Word processor, compatibility, and other things

Ok, so i'm looking at switching to a mac and getting a macbook. I just have a couple of questions:

1. Is there a word processor already installed, or do I need to get iWork?
2. Am I able to open ms word docs on a mac and mac docs in word
3. Do I need to get a new printer? (i already have an hp printer)

Any help would be appreciated

 

1. You get demo versions of MS Office and iWork on a new Mac, with several functionality restrictions and of course a time limit.

You can choose to buy the full version for either suite, of course; but do keep in mind that there are excellent open source office suites for the Mac which you can download for free and start using right away. I'd recommend NeoOffice.

MS Office for Mac is going to get a major update soon, by the way.

2. Yes. NeoOffice can do that as well; although when converting between OfficeXP documents, and NeoOffice's native file format, there are issues as to page format, headers&footers, etc. occasionally.

3. Any recent printer should work fine on a Mac; in fact, MacOS comes (over)loaded with lots and lots of printer drivers, so that you don't have to worry about finding/installing them yourself. Again, there are certain compatibility issues with certain (rare) printer models; someone more knowledgeable should comment on that.

 

1) There is TextEdit, which you could say is the equivalent to Windows Notepad (but much more powerful). But other than that, no, there are only trial versions of Microsoft Office and iWork. You should look at getting the free NeoOffice (Mac version of OpenOffice) for that.

2) Yes, several office suites such as Office for Mac, iWork and NeoOffice can open Word Documents. And yes, Word Documents on Mac will work in Windows.

3) As Raymond said, any recent printer should be fine.