Documents to Go PC/Mac Question

[Wazowski]

I've ordered my TH55 and it should arrive next week! -- Woohoo, I can't wait! :D In the meantime, I've doing my homework and I see that Docs2Go Professional version 6.0 will be available as a free download! (http://www.dataviz.com/products/documentstogo/dxtg_hhbundle.html)

Anyway, I use both PC (Win2K) and Mac (10.3.3) and I use Microsoft Office on both. (Office 2000 on PC, Office X on Mac). I like both platforms and I am able to jump back and forth (work/home) between the two platforms with no problems whatsoever. PC and Mac both play very nice with each other, including Microsoft Office applications.

My question is what version of Docs2Go should I get? I see on DataViz's website (http://www.dataviz.com/products/documentstogo/dxtg_chart.html?version=6.0) that the "Presentation" software (PowerPoint?) is available on "Windows Only". Therefore, I'm leaning towards getting the Windows version of Docs2Go so I can get the extra functionality to edit/view my PowerPoint files.

However, does this imply that I won't be able to use Docs2Go to edit/view Word, Excel or PowerPoint files that I created or edited from the Mac? This would not make sense to me since Word/Excel/PowerPoint files now have the same native format on PC and Mac. In fact, why do I even need a Docs2Go cliient running on the PC or Mac? Can't I just mount the Memory Stick and use Windows Explorer or the Mac Finder move the Word/Excel/PowerPoint files back and forth between my PC/TH55/Mac? Sorry guys, I guess I am confused and I don't really or fully understand how all of this works yet! :confused:

Thanks in advance!

[Wazowski]

Hmm, I guess my original question was too long . . .

What do people recommend: Docs2Go for Windows or Docs2Go for Mac? Is there a difference?

Thanks!

[Wazowski]

Well, as it turns out, the version of Documents to Go Professional 6.0 that Sony bundles for FREE with your TH55 is ONLY the Windows version! If you want to get Docs2Go for your Mac, you'll need to spend an additional $30 to upgrade to the "Premium" edition. I guess this is no surprise since Sony isn't supporting the Mac anyway.

With that said, my choice became very easy -- I chose the FREE Windows version! I've tried it and it works so far. One other interesting information to note is that there is a separate Docs2Go format, but Docs2Go WILL read/save Word/Excel documents in their native Microsoft format. (I haven't got around to trying PowerPoint yet, but I would think it works, too). So, there is some file conversion going on. The file conversion can be done by both the client Docs2Go software on your PC and/or the Docs2Go (e.g. Word to Go) software on your handheld. If it's done by the Docs2Go software on your PC, it's completely transparent. You have to check your MS to realize that it's actually a ".pdb" instead of a ".doc" file. However, if you have a ".doc" file on your MS, Docs2Go will still recognize it and translate the file for you. It's an extra step, but it works.

Therefore, I still have the option of, for example, transferring Word and Excel files back and forth between my Mac and my memory stick and editing them on my TH55 with Docs2Go and completely bypassing the PC. It appears that the only thing missing is that I don't have the Mac Docs2Go client converting the files between the native Word/Excel formats and the Docs2Go format when syncing. Not as convenient, but it definitely still works and you don't absolutely need to spend the extra $30 to get the Mac version. (Of course, you'll still need to figure out how to intially install the Docs2Go files into your handheld from a Windows ".exe" file.) YMMV.