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

• Mac: Mountain Lion (Mac OS 10.8) | Lion (Mac OS 10.7)
• Windows: Windows 8 | Windows 7
  Note: Microsoft will stop supporting Windows XP on April 8, 2014.
  
• Mobile Devices

 

Microsoft Office

• Mac: Office 2011 | Office 2008
• Windows: Office 2010 | Office 2007

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

• Firefox (Learn why ITS recommends Firefox over Internet Explorer)
• Google Chrome
• Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) | Internet Explorer 8 (IE8)
• Safari 6 | Safari 5

 

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. 

• Learn what's new in this new version of Office.
• Get started with Office 2011.

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 ESR (Extended Support Release) is the recommended web browser on campus. Download Firefox ESR for free from Mozilla. See the Firefox testing results in the BC Application Compatibility Matrix (BC sign-in required).

 

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is a popular browser on campus. While it is not recommended for BC-specific web applications, it can be used for general web browsing for most websites.

 

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.