I need to use a word-processor now and then (term papers etc.) and I chose NeoOffice because it's (more or less) micro$oft Word compatible and of course because it's free. But I'm sick of it for a variety of reasons:
1) it's slow and sluggish, feels like a very "heavy" and "bloated" application
2) it's hideous to look at and has a very un-Mac user interface. If I liked that sort of thing I would have bought a PC and installed Linux, but I prefer Macs and aesthetics are a great part of the Mac experience. Never mind the "Aqua version" of NeoOffice. It's still a Linux/Windows application visually.
3) it's got a million menues and sub-menues, icons and functions most of us I dare say will never need. The functions we do need however are buried so deep inside that you need a Ph.D to figure it out. Most of us mere mortals have by far given up by then. If you ask other Neo/OpenOffice users for help the solutions they seem to give are along the line of hacking. I bought a Mac because I want to do things the easy way, not the geeky and hard, time-consuming way.
4) I don't care about the "all in one" package. No wonder it takes forever to start and it feels bloated. I've used Excel one or two times in my life but never used or needed Powerpoint.
5) it keeps bugging me to download the latest beta version. There's no way I can turn off this automatic update function either (I've asked). I really don't care if I don't have the latest version. I just want to write my term paper or whatever I'm working on!
what it all comes down to is that I just need a good, working word-processor made for the Mac!
I know about the Mac-Office package, but I also prefer to stay away from micro$oft, so what else is out there that just works and isn't overly complicated to use? Free is of course great, but it seems you get what you pay for, and I'm prepared to pay (a reasonable amount of money) for something that works well.
1) it's slow and sluggish, feels like a very "heavy" and "bloated" application
2) it's hideous to look at and has a very un-Mac user interface. If I liked that sort of thing I would have bought a PC and installed Linux, but I prefer Macs and aesthetics are a great part of the Mac experience. Never mind the "Aqua version" of NeoOffice. It's still a Linux/Windows application visually.
3) it's got a million menues and sub-menues, icons and functions most of us I dare say will never need. The functions we do need however are buried so deep inside that you need a Ph.D to figure it out. Most of us mere mortals have by far given up by then. If you ask other Neo/OpenOffice users for help the solutions they seem to give are along the line of hacking. I bought a Mac because I want to do things the easy way, not the geeky and hard, time-consuming way.
4) I don't care about the "all in one" package. No wonder it takes forever to start and it feels bloated. I've used Excel one or two times in my life but never used or needed Powerpoint.
5) it keeps bugging me to download the latest beta version. There's no way I can turn off this automatic update function either (I've asked). I really don't care if I don't have the latest version. I just want to write my term paper or whatever I'm working on!
what it all comes down to is that I just need a good, working word-processor made for the Mac!
I know about the Mac-Office package, but I also prefer to stay away from micro$oft, so what else is out there that just works and isn't overly complicated to use? Free is of course great, but it seems you get what you pay for, and I'm prepared to pay (a reasonable amount of money) for something that works well.