anybody who uses a mac. I have a question.?

Question

what program, besides text-edit, can I use to type papers. are there any that are free, or do i have to buy them. I also would not like to use microsoft. I don't want to have to buy that,
Thanks

Answer 1

The trouble with plain vanilla openoffice is that it relies on the X Windows display system. This works, but prevents you from easily copying/pasting to other Mac programs. Instead, I'd recommend the free NeoOffice, which is essentially the same, except ported to the Mac's native display system.

Having said that, as a longtime Mac user and Microsoft basher, I don't use NeoOffice a whole lot. As other posters have pointed out, Pages has a lot of good features, and works nicely with Keynote, Apple's presentation program. Rumor has it that the iWork suite will soon add a spreadsheet product as well, which is currently missing.

NeoOffice has all of this stuff, and more, and is free. I'd go ahead and try it out. You might well find that it suits your needs perfectly. If not, then spring for iWork, maybe waiting for the new release.

Answer 2

It depends on if you want a word processor or a text editor.

http://macromates.com/ : is a good text editor.
http://www.apple.com/iwork/pages/ : Pages is a good cheap word processor.

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Word_Processor_FAQ : describes the difference between a word processor and a text editor.

There are free versions (Open Office is a free word processor), but I personally believe in paying a nominal amount for either of these two pieces of software.

Answer 3

Goto openoffice.org. Openoffice is free and can read microsoft files. It can also save in a microsoft format so others can see your files if you need to send to anyone else.