I plan on trying to run the game on the MBA at some point. I've been told that if you turn the settings all the way down, the intel GPU chipset won't explode.
The main concern I've got with using MS Office vs. iWork is compatibility issues with other folks here in the office. We do a lot of document sharing and everyone else is using MS based systems as their laptops.
That's cool for them, but for me this represents broadening myself professionally on multiple levels since a lot of social media development is being done for OSx these days.
That and I tried the Ultrabooks and wasn't super impressed.
Andy Belford
Community Manager
Paragon Studios
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MS Office is about as sluggish and obnoxious as it is on Windows. |
Originally Posted by Zwillinger
In your experience, does the office suite for Mac perform well?
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I use Pages and Numbers myself just because they start up quickly and don't clog up the screen with unnecessary crap just to write a one-page thing.
Manga @ Triumph
"Meanwhile In The Halls Of Titan"...Titan Network Working To Save City Of Heroes
Save Paragon City! Efforts Coordination
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Don't turn them ALL the way down, if you turn them below "recommended", then Cider switches to software rendering which is even more CPU intensive.|
Originally Posted by Zwillinger
I plan on trying to run the game on the MBA at some point. I've been told that if you turn the settings all the way down, the intel GPU chipset won't explode.
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Originally Posted by Zwillinger
The main concern I've got with using MS Office vs. iWork is compatibility issues with other folks here in the office. We do a lot of document sharing and everyone else is using MS based systems as their laptops.
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Manga @ Triumph
"Meanwhile In The Halls Of Titan"...Titan Network Working To Save City Of Heroes
Save Paragon City! Efforts Coordination
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I think it does. And probably more stable than windows constant freezes
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Originally Posted by Zwillinger
In your experience, does the office suite for Mac perform well?
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VIG0S: 1356 badges in counting
Something for ppl to use
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If you're getting constant freezes in Windows you're doing it wrong.
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Originally Posted by Blackleviathan
I think it does. And probably more stable than windows constant freezes
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Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
Biggest problem with iWork is when people who use it email all their friends a .pages file, or try to submit a paper to their professor, and nobody can open them.
I know the Mac interface tries to make things as simple as possible, but I wish they would emphasize the "export to PDF" option a bit more, and encourage users to understand what file formats are.
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Ah, so Zwillinger is using the hero skin, too.|
Originally Posted by Zwillinger
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10joy
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I find that the latest version of MS Office for the Mac, the 2011 version, does work quite well. Earlier versions were sometimes very buggy and more importantly, incompatible with the Windows version of MS Office! I've also used the OpenOffice version for OSX, haven't tried NeoOffice or LibreOffice. It works just as well as on Linux or Windows, so it's kind of nice if you use all three operating systems, like I do.|
Originally Posted by seebs
Couple thoughts:
1. NeoOffice, I think, is the MacOS-friendly port of OpenOffice. I have had better luck with this than with the official MS Office suite for Mac. MUCH better. MS Office had failure modes that, on careful consideration, I don't think I could duplicate on purpose if you gave me a week to try to create them. |
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| 2. Don't expect CoH to run well on the Air; no video card to speak of. |
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| 3. If you do want to run City, you may get better luck with Crossover Games than you do with the cider wrapper, though that won't solve the ncsoft launcher problem. |
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| 4. Be ready for some reframing-of-questions. There are a lot of things where the difference between the Mac and Windows ways isn't that one sucks and the other is great, but just that they reward very different cognitive approaches. |
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| 5. If you want to use IM stuff, the program is Adium. I know a lot of Mac users, and the blunt fact is, none of them have mentioned any other IM program. Yes, it really is that much nicer. |
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| 6. If you do serious writing, look into Scrivener. |
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| 7. Mail program? MailMate is the one I would recommend. |
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| 8. USE TIME MACHINE. It's totally worth it. |
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| 9. If you like more details and status, iStat Menus is pretty good at stuff like CPU temperatures and fan speeds. |
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| 10. Learn to program it. The programmability of the machine is something amazing. |
I program for a living, but I don't specifically use the Macbook for that, it's nice that it runs nearly all the tools that are available for Linux, as that's the platform I do most of my programming on, but otherwise, I use it as a normal desktop.
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I think this is still an issue. I mostly use Word and PowerPoint, but I indeed think that the VB scripts don't work on the OSX version.|
Originally Posted by Void_Huntress
There's been a long history of a lot of scripting options being completely unavailable in Mac versions of Microsoft Office. A large number of Excel spreadsheets are completely DOA on Mac Office because of this, since advanced Excel stuff will almost invariably involve some vbscript.
For things like that, something like VMWare Fusion or Parallels is invaluable. |
But for MS Office 2010/2011, I've at least not gotten any compatibility issues between the OSX and Windows version, like I had with the 2003/2004 and 2007/2008, where a .doc file written in MS Office 2003 format in MS Office 2004 for Mac would just not render properly in MS Office 2003 and vice-versa.
In general I found that before Office 2011, OpenOffice was often more compatible with MS Office than MS Office itself.
I agree with most of what RogerWilco said.
I understand a lot of people's preference for streamlined simplicity of iWork. For personal use I would certainly recommend those. But if you do a lot of file sharing with coworkers then Office is definitely the way to go. Office 2011 is very stable and reliable. If you will still be using Windows computers off and on, then the similarity between the apps will help a lot.
I couldn't function in my job without a VM package like Fusion or Parallels. I would not encourage its use on an Air though. If you still have a Windows work desktop computer then remote controlling it would likely better serve your needs. MS Office includes the Windows RDC client. Though I think it may even be available as a download from MS' website.
I think you will be tearing your hat to shreds in annoyance for the first couple months with this computer. At some point in the next 6 months you'll wonder how you ever survived without it. 
Finally buy a big external USB hard drive and a large powered USB hub you can keep on your desk at work. Hook up a USB keyboard and mouse to it as well. Time Machine is one of the best implementations of a backup system you can possibly imagine. USE IT!
A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history--with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila. -Mitch Ratliffe, Technology Review, April, 1992
I have the 2010 13" Air with the NVidia 230m I think and it runs COH really well on standard settings at 1440x900 native resolution. Z will have to let us know how the 2011 Air performs with integrated graphics. I'm hoping I can stick with future generations of the Air as it's by far the best computer I've ever owned. So fast, quiet, light, and fun. No wonder it has sold so well.
PRTECTR4EVR
For what it's worth, I've got an HP laptop with Intel graphics running WinXP from a few years back that was able to run City (sooorta) around 2008. Of course, with all the shaders turned off, it looks like a completely different game.. And I don't know how fill-rate intensive the new Atlas Park is compared to the old one. I know CoV zones really made it cry due to the unfortunate degree of overdraw.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Softcapping an Invuln is fantastic. Softcapping a Willpower is amazing. Softcapping SR is kissing your sister.
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Originally Posted by RogerWilco
I think this is still an issue. I mostly use Word and PowerPoint, but I indeed think that the VB scripts don't work on the OSX version.
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The Office 2011 version of Excel returned VB scripting functionality (which had been ripped out of Office 2008 for some reason). Here is the post on the MSDN blog:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/nadyne/archi...ffice-mac.aspx
Now, whether it actually does or not, I have no personal experience with. But, it's supposed to.
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I'm running COH on a 2011 13" MBA right now. Stick to recommended settings and you should be ok. The fans will rev up during play but it runs very smooth, although graphic quality isn't top-end. It does run better in Boot Camp however. And I've got the 256 SSD so load times are super fast.|
Originally Posted by Knowmad
I have the 2010 13" Air with the NVidia 230m I think and it runs COH really well on standard settings at 1440x900 native resolution. Z will have to let us know how the 2011 Air performs with integrated graphics. I'm hoping I can stick with future generations of the Air as it's by far the best computer I've ever owned. So fast, quiet, light, and fun. No wonder it has sold so well.
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IWork isn't a replacement for Office for Mac. Not by a long shot.
For things like that, something like VMWare Fusion or Parallels is invaluable.