you know, apple isn't going to buy ms word for you, and you can buy (or download freewaree) other options:

http://www.pure-mac.com/textword.html

I like Nisus. TextEdit is good enough for me.

OpenOffice.Org does just about everything Microsoft Office does, but it's free (and legal). It even saves to Microsoft Word format (.DOC). Same is true for Apple's iWork (79 bucks but 59 if you say your a student, much cheaper than Microsoft, Macbook Pro comes with it Pre-Installed). I got it and microsoft office off of BitTorrent for free though (i know, im evil). Keep in mind that Microsoft Office hasn't been updated for the newer Intel Macs (like the macbook), so it may run a little slow, but im on a macbook pro and I haven't noticed it.

yah iWork. how does pre-loaded sound to you? dumb-ass

You could have purchased Word alone for $200 if all you wanted was a word processor. But that's still a lot of money. There are a lot of other options out there for much less money (TextWrangler is free). If you feel you must own MS Word since most other people use it, Apple isn't to blame for that. That's herd mentality.

Most PC users have to purchase Microsoft Office, as well. If you want free, look for something "slimmer" than MS products. If you just need to write, the free software TextEdit (which is made by Apple and is included, for free, on all Macs) would do the trick.

http://neo.caslab.queensu.ca/NeoOffice/NeoOffice-2.0_Alpha_4-Intel.dmg

NeoOffice is based on OpenOffice.Org, only made into an easy to install application for Mac's, plus it works with the newer intel machines. Keep in mind it is in beta, so it may have some bugs, but it worked for me.

Best Week Ever did some decent parodies of the Mac ads this week. YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBSrRYe8-68

That's too bad, my imac came with Apple's AppleWorks, which includes Word Processing, Spreadsheet, Painting, etc. It allows me to save text files in Word format too.

Geeze. Why didn't you ask first instead of bitching?

Pages (in iWork) is very nice. OpenOffice works pretty well also; AbiWord is not as nice but also has its functions.

One of the best places I know of to look for good Mac apps, by the way, is http://osx.hyperjeff.net/apps/ - he lists universal binaries separately so you can pick out the ones that will work best on the Intel chip macs. Versiontracker and Apple are also good sources.

WriteRoom is how I roll.

Dude, you live in SEATTLE. Just have a MSFT employee friend of yours buy it at the company store. Only $65!

I've read many journalists making this same complaint about their new laptops. First they go buy it, then they spill ink complaining about what it didin't come with and doesn't do.

The sad thing is how much money Apple spent giving you an ultra hip space to walk in and find out if MacBooks come with word processing.

It is indeed odd that (alleged) writers know so little about writers tools, and they so rarely want to learn. My brother the plumber never has this problem when he buys a new pipe wrench.

Hi I'm a mac and I'm so hip and cool. Thats because I own about 4% of market share, thats the true sign of a 'rebel'. But hey don't diss PC's because Microsoft saved our ass in 1997
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEHNrqPkefI

Hi I'm a mac and I'm so hip and cool. Thats because I own about 4% of market share, thats the true sign of a 'rebel'. But hey don't diss PC's because Microsoft saved our ass in 1997
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEHNrqPkefI

i had a similar reaction when i got my macbook. to everyone who's saying "do you expect Apple to buy Word for you": I don't think that's the issue here. Of course Apple is not going to supply us with Microsoft products (although isn't it jim dandy that now we can run Windows at the same time as OS?) I would have been perfectly content with iWork or Appleworks. But the MacBook (not the Pro) did not come, out of the box, with a comparable word processing application. I also neglected to check this out before purchase, but I was too busy trying to grasp all the new Intel implications and weighing the decision of making such a large purchase to think of something that seems obvious. If I thought of it at all I would have assumed it came with. When I got an iMac 6 years ago, it came with Appleworks.

Say what you will about my beloved Mac, but don't you dare make fun of Justin Long!

if you use a mac and don't know about openoffice you're a freakin' tard.

there's also the mac native port noeofficej (what i use)

OpenOffice.org is, unfortunately, better for PCs than Macs. NeoOffice is still too beta, and openoffice requires X11.

Still, given the lack of an intel binary version of MS office, it's worth giving a try....

Try textwrangler: http://www.barebones.com/support/textwrangler/updates.shtml

Jesus fucking christ aren't you that party crasher guy? Next time you go to a party ask someone if they have msword for macs then ask if they'll give it to you. They will say yes. Now return that ms office piece of shit.

Spell check is built into the mac. I doubt you are using Word Styles or 98% of the the other features in word. All you want is a window to type your shit and know it is spelled correctly and a place to save it. Spell check sadly doesn't do this, but the built in spell check in the Apple OS is as as good as the Microsot One.

I use NeoOfficeJ - it's a port of OpenOffice for OSX that uses Java for the fiddly bits and not X11 ... never mind that.

It Just Works. I've yet to run into a Word or Excel doc it can't edit. More important - I've yet to have anyone complain they can't read the Word and Excel files I produce.

But yes - you've got this Slog tool - you should have asked the masses first.

Everyone's missing the obvious point here: This has nothing to do with the fact that you bought a Mac. There is no word processing built into Windows either. If you buy a Windows machine, you'll pay extra for having Office preinstalled. So it's all equal on the word processing front. Beyond that, I would say it's pretty clear that Macs come with several very powerful content-creation software titles where Windows comes with basically none.

Look in your Application folder, there's a program called TextEdit. Go to town.

There is no word processing built into Windows either

Thats not entirely true - it comes with wordpad (type write.exe into a run window) with which you can create RTF (rich text format) documents

Wordpad.. okay, sure. And the Mac comes with TextEdit, which can also create RTF docs. So we're still equal.

I bought the student edition of MS Office for Mac through the Apple website for $169 or something like that. Sorry, no, I don't remember the exact amount. But I will say I'm not a student and I didn't have to prove I was. As far as I can tell, it's the same as the normal edition of MS Office for Mac. Certainly Word does everything I could ask of it.

I think the point is that he bought something advertised as being fully functional "out of the box", which indicates to me that you're not supposed to have to purchase anything extra. Like, say, word processing software. It's easy for anyone to say "d'oh! Why didn't you ASK?!" or whatever, but if this "out of the box" angle is supposed to be a huge selling point, especially in appealing to previous PC owners, then Paul has a point.

I do love the suggestion to get a copy of Word from one of the parties he crashes, though...

I think the point is that he bought something advertised as being fully functional "out of the box", which indicates to me that you're not supposed to have to purchase anything extra. Like, say, word processing software.

I see his point .. but I don't think it's valid.

I don't use my computer for word processing, but I do use it for a variety of other things, some common to my profession. Should I complain because Apple didn't include, say, CAD tools or modeling software? Why not? How many people buy Macs to draft articles vs. other purposes?

The point being not everyone uses their computer to write. Fully functional means diff things to diff people.

What douchebaggery. It used to be that the office suite came standard. Now, you're lucky if you get a Word Processor, and you have to buy the rest out of pocket if you want it, at $200-400 a pop.

Also, buying the entire suite is a good idea, as you'll never know when you need the other apps, and you don't want to have to throw out $200 a pop if/when you do.

I just uploaded Microsoft Works from CD and used that when I got my laptop :P It did come with Word-enabled Wordperfect, but nothing else. I thankfully have always worked at offices, meaning I've always had access to computers with MS Office, but usually, I'll do my typing on Wordpad as rich text, e-mail it to myself where I can access and then convert/format it on a work computer.

In all seriousness, you just outed yourself as a consumer moron. Do you do any research at all before dropping $400? There are better choices than Office out there that range from free to cheap.

WordPad doesn't spell check, and won't save as PDF. TextEdit is way better.

"Fully functional" out of the box is purely subjective. If what you need is Mathematica then the bundled calculator isn't going to cut it for you. Not that someone who used Mathematica would assume it's included.

What they're really talking about is the hours you have to spend with a new PC to get all the drivers and updates and god knows what set up and configured before you use it. You have to do that stuff on a Mac too, but not near as much.

The other scary thing not yet mentioned is that if a writer submits a TXT or PDF file to a publication, they will reject it because they're too blockheaded to know how to open anything but Word docs.

Is this stuff really that hard?

Seriously, Paul—you sound like a goddamn moron.

It's called TextEdit. It's in your Application folder. It saves in .doc, so you can play nice with MSFT users. Has spellchecking, fonts—it's simple, clean and elegant.

If you need something better...why, then you buy something you like more. But the fact that you don't even know what your machine does, and then rant about it is lame.

Seriously—you sound like a complete idiot.

I use iwork ($79) and it reads all MS office files and can save as word files that any computer with word will be able to open.

Also, as many people mentioned, buying a student copy office is around 160 and it is fully functional. Plus I have an copy i don't use. I could have given it to you for free. Tons of people probably would have if you had asked.

A macbook is a 1,000 + dollar device. If I am going to buy a thousand dollar bike I research its components and features. This was one of the most annoying slog posts I have ever read.

I'm not sure why giving Microsoft money is such a bad thing. Can someone explain that to me? Does every second you spend using Microsoft products on your Macintosh make you want to tear your eyelids off?

funny, yet b******t line of argument: you say you can't use anything but microsoft office, but you're mad you had to pay for it yourself, and not apple themselves (which they would have had to)? huh?

plus: iWorks. seriously, dude.

while i agree that "out of the box" is subjective, it's not like word processing software is a rare thing. if he was wanting something that not many people use, then yeah, he shouldn't bitch that it isn't there. but every one using computers for typing stuff. that really is something that should be included.

just another reason to not drop extra money for an apple.

TextEdit handles Word files flawlessly and will do everything you think you need Word for quite well.

There are a number of free programs useful to serious writers (with more utility than Word/Office) - I highly recommend Journler - http://journler.phildow.net/

I love how everyone here gets angry at Paul for DARING to think that a computer should come with suitable word processing software standard.

Again, people, 5-10 years ago it WAS standard. The bastards are now asking you to pay separately, and out the nose at that, for something that used to be standard.

"Suitable word processing software" is a subjective term. Both Windows and Mac come with "suitable" word processing software (WordPad and TextEdit, respectively). I don't remember any time in the last 5-10 years that a full featured, cross-platform word processing application came built in. I'm not saying manufacturers shouldn't include more robust solutions out of the box. I think what people are reacting to here is that had Paul spent a moment paying attention to what is and is not included and what options he had, he might not have had to shell out four hundred dollars. iWork preinstalled: $79.

Gomez,
Actually, we're beating up on Paul for spending $400 without doing an ounce of research.

Yes, well. Beat up on me for not doing an ounce of research if you will, but, er. Um.
In any case. Thank you, Gomez.
For the record, for anyone paying attention, still:
TextEdit: doesn't work for some more esoteric word processing things, in relating to PC's.
OpenOffice: Doesn't work so well with Macs, or at least with my MacBook.
Neither did one other open-source program, whose name I can't remember at the moment.
And I needed a solution by the end of this week, for a couple of reasons too nit-picky to get into here. It wasn't quite as idiotic as all that.
Also, nobody at Apple, either on the phone or in person, informed me that I could get Word by itself, although I only thought to ask the person on the phone.
And to the person who said that a writer should know the tools of the trade...frankly, I think the tools of my trade would be the actual writing skills. I do a lot of my writing longhand. (And I own two typewriters.) I only really use my computer the way that some people use their telephones: to get information back and forth. I'm not (and don't want to be) that knowledgable about them. I just want them to work.
(heart,)
paul bobby

Open Office works pretty well. Just download the latest Java engine from Sun and away you go!

iWork is absolutely fabulous! It has a gorgeous word processor. You didn't need to buy shitty Microsoft software. Shoulda slogged first. ;)

And Macs do come with a perfectly decent text app that I use 98% of the time. It just isn't the full-featured sort of thing that a professional writer is going to want. But, iWork. . .

Again, people, 5-10 years ago it WAS standard.

Gomez I'v been involved with IT the better part of a decade now. When was this magical time and what operating system came _with_ a word processor?

I can't for the life of me recall ever ordering a Windows desktop computer where Office was not tacked on as an extra cost at some point.

Paul,

I can see how you wouldn't want to know about file formats and what your choices of word processors are, or whether or not the one you happen to like or need is included on your new laptop. If you can just write it out longhand and drop the pages off on your secretary's desk, why bother?

So your only real mistake was not asking your Girl Friday to pick out your laptop for you.

I've read futuristic projections where some day writers will do without the services of a typing pool at all. I suppose those 22nd centry writers will be all Star-Trek-savvy with the technology though.

The question of whether word processors are standard or not is kind of interesting.

I would say that if you take today's TextEdit go back 10 or 15 years to some earlier version of Word, WordPerfect, etc (Electric Pencil?) you'll find one primitive enough to be no better than TextEdit. So you still sort of get a circa 1991 word processor thrown in, but they want you to pay for the newer one with all the (utterly useless) bells and whistles.

But even if none of that were true and that all of a sudden the PC makers and Apple decided to price the computer and the word processor separately, so what? Does that make them bastards?

You could blame them for not telling people about the change, but cleary many consumers don't want to know that type of information and wouldn't have listened anyway.

Please stop offering Paul your recommendations. As the friend who gave him abiword on Saturday, no one is more pained by Paul's use of his hard-earned money then I. But he already bought Office, so your suggestions are for naught. Cut him some slack. Paul's current stint as a "consumer moron" is only because he never spends large amounts of money on too-expensive technology toys and gadgets.

Please stop offering Paul your recommendations

I suspect it's not so much for Paul as for other hapless people that are in the same boat.

Brian, I don't know who you dealt with when purchasing PCs, but when my folks bought a Mac for the house nearly a decade ago, Clarisworks, at the time the Mac's answer to MS Office, came standard with the Mac at no extra cost.

Also, what version of Windows was on the PC of the first computer you bought?

Clarisworks, at the time the Mac's answer to MS Office, came standard with the Mac at no extra cost.

That's reasonable.

Also, what version of Windows was on the PC of the first computer you bought?

First ever for a an organization? That would be 1990 or '89. The users didn't get Windows. That was pre 3.11 and Windows 2.x wasn't on the approved list.

I really have to wonder if all the people slamming TextEdit here have actually used it. It has enough word processing power for anything short of mail merges and the like. In spite of having Word installed I've preferred TextEdit for most uses - including editing Word docs.

Also Apple's Pages app (part of iWork) is utterly fantastic. So much so that I plan on deleting MS Office altogether to make room for more porn.

Gomez: Clarisworks came standard? When I bought my first mac in 1997 I had to pay extra for it. (But I got a free upgrade to OS 8 at the same time, so I guess it evened out.)

I think Clarisworks was extra when it wasn't owne by apple and then came free after a buyout (and then got rebranded Appleworks.) Still, it's untrue that a word processor has always been a bundled and expected thing. I remember paying $300 for Ami Pro back around 1991 to run on Windows 3.0.

Very few systems ever had a word prossesor standard, and Microsoft NEVER did (it was always a hidden price on the machine, consumers rarely do look at their recipts though)

That being said, Office is way overpriced for what it does which is why I haven't used it in ages. 99% of the people out there only need a standard word prossesor, not the entire suit, yet everyone thinks they NEED to own office.

There are plenty of great office apps for cheap or free that will play nice with Microsoft if they need to, go out and research download and play with them to see which one you like. I personally use NeoOffice for my general WP stuff, and iWork for projects since iWork has a amazing project creator.

I'm puzzled at how you missed Pages ( http://www.apple.com/iwork/pages/ ). I thought a trial version came standard on every Mac, for cases like yours. It's supposed to be very good, and cheaper than MS. Maybe there's a way to return MS Office?

(According to the Apple site, it should be on your Macbook, so you can try it out anyway)

iWork is just a word processor and presentation bundle, so you'd still want MS Office if you needed a mature desktop spreadsheet (as opposed to one of the online ones like Google Spreadsheet), but it sounds like you'd have been content if your Mac came with a word processor, even if it lacked the other Office apps.

I don't think a trial version of software really counts as built-in software, Dan. You still have to purchase it if you want to permanently use it with full functionality.

How 'bout using emacs and LaTeX from Terminal?

How 'bout using emacs and LaTeX from Terminal?

Now you're just teasing poor Mr. Constant, Jasper. Shame.

If he's not willing to research before dropping a few hundred bucks down the drain, he's likely to balk like a mule at the learning cliff LaTex/emacs represents.

Sadly, teasing is all I really know how to do well.