I just want to throw in a quick note on powerpoint compatibility issues. You can and should always export your .ppt file to a .pdf---even if only as a backup. Adobe lets you look at .pdf files in full screen view (control-L) and the audience can't tell the difference.
Powerpoint often flops, whether it is between Mac's and PCs or just between different versions of PC powerpoint. Having a pdf backup file pretty much eliminates the risk of surprise wing-dings in lieu of important text. The only down side is that you can't use animations. Cheers, Yasmin On Sun, Aug 17, 2008 at 9:42 AM, Bill Silvert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I appreciate all the information that has been provided on this topic, but > noting that some responses are based on the idea that Mac software is often > better than PC software, a note of warning may be necessary - some > conferences require that submissions be in MS Word, and while I strongly > object to this policy, it can be a real pain. MS Office for the Mac is > expensive (I don't get the student rate) and there are still compatibility > problems with Open Office. Even worse is the situation with uisng > PowerPoint, which doesn't always come out right if you have a complicated > presentation developed on a Mac and then you have to use the conference PC. > If you opt for a Mac, it is a good idea to check your files on a PC before > you get to the conference! > > Although I really like Unix and am planning to run Linux on an old PC of > mine, compatibility problems can be even worse there. I'm struggling with a > co-author who uses TeX, and while it is really a nice package (I used to use > it in my Unix days) it is really hard to collaborate. > > Of course even with different PCs running the same software you can have > problems. I wrote a paper on a Canadian computer with colleagues in Germany > and Israel and even though we had nominally identical versions of MS Word, > the files did not appear the same, especially where math symbols were used. > I find that when sending manuscripts around I pretty much have to rely on > PDFs. > > Bill Silvert > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott D Lapoint" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2008 3:20 AM > Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Mac or PC? A Summary of reponses > > > About a week ago I posted a message asking for input on whether I should >> move from a PC to a Mac. I was particularly concerned with the higher costs >> of a Mac and if one can run Windows programs such as ArcGIS and some >> statistics packages. I received ~200 e-mailed responses from Ecolog alone, >> not to mention the dozens that I received from my additional efforts... >> >
