Microsoft Office has been a leading seller for over a decade in the department of office software. This software bundle includes the famous Microsoft Word word processor, powerful Microsoft Excel spreadsheet program, and the great Microsoft Powerpoint presentation suite; this is only to name a few. This software suite is very popular in industry. Many people have become fluent operators of these programs, and even list these skills on their resume! So why is this software suite so popular? To make a long story short, I will say this: Microsoft Office comes pre-installed with many new computers. The software comes bundled into the deal when your purchase a computer from Future Shop or MDG. Here is the problem with Microsoft Office though: It is extremely expensive; I have seen some professional versions selling in retail stores for upwards of $1000.00! So what about the rest of us who can’t afford that price tag? Our computers didn’t come pre-installed with Microsoft Office! Is there something we can do about it? That answer is YES. Simply go to paragraph 2

The wonderful free alternative to Microsoft Office is called Open Office. This is open source software, which means that it is free to use and distribute. Open Office includes alternatives to Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. These are called Writer, Calc, and Impress respectively. The best part is that these programs are very similar to their Microsoft-alternative. That means you will feel right at home with these programs if you are used to the Office software suite. Word files (.doc) can be opened and edited with Writer. Excel files (.xls) can be opened and edited with Calc. Lastly, Powerpoint files (.ppt) can be opened and edited with Impress! So, there is nothing to worry about. Save your wallet the burden of shelling out hundreds when you can get something just as good (or better) for free!

Download Open Office here.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 12:46 pm and is filed under Computer Software. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.