot Camp is beta right now, but it'll be built-in to the next version of OS X which will be released within the next month or so.
You supply a copy of XP or Vista, install Boot Camp and you can either boot into Windows or OS X.
I do it on my MacBook Pro and it works like a charm.
Parallels.
Parallels allows you to stay in OS X and virtualize Windows - basically run Windows applications in a window without having to reboot.
Again, you supply a full version of XP or Vista and you're off and running.
CrossOver
CrossOver is a little bit different. You don't need a copy of XP, but it'll open many MS applications like MS Office, MS Project, MS Visio, IE, etc.
It works, not through emulation, but by implementing a compatibility layer that provides implementations of the Dynamically Linked Libraries (DLLs) Windows application depend on.
Another option is to buy Office 2004 Standard Edition for OS X. It'll run non-natively on Intel Macs through the Rosetta Emulation layer. Microsoft does not intend to update Office 2004 for Intel Macs, but has announced that Office 2008, to be released in the second half of 2007, for Mac will have universal binaries capable of running natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs.
The new Intel-based Macs are solid machines.