Is Open Office ready for Prime Time?
Wikipedia defines Open source as an approach to the design, development, and distribution of software, offering practical accessibility to a software's source code. It is also looked upon by users as offering a free choice to the more expensive software licensing costs from traditional vendors. One of the Open Source software that is available is from OpenOffice.org, the desktop productivity suite that is a credible (free!) rival to Microsoft Office.
I recently installed Open Office 3.1.1 (www.openoffice.org) and have been using the applications (Text, Presentation, Spreadsheet) and am quite impressed with their suite. For all of us Microsoft Office users, the Open Office equivalent is listed below:
Text = Word
Spreadsheet = Excel
Presentation = Power Point
Database = Access
The interface is quite similar to that of MS Office, and even advanced Office users will find almost everything they're used to: templates, collaborative features (versions, recording changes), macros etc. Not only does it let you edit basic documents, such as letters and faxes, it also handles equations and complex and multipart documents with bibliographies, reference tables, and indexes.
Watch the CNET review of Open Office:
OpenOffice.org also works transparently with a variety of file formats, including those of Microsoft Office. Last but not the least for those of us that need access to Office like applications on our home computer, Open Office is a viable *free* alternative to Microsoft Office that costs $349 (for the Professional version at Buy.com). I have seen earlier versions of Open Office but have never been as impressed with it as I am after using 3.1.1. It is ready for Prime Time!!
The one missing piece that is a downside to Open Office is Outlook, the rich email client that is part of the MS Office suite. That may be the next blog post for Open Source email clients...
I recently installed Open Office 3.1.1 (www.openoffice.org) and have been using the applications (Text, Presentation, Spreadsheet) and am quite impressed with their suite. For all of us Microsoft Office users, the Open Office equivalent is listed below:
Text = Word
Spreadsheet = Excel
Presentation = Power Point
Database = Access
The interface is quite similar to that of MS Office, and even advanced Office users will find almost everything they're used to: templates, collaborative features (versions, recording changes), macros etc. Not only does it let you edit basic documents, such as letters and faxes, it also handles equations and complex and multipart documents with bibliographies, reference tables, and indexes.
Watch the CNET review of Open Office:
OpenOffice.org also works transparently with a variety of file formats, including those of Microsoft Office. Last but not the least for those of us that need access to Office like applications on our home computer, Open Office is a viable *free* alternative to Microsoft Office that costs $349 (for the Professional version at Buy.com). I have seen earlier versions of Open Office but have never been as impressed with it as I am after using 3.1.1. It is ready for Prime Time!!
The one missing piece that is a downside to Open Office is Outlook, the rich email client that is part of the MS Office suite. That may be the next blog post for Open Source email clients...
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