| Anyone who ever priced the Microsoft Office Suite | | | | Writer - This software offers a full-featured |
| knows it represents a significant investment. | | | | word-processing program enabling the user to type |
| A quick check of the website shows Microsoft | | | | letters, brochures, faxes, even entire books. No |
| Office Standard costs $399 and Microsoft Office | | | | matter what you need to type, this program lets |
| Professional will set you back $449. Now, this doesn't | | | | you do it. It also offers such features as spell check, |
| discount the value of the software. | | | | auto-correction, and thesaurus. |
| In fact, the functionality in MS Office represents the | | | | Calc - Calc offers a spreadsheet program enabling the |
| true workhorse of home and small business | | | | user to create cells containing text or digits, execute |
| computing, namely: word processing (Word), | | | | simple and complex calculations, database functions, |
| spreadsheets (Excel), presentations (PowerPoint), and | | | | and more. Calc is perfect for accounting |
| desktop database applications (Access). | | | | spreadsheets, inventory and more. |
| However, with the cost for such functionality at a | | | | Impress - Impress enables the user to create |
| premium, it comes as no surprise that a viable | | | | "slideshow" presentations containing text and images |
| alternative emerged to challenge Microsoft's position | | | | for use in sales or group presentations. Impress also |
| atop the office application market. | | | | allows the user to create impressive slide transition |
| OpenOffice.org offers a suite of office software | | | | effects and eye-catching animation. |
| applications free to download for anyone with a | | | | Draw - Draw gives the user the ability to create |
| computer, including PC's operating with Windows or | | | | simple to complex drawings using vector graphics. |
| Linux. | | | | Users can create drawings by hand, or incorporate an |
| Open Office also offers a free version for Macintosh | | | | array of existing shapes, arrows, lines and other |
| computers. | | | | graphics. |
| Open Office offers its software freely to anyone | | | | Though it does represent an excellent alternative to |
| who wants to download it. | | | | expensive office software suites, Open Office is not |
| Their all-volunteer organization, sponsored in large | | | | without a few drawbacks. |
| part by Sun Microsystems, operates with the noble | | | | Since they make the software available free of |
| goal of making productivity software available | | | | charge, tech support for the free version only lasts |
| worldwide in 36 languages, particularly to economies | | | | 30 days. Also, by its nature, the software is a "work |
| that simply can't afford the cost of other office | | | | in progress." |
| solutions. | | | | As such, you will find bugs periodically that should get |
| The Open Office software publishes in the Open | | | | reported to the Open Office website so they can fix |
| Document Format to make data universally available | | | | them. |
| (instead of using proprietary file formats that, for | | | | However, despite these drawbacks, Open Office |
| instance, make it hard to share between Microsoft | | | | software rates a "must look" if you need word |
| Word and Word Perfect). | | | | processing, spreadsheets and other capabilities we've |
| Open Office contains several main components, each | | | | naturally come to associate with home and small |
| of which help the user with specific tasks. | | | | business computing. |