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Operating Systems, Microsoft Office, and Web Browsers

Learn more about use, known issues, and support of these software releases at Boston College. See Boston College's software testing results in the BC Application Compatibility Matrix (BC sign-in required).

Operating Systems

 

Microsoft Office

Notes:

  • Office 2004 and Office 2003 are not compatible with newer versions and are not recommended at BC. Please upgrade to a more recent version on the software download site.
  • Microsoft no longer supports Office XP. ITS recommends you upgrade to the latest version.

 

Web Browsers

 

Lion (Mac OS 10.7)

Apple released Lion (v. 10.7) on July 20, 2011. Learn more about Lion from Apple. Currently, Lion is being tested on campus to evaluate compatibility with BC supported applications. If you choose to upgrade, you may experience issues with applications you rely on. See Lion testing results in the BC Application Compatibility Matrix (BC sign-in required).

  • Faculty and Staff: Talk to your TC about upgrading to Lion on your BC-owned computer.
  • Students: You can purchase Lion online at the Apple Store and then bring your computer to the Walk-In Help Desk in O'Neill 248 next to the Campus Technology Resource Center (CTRC) to get assistance with upgrading.

 

Office 2011 for Mac

Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac was officially released on October 26, 2010. Office 2011 is available for free download on BC's Software Download site. 

Note: Mac computers deployed through the BCCR Program have Office 2011 installed on them.

 

Office 2008 for Mac

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac was commercially released in January 2008. Office 2008 is available for free download on BC's Software Download site.

 

Office 2010 for Windows

Microsoft Office 2010 for Windows was commercially released in June 2010. Office 2010 is available for free download on BC's Software Download site. See compatibility testing results from Microsoft.

Learn about what's new with Office 2010 from Microsoft.

Note: Windows computers deployed through the BCCR Program have Office 2010 installed on them.

 

Office 2007 for Windows

Microsoft Office 2007 for Windows was commercially released in January 2007. Office 2007 is available for free download on BC's Software Download site. See compatibility testing results from Microsoft.

 

Firefox

Firefox is the recommended web browser on campus. Please use the most up-to-date version unless there's a specific application that requires an older version (for example, Day CQ requires Firefox 3.6). See the Firefox testing results in the BC Application Compatibility Matrix (BC sign-in required). Get Firefox from Mozilla for free.

 

Internet Explorer 9 (IE9)

IE9 was released by Microsoft in March 2011. Currently, BC’s ITS is testing this web browser on campus. If you choose to install IE9, you may experience some compatibility issues with some websites. See the IE testing results in the BC Application Compatibility Matrix (BC sign-in required).

Note: For security reasons, ITS recommends that you use a web browser other than Internet Explorer (IE), however IE is still required for some applications at Boston College and other sites on the web. Learn why ITS recommends Firefox over IE.

 

Internet Explorer 8 (IE8)

In March 2009, Microsoft released Internet Explorer 8. Currently, IE8 is deployed on all BCCR computers and is the recommended version of Internet Explorer at BC.

Note: For security reasons, ITS recommends that you use a web browser other than Internet Explorer (IE), however IE is still required for some applications at Boston College and other sites on the web. Learn why ITS recommends Firefox over IE.

 

Safari 6

Apple is scheduled to release Safari 6 sometime in 2012. Once it is released, BC’s ITS will test this new web browser on campus. More information will be posted here when available.

 

Safari 5

Apple released Safari 5 in June 2010 and is the recommended version at BC.