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Step 3Using OpenOffice.org (instead of Word)
OpenOffice.org (or OOo) isn't perfect, but it's free and it works great for simple word processing. I have it installed on both my Mac and my Eee, and I find it more than enough to work with for writing essays and other simple tasks.
To make OpenOffice.org work on a Mac, you need X11, which should be available on your Mac OS X install DVD.
Another thing that helps me immensely is that you can set OOo to always save text documents as Microsoft Word .doc files. Yes, open standards like OpenDocument are always better and totally guilt-free, but the fact is that most people are running Microsoft Office and if you plan on sending your files to them, everyone's lives will be a lot easier if you're all speaking the same language.
Go to your OOo preferences, click the "Load/Save" category, and select "General." Go to the bottom of the window and change the default text document format to "Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP" (you can see what I'm talking about in the attached image). I was expecting there to be issues with formatting, but I have not run into a single one. It can even handle track changes, which is delightful.
As a student, having two computers running the same program is fantastically useful. When I'm at home, I can begin an essay, then walk out the door with my Eee and continue it wherever I wish. Plus, I can work on the essay on any computer with an internet connection and Microsoft Word, which constitutes about 95% of the computers I run into.
To make OpenOffice.org work on a Mac, you need X11, which should be available on your Mac OS X install DVD.
Another thing that helps me immensely is that you can set OOo to always save text documents as Microsoft Word .doc files. Yes, open standards like OpenDocument are always better and totally guilt-free, but the fact is that most people are running Microsoft Office and if you plan on sending your files to them, everyone's lives will be a lot easier if you're all speaking the same language.
Go to your OOo preferences, click the "Load/Save" category, and select "General." Go to the bottom of the window and change the default text document format to "Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP" (you can see what I'm talking about in the attached image). I was expecting there to be issues with formatting, but I have not run into a single one. It can even handle track changes, which is delightful.
As a student, having two computers running the same program is fantastically useful. When I'm at home, I can begin an essay, then walk out the door with my Eee and continue it wherever I wish. Plus, I can work on the essay on any computer with an internet connection and Microsoft Word, which constitutes about 95% of the computers I run into.
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