Yep you can get Microsoft Office Mac version. I think the latest version is 2011 it's about £60. Don't know about access but it includes Word, Excel and Powerpoint. Once open runs pretty much the same as on a PC. You can also partition your drive and run Windows if you wish - never done it but as far as I'm aware they can run together and you just swap screens with a key command.

Partition is OK but you then have the problems on your machine as its effectivly a PC and prone to all the same problems.

I have the 2011 office for Mac and other than the very rare odd issue with fonts between that and my work PC there is no noticable difference

If truetype fonts then that's another thing you can thank apple for, along with having the 1st modern computer system with a mouse

One of the cheaper Mac options is to buy one of the Mac Minis, which is basically a Mac without the screen or disc drive, so it is a small box that will be silent and reliable. About £500. You just plug in your old monitor and keyboard.

Office doesn't include Access on the Mac.

I use Word a lot, and I did have a couple of crashes, which I never had on the Microsoft version.

They are both made by Microsoft but yep I think it's fair to say that the PC version which is the main market is probably more refined than the Mac version. Look for upgrades and patches. Think the Mac version is a year behind as a rule.

Open Office which is a freeware version of Office for the Mac is very good indeed it handles Word, Powerpoint and Excel docs. It's an easy free download.

Think I'll start saving my pennies.

If you go way back to the corporate 1960's and early 70's the driving forces in computing were Xerox and IBM so probably yes.

Steve Jobs didn't invent anything as far as I know. What he did was simplify it, make it work properly and re-package it. Which in itself is a massive talent, if PC'S/Macs had been left to computer boffins they would be the size of houses, cost the GNP of Belgium and be powered by Kryptonite.

I've since found the info - Xerox did indeed invent the mouse; details rlhere.rl

I didnt say apple invented the mouse did I?

I didn't say you did - just something I remembered from the a recent documentary about Jobs.

Apple should really be congratulated for making a complete product. I mean, no one says that Samsung make rubbish televisions because you can't replace the valves with different ones (or whatever).

What do you reckon the working life of the hardware is?
I may have the chance to buy 2nd hand from the company that the wife works for. We've had pcs for about the last 20 years, and have replaced them every 7 years or so. Since she got a mac from work, she's been a complete pain... disassociated herself entirely from what used to be [iour[/i, but is now [imy[/i pc, except when she needs to use software she doesn't have installed on the mac. Then she bitches for ages about how slow the thing is. I have nothing against macs, but I'm developing something against mac users (or one user in particular)...

Our/my pc needs replacing... struggles to boot, sounds like an aircraft before take-off, and has so many work-arounds that one day soon, it'll give up the ghost. I won't admit it to her, but I can't deny the facts. If I buy a mac that's, say, 4 years old, how many years' use do you reckon I could get out of it? (I only need it for basic stuff, btw - word processing, spreadsheets, and internet.)

Impossible to say. I've got a a PC still going strong after 10 years (as you may guess it does have its limitations!!!) and I bought another that gave up the ghost after 2 weeks (since fixing it has not missed a beat). If components are going to fail then they tend to fail in the first few weeks. Provided it's not been mistreated a second hand one from work should be no trouble - just remember that the specs will be 4 years old or more so may have difficulty with some of the latest software but I don't think that will be problem from the sound of it.

I'm writing this on an 8 year old laptop my wife got from her job when she left for the princley sum of £1. It got a bit slow in Windows so it's now runing Ubuntu Linux and Open Office (it's free and legal ) and is used for web browsing, bits of word processing etc. and it boots up faster than any of the newer PC's!

If it's at a good (or even silly price as some work PC's are) I'd go for it.

Take the case off and get the Dyson in there - often, they make noises like that due to a build-up of dust on and around the fans.

Also, consider flattening the HDD and starting again - that can help.

Alternatively, get the Mac and become one of the cool kids!