Dear Experts, I have been trying to find the answer to this question via the Internet but haven't quite managed despite reading lots of other questions which have been pretty close to mine! I would really appreciate your expertise! I am looking for a laptop (PC or Mac) as a 30th birthday gift for my partner. He has dropped strong hints that he would like a Mac Air though I suspect he has chosen it on its looks more than anything else! As it will be an expensive gift and I don't want to hear any complaints once I have bought it I really want to get it right! Basically, he will be using it for work which at the moment involves mainly using Microsoft Word to create documents and also Excel and Adobe applications. He also uses it for graphics and design (not sure which programs) and is a keen Internet user. From what I have learned so far, the Mac seems to be really good for all this, and its only drawback is for games which he doesn't play anyway. My main question is this - how does a Mac work in terms of Microsoft Word for example. Does Mac have its own Word program that will do everything that MW does? I see that you can buy a Windows operating system for Macs as well. Does this operate alongside what Mac's own system offers or do you have to use one or the other? Would anyone recommend getting the Windows package and is it in fact necessary for what I have described above? Sorry I am so clueless about this, I have never used a Mac! I'd be really really grateful for your advice! Thank you so much.

Dear Experts, I have been trying to find the answer to this question via the Internet but haven't quite managed despite reading lots of other questions which have been pretty close to mine! I would really appreciate your expertise! ---Cool I am looking for a laptop (PC or Mac) as a 30th birthday gift for my partner. He has dropped strong hints that he would like a Mac Air though I suspect he has chosen it on its looks more than anything else! ---MacBook would be a better choice than a MacBook Air, it looks cool but you can get a beefer MacBook for the same cash. As it will be an expensive gift and I don't want to hear any complaints once I have bought it I really want to get it right! ---MacBook. Basically, he will be using it for work which at the moment involves mainly using Microsoft Word to create documents and also Excel and Adobe applications. ---Macs have the Office Suite (Office 2008) and all the Adobe apps are available for Macs...have him buy those apps. Those can get more expensive than the computer itself. LOL He also uses it for graphics and design (not sure which programs) and is a keen Internet user. From what I have learned so far, the Mac seems to be really good for all this, and its only drawback is for games which he doesn't play anyway. ---Stop the Presses! Macs DO have games, EVERY Apple Store has an entire 7-8 ft wall of Apps, 1/4 are games. So it's can be a workstation and a 'playstation' if you will. LOL My main question is this - how does a Mac work in terms of Microsoft Word for example. Does Mac have its own Word program that will do everything that MW does? ----Exactly the same. I see that you can buy a Windows operating system for Macs as well. Does this operate alongside what Mac's own system offers or do you have to use one or the other? ---Great question. You can have the Mac becom what they call a 'dual booting system' thru an App called Boot Camp it will allow you Mac to Boot into Mac OS X or Windows with a key stroke. OR you can virtualize. You can run a virtual machine inside of your Mac so Windows works in ...a..uh window like any other app. The program that does this well is $80 and it's called VMWare Fusion. Would anyone recommend getting the Windows package and is it in fact necessary for what I have described above? --- Not really only if you really need it. There's cost involved and it's pretty hard to get a copy of XP an it's cost ~$200. Sorry I am so clueless about this, I have never used a Mac! I'd be really really grateful for your advice! Thank you so much. ---No problem, if you have any other question before you buy ask in this post or just stop by an Apple Store. That place has one of the best retail experiences in the U.S. It's painless hassle free shopping. Good Luck. :)

Sorry I am so clueless about this, I have never used a Mac! I'd be really really grateful for your advice! Thank you so much. ---No problem, if you have any other question before you buy ask in this post or just stop by an Apple Store. That place has one of the best retail experiences in the U.S. It's painless hassle free shopping. Good Luck. :) To add to this, I myself in the past 3 years have switched to MAC. I set up an appointment for a 1 on 1 session and the MAC store was very helpful on the right computer to use (and it was not the most expensive one). I realize a gift is better than $$$, but in this case you may want to consider taking him with you to pick out as it is quite costly Great advise from jtblq by the way What happened to my quote

Thank you so much for the advice, jtblg and angrymen, it has been really helpful. I will make an appointment in my nearest Apple store (which is 120 miles away but I think it will be worth it by the sound of it!) I have one last question that occurred to me at this stage - you know when you are browsing and get a message before you can open something that you need Real player or the latest version of Flash or something like that. When you are using a Mac can you avail of these free downloads just as easily or are they mainly only available for PC? Thanks again! :-)

Thank you so much for the advice, jtblg and angrymen, ----you're welcome, the names 'jtblq' LOL it has been really helpful. I will make an appointment in my nearest Apple store (which is 120 miles away but I think it will be worth it by the sound of it!) ----now that's dedication! LOL I have one last question that occurred to me at this stage - you know when you are browsing and get a message before you can open something that you need Real player or the latest version of Flash or something like that. ----Macs have those When you are using a Mac can you avail of these free downloads just as easily or are they mainly only available for PC? -----Both are availble for Mac. No one uses Real Player, and Flash is pretty much universal. Thanks again! :-) ---You're Welcome, again! LOL :)

Mac os x + bootcamp + windows 7= Awesome! ;). WinXp Amd 64 3000 Msi Neo2 Platinuim 1 gig ddr 400. When we cast a pebble into a pond we should look past the first ripple.