Word processor & data base - what to do?

[Red Octopus]

I just got my Macbook Pro OSX Tiger and I need a good word processor - what to do? Does Apple have one or should I use Word?
As of today I am leaning toward Filemaker for my data base as oposed to MS Access
- any cautions, suggestions, recomendations on either of these choices?

 

[Thank The Cheese]

Re: Word processor
Depends how much you reply on Word, and what kind of features you use. Unfortunately, there isn't really any better word processing application than MS Word at the moment, and there is no Apple version either (Apple has Pages, but it's more of a MS Publisher killer than MS Word).

There is one option though -- NeoOffice Beta 3 has recetly been released, which features a reletively mac-like Aqua interface. It is an open source alternative to MS office, and is very well done (and free!). Having said that, though, it has a long way to go, especially on the Mac. It is very slow, and not as stable as MS Office. It uses Java, which is far more processor intensive than a native build would be, but it certainly gets the job done.

So if you are only a light word processor user, or want to save money a bit longer, than NeoOffice is the best bet IMO.

Admittedly I haven't tried many other Mac word apps, so someone may offer a better solution.

 

[nixgeek]

I second NeoOffice as a capable alternative to anything from Microsoft. And you can't beat the price!

 

[Viro]

Depends on what you want do. I suggest checking out Mellel and Nisus Writer Express. Lately, I've been writing more and more stuff in Mellel and I'm liking it. It's possibly the fastest word processor around, and it handles large documents that would make MS Word and Open Office cry.

It's not too expensive either, at $50 ($35 for students) it's a real bargain.

 

[nixgeek]

Depends on what you want do. I suggest checking out Mellel and Nisus Writer Express. Lately, I've been writing more and more stuff in Mellel and I'm liking it. It's possibly the fastest word processor around, and it handles large documents that would make MS Word and Open Office cry....

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