04 June 2009

Apple OS X, Office, and Safari: Which versions are recommended?

To upgrade or not to upgrade?  That is eventually the question with software.  Newer versions bring improvements, which can increase your productivity.  Unfortunately, new versions are sometimes incompatible with other software that hasn’t been upgraded, and things can "break."  Medical Information Technology is very conservative about recommending upgrades for this reason.

If you use an Apple computer, here are your big choices:

Which version of OS X do you recommend?

We recommend OS X Leopard for Macs that are compatible with the operating system. If your Mac is more than a few years old, it may not meet the minimum requirements to run Leopard and it’s probably best to stick with the version that came with your Mac.

OS X Leopard offers improvements and more features than previous versions of the OS, such as: Time Machine, the built-in personal backup solution; and Spaces, which allows for multiple virtual desktops.. A license can be purchased from Medical IT’s Procurement Department at a reduced educational price. A technician will then be sent out to install the OS for you.

Apple recently announced its upcoming operating system: Snow Leopard. Snow Leopard will have built in Exchange 2007 support, which means if you prefer Apple’s proprietary Mail program to Microsoft’s Entourage, you’ll be able to use Mail to access your Medical School email and contacts with all the benefits of that come from an enterprise that uses Exchange 2007. There will also be better support for use of multi core processors, along with 64 bit technology, which will allow for more ram, meaning you can run more applications simultaneously.

Which version of Office do you recommend?

Office 2008 for Macs is recommended.  Its components - including Word, Access, Excel, Entourage, and PowerPoint- have many new features.  The new version of Entourage in particular, is much improved and works better with Microsoft Exchange.

It is ok to continue with Office 2004 for the foreseeable future, particularly if you have older hardware that may not run Office 2008 as efficiently.

How do I upgrade to Office 2008?

You can download Office from the Mac Software Download section of the Medical Information Technology web site.

If you do not have administrative rights on your campus computer (required to install software), or would prefer to have a technician perform the installation for you, call the Medical IT Help Desk at 305-243-5999.

What browser do you recommend for Macs?

Internet Explorer is recommended for  campus browser applications. Unfortunately, Internet Explorer is not available for the Mac. If you need to use a campus browser application on a Mac, you should access Internet Explorer through Citrix. For Macs, we recommend Safari when connecting to Citrix. Medical Information Technology also recommends Safari for access to the Secure Gateway.

Alternative browsers like Firefox and Opera can be used, but note that they may not work as well as Safari for applications like Citrix and Secure Gateway.


More information