Microsoft Word Alternative??

[bgfalconboy]

Preferably free as well. Apparently you can't just buy Microsoft's Word program by itself , but have to buy the whole Office suite just to get it which sucks.

[ambient_88]

-{ Quote: "Preferably free as well. Apparently you can't just buy Microsoft's Word program by itself , but have to buy the whole Office suite just to get it which sucks." }-
Try AbiWord or OpenOffice's Writer.

Abiword: http://www.abisource.com/
OpenOffice: http://www.openoffice.org/ (http://www.openoffice.org)

[KookyMan]

OpenOffice User here.

Its been a long time since MS Office was sold as components... I have a Word 6.0 box somewhere....

[osip]

Personally I like Atlantis word processor a lot...

[Pinga]

What is the added value you are expecting of posting this question on a security forum?

[Saraceno]

Just came across this one which I'm downloading now:

Basically the same as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, for free.

Lotus Symphony (IBM)
http://symphony.lotus.com/software/lotus/symphony/home.jspa

-{ Quote: "Lotus Symphony was voted office productivity software product of the year for 2008 by Datamation Magazine readers. In what can only be described as an upset, relative newcomer, Lotus Symphony, beat out Microsoft Office, OpenOffice 2.3.1, ThinkFree Office and other nominees." }-

[Arup]

Open Office, Go Office and other suites mentioned here are very good but if you just want a stand alone writer then Abi Word is the best alternate.

[PaulBB]

SoftMaker Office 2006

-{ Quote: "SoftMaker Office 2006 is a powerful, easy-to-use, modern, lightning-fast office suite for Windows.

SoftMaker Office 2006 features

TextMaker for Windows
The Microsoft Word-compatible word processor that's so easy to use that you'll wonder why you bothered with Microsoft Word or OpenOffice.org for so long.

- Reads and writes all Microsoft Word 6.0 to Word 2003 seamlessly
- Tables, drawings, pictures, AutoShapes, WordArt, form creation
- SmartText: just type "lax", and "Los Angeles" appears in your document
- A true outliner
- Built-in database, mailmerge that's as easy as pie and much, much more

PlanMaker for Windows
The Microsoft Excel-compatible spreadsheet that opens all your Excel workbooks directly and gives you many time-saving features.

- Reads and writes all Microsoft Excel files seamlessly
- More than 320 calculation functions
- Design worksheets with colors, objects, fonts, borders, WordArt, AutoShapes etc.
- Built-in Excel-compatible charting
- Conditional formatting, syntax highlighting, goal seeker, sheet and workbook protection and much, much more

SoftMaker Office 2006 comes with menus in English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Hungarian, Turkish, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese.

This is a fully-functional, non-crippled, not time-limited version...totally free of charge, without any obligations." }-

http://www.freewaregeeks.com/SoftMaker_Office.html

[Saraceno]

-{ Quote: "Just came across this one which I'm downloading now:

Basically the same as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, for free.

Lotus Symphony (IBM)
http://symphony.lotus.com/software/lotus/symphony/home.jspa" }-

Just been using the new office program from IBM....

Talk about slick. It is A+. :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

[Arup]

-{ Quote: "Just been using the new office program from IBM....

Talk about slick. It is A+. :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:" }-


Now I am definitely interested in trying it out, I am ex IBM so it stirs a bit of passion to use their products.

[Saraceno]

-{ Quote: "SoftMaker Office 2006

http://www.freewaregeeks.com/SoftMaker_Office.html" }-

I've used this program as well, but couldn't find a free version, only a 30 day trial. And it's fully compatible with MS office files. The install file size is only 23 mb. Good find! :)

Arup, only the other day I was saying to someone from work, wish there was a new lotus package. It's a large download, about 200 mb. Installs takes it to 400 mb. But if you're after an equivalent of the lastest MS office, this one is it. Has all the editing features on the side, which can be collapsed. I'm liking it.

If you're after a replacement for Word 2003 (or whatever the last release is), SoftMaker Office is a very good package.

[Nick Rhodes]

IRC its based on an old version of OpenOffice with a different GUI. Slick, but no better/worse to use than Open Office.

[jrmhng]

-{ Quote: "What is the added value you are expecting of posting this question on a security forum?" }-

Yes, this is a security forum. However we are a all software hobbists here so there is plenty of value add of asking here. Just look at the number of suggestions. It will take you some time searching google to get all the software pics. Give the OP a break.

[Saraceno]

I'm impressed with the SoftMaker suggestion. :thumb: The only beef I have with it, is that it keeps 'hyphenation' on by default (under paragraph settings), which creates partial words with hyphens at the end of each row. Easy to switch off though.

Otherwise, viewing the document as 'continuous view' is a nice feature, just to have one continuous scrolling document. There is also a feature to allow you to transfer the package to a USB stick. Definitely a keeper considering its small file size (35mb compared to 230mb for OpenOffice) and quick loading time. Although this package lacks a program to open PowerPoint files, that's where portable OpenOffice (http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=212) comes in handy.

The following link has a few more 'writing' programs. http://www.portablefreeware.com/?sc=47

Jarte (http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=1407) is a great package, about 6mb, with spell check and the ability to change a file from formatting to text with one click. You have the option to save content in .rtf and .doc format.

Otherwise if you're after a program that aims to be distraction free, such as when you're writing a cover letter, or an (apology) letter and can't find any words to write, q10 (http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=1381) does the job. It provides a fullscreen blank dark screen (hides the taskbar). Has a spell check, even the old typewriter sound as you type and press enter. It only saves the content as a text file but it's great in those times where you're searching and reaching for words to say. Reminds me of WordPerfect back in the dinosaur era. There is also a live word count and the ability to change its default sounds (http://www.baara.com/q10/). Glad I found this app. ;D

[Arup]

OO is 127 mb and OO Oxygen which comes with a huge clipart library is around 230mb.

[bgfalconboy]

Forgot to mention this, any of these software's compatible with MS Word files? I have a file that I created at my local library. I saved a doc. to a usb drive and want to be able to edit my document at home as well. I've heard of the Open Office suite , have the site bookmarked already. May give that a try if compatible with MS Word.

[HURST]

-{ Quote: "What is the added value you are expecting of posting this question on a security forum?" }-

This forum section is for -{ Quote: "Software, Hardware and General Services" }-
so it's no problem posting such a question here. If you take time to read more posts on this section you'll see a lot of questions like this and a lot of shared knowledge, which is GOOD:thumb:

[brjoon1021]

go office, and the new IBM one are all OpenOffice but slicked up or tweaked minimally, as I understand it. I like go office, I use the quickstarter, and also, google for something like "make open office faster" or "speed up openoffice" and do what is said - you will have a really quick office suite if you tweak go office and use the quickstarter. It is good, quick and free.

[Chuck57]

I tried one of the Betas on my desktop - 512 RAM. It was a dog on that machine.

I'd be tempted to try the v1 release on my laptop, Vista Home Premium with 2G RAM, but already put MS Office Ultimate that I got free for participating in that thing MS had a while back.

I'm finally getting the new Word figured out and just don't want to change right now.

As for a free alternative, I'll say that unless you need an Office program, Abiword is hard to beat. I have OpenOffice 2.4 on my desktop and highly recommend it. If I only used a word processor, I'd go for Abiword. It's a great little word processor.

[bgfalconboy]

-{ Quote: "I tried one of the Betas on my desktop - 512 RAM. It was a dog on that machine.

I'd be tempted to try the v1 release on my laptop, Vista Home Premium with 2G RAM, but already put MS Office Ultimate that I got free for participating in that thing MS had a while back.

I'm finally getting the new Word figured out and just don't want to change right now.

As for a free alternative, I'll say that unless you need an Office program, Abiword is hard to beat. I have OpenOffice 2.4 on my desktop and highly recommend it. If I only used a word processor, I'd go for Abiword. It's a great little word processor." }-

Yeah, I was just wondering about the ram thing. As you can see from my sig, I only have 256mb right now. I've been wanting to upgrade to 2GB for a while and should just do it already. I actually wouldn't mind a full office suite for use in the future should I ever turn my photography hobby into a full blown business someday, but for now a good word processor would do fine I guess.

[mercurie]

OpenOffice for the orange hawk! :thumb:

[nomarjr3]

Unfortunately, I haven't found a single office suite that is more efficient than Microsoft Office 07.

Microsoft Office 07 is still ahead of the pack (despite what online reviewers say) because of it's ease of use, functionality and compatibility with a multitude of text formats.

OpenOffice uses an interface similar to old versions of MSO, which is not as user-friendly as the new MSO interface.
It is very buggy and needs constant updates + it can not handle all text formats.

[Kerodo]

I prefer MS Office too, but it is a good thing that there are alternatives.... I'd have to recommend OO also... it's the most likely choice...

[mercurie]

I have been using Open Office for a long time. While it certainly is not perfect it is free and will serve most users very well. I highly recommend it. As for bugs over the years this has vastly improved as well.

Sure given a choice I would go ahead and buy MS Office, but you will pay up! :ouch:

[nomarjr3]

-{ Quote: "I have been using Open Office for a long time. While it certainly is not perfect it is free and will serve most users very well. I highly recommend it. As for bugs over the years this has vastly improved as well.

Sure given a choice I would go ahead and buy MS Office, but you will pay up! :ouch:" }-
Don't be such a thrift-pocket.
You're money won't go to waste, since MS Office is a class leader in office suites.

BTW, comparing MSO to OO is like comparing Adobe Photoshop to Gimp.
Guess why Adobe Photoshop is the standard in photo-editing software.

[KookyMan]

I'm interested to see how Open Office v3 does. It's currently in Beta 2....

Might be worth some bugs to try it out.

[mercurie]

-{ Quote: "Preferably free as well. Apparently you can't just buy Microsoft's Word program by itself , but have to buy the whole Office suite just to get it which sucks." }-nomarjr3,
while I understand what you are saying there are some who just don't need to fork over all that money to type a letter, book report or school paper. Open Office is more of a movement by a group that feels there should be a MS compatible product without being forced to buy MS program. It certainly should be more affordable.

I refer you back to the original post. Note what the question is. Not only do I agree but think Open Office is the right choice. ;)

[Chuck57]

Frankly, if I hadn't got Office Ultimate for free for participating in the Microsoft thing, I'd have OO on this laptop.

Word has a grammar checker that's pretty good. It isn't perfect by any means, but it comes in handy sometimes. I don't need it enough to spend the kind of money Office costs, though. But for free, you betcha I'll take MS Office.

[Arup]

-{ Quote: "Frankly, if I hadn't got Office Ultimate for free for participating in the Microsoft thing, I'd have OO on this laptop.

Word has a grammar checker that's pretty good. It isn't perfect by any means, but it comes in handy sometimes. I don't need it enough to spend the kind of money Office costs, though. But for free, you betcha I'll take MS Office." }-


OO has Language Tool extension which does the same.

[jrmhng]

-{ Quote: "Don't be such a thrift-pocket.
You're money won't go to waste, since MS Office is a class leader in office suites.

BTW, comparing MSO to OO is like comparing Adobe Photoshop to Gimp.
Guess why Adobe Photoshop is the standard in photo-editing software." }-

MS Office and Photoshop are ****ing expensive. Students like myself just cant afford it. We have to resort to OpenOffice and GimpShop.

[Arup]

Hungaker,

Have you tried the free Paint.Net?

[KookyMan]

If your a student, check out this posting that I put in another thread.

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=1299252&postcount=2

Basically if your a student there is a version of MS Office Ultimate for $59. Thats the $600 version for $60. You can't beat that to stay legit. That thread also has other software that students can download for free (different site) such as MS Visual Studio and MS Windows Server 2K3.

[sosaiso]

The problem with the other options is that once you convert over sometimes your formatting and your macros are thrown completely off.

While they're great if you stay in their native format, I have had many problems with Open Office's and other office suites that are on my linux machine when opening files made in MS Office or vice versa.

While not deal breakers for most, if you're looking to do this in a MS Office business environment, then there really aren't that may options out there.

[nomarjr3]

That's the problem with most open source programs.
They tend to be buggy and incompatible.

Yes, indeed it is good that community people can alter the source code to provide patches and stuff.
But overall, the industry standard programs (most which are closed source) are still better.

Only Firefox and a handful of open source programs were able to stand out from the fray.

[Pedro]

nomarjr3: you're confusing standards with market domination. And confusing buggy and incompatible. Yes, OO is not completely compatible with .doc, etc. -read proprietary and closed formats- but it's not OOs' fault.
That's it. End of story. ;)

[jrmhng]

-{ Quote: "Hungaker,

Have you tried the free Paint.Net?" }-

No I haven't but I don't do much graphical editing any more. Thanks for the suggestion though.

-{ Quote: "If your a student, check out this posting that I put in another thread.

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=1299252&postcount=2

Basically if your a student there is a version of MS Office Ultimate for $59. Thats the $600 version for $60. You can't beat that to stay legit. That thread also has other software that students can download for free (different site) such as MS Visual Studio and MS Windows Server 2K3." }-

Yes I've heard about that. Will be getting it when it comes out. Thanks for the mention.

[nomarjr3]

-{ Quote: "nomarjr3: you're confusing standards with market domination. And confusing buggy and incompatible. Yes, OO is not completely compatible with .doc, etc. -read proprietary and closed formats- but it's not OOs' fault.
That's it. End of story. ;)" }-
What would happen if EVERY software becomes open source?
Just think about it.
There'd be no competition whatsoever.

Market domination?
What are you talking about?
Microsoft didn't become an industry leading company in a day.
They worked their butts out to make programs that are efficient and useful for the average joe. Not much need for technical know-how to use their programs.
And most people are satisfied with them.

[Pedro]

You're bringing into discussion all things that don't matter in this thread.
I stopped discussing things in this manner, and those ridiculous over-generalizations.
-{ Quote: "Market domination?
What are you talking about?" }-
I'm talking, had you actually read the post, about confusing things. As above, i'm not going into MS's history.

[nomarjr3]

-{ Quote: "You're bringing into discussion all things that don't matter in this thread.
I stopped discussing things in this manner, and those ridiculous over-generalizations.

I'm talking, had you actually read the post, about confusing things. As above, i'm not going into MS's history." }-
:what:
Anyway, fine with me.

[mercurie]

...And how many average joes can afford it.

I am not against MS making money, but how about making it more affordable. If the product is truly a good one, you can make it up in volume. If you dominate as in monopoly then you don't need to care so much about the price take it or leave it. But I think I agree we are drifting a little off topic. So I guess I am done too. ;)

[Arup]

-{ Quote: "nomarjr3: you're confusing standards with market domination. And confusing buggy and incompatible. Yes, OO is not completely compatible with .doc, etc. -read proprietary and closed formats- but it's not OOs' fault.
That's it. End of story. ;)" }-


Absolutely right, same sad plight goes for the lack of IM video clients in Linux. Its all about proprietary closed formats, sort of exclusive club.

[LenC]

-{ Quote: "Don't be such a thrift-pocket.
You're money won't go to waste, since MS Office is a class leader in office suites.

BTW, comparing MSO to OO is like comparing Adobe Photoshop to Gimp.
Guess why Adobe Photoshop is the standard in photo-editing software." }-

I agree. I purchased home/student version of Office. I use those programs every day and will do so for years. It seems to me the $120 (approx) that I paid for it is peanuts. The programs work, are stable, and I know I can exchange files with a gazillion other people who also work in the Office file formats.

Why does everyone love to hate Microsoft?

[Kerodo]

When I bought this new Vista PC a month ago, I also bought Office 2007 Home/Student version for $99 at Fry's, gives me Word, Excel and Powerpoint. Then I spent another $110 on Outlook cause I love Outlook more than anything else. So for only $200, I got all I need, latest and greatest, and it does it all. I personally much prefer the MS products.

But that said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with competition and free alternatives, which is the subject of this whole thread. OO is great, especially for the price. It would be a sad world if there were no alternatives and no free software. I think the same for Linux as well. I for one am happy that it's there.. It tends to keep the big guys honest, at least to some degree. ;)

[Arup]

-{ Quote: "I agree. I purchased home/student version of Office. I use those programs every day and will do so for years. It seems to me the $120 (approx) that I paid for it is peanuts. The programs work, are stable, and I know I can exchange files with a gazillion other people who also work in the Office file formats.

Why does everyone love to hate Microsoft?" }-


No one hates MS but don't you think with the price they charge for the OS the least they could have done is given a decent WP with spell check and all the viewers for PPT, Excel etc. No need for full office suite.

[nomarjr3]

-{ Quote: "Its all about proprietary closed formats, sort of exclusive club." }-
Why is it that most people just look at the industry's leader and not the other companies?

Everything revolves on 'proprietary closed formats'.

You can't use Mac OS without buying Apple PCs.
And you can't use Sony products without buying Memory Sticks(TM).

Same thing goes with Microsoft.
Albeit they are generous enough to share some of their source codes to other manufacturers.

I think some of us are getting a little biased here towards Microsoft.
Microsoft Word is still the industry standard in word processing no matter what some people say.


Quality comes with a price. Keep that in mind.
You can't rent a first-class hotel suite for free. You have to pay for the QUALITY of services that you receive.
Such is a rule of life.

If OO (or any other office suites for that matter) puts a price tag on its products, I'm pretty sure they'll start implementing more features on most (if not all) of their products.
But I guess you get what you pay for 8)

[Arup]

OO has all the features and is most secure with far less vulnerabilities and is frequently updated, as an ex MS Office owner and user who got hacked due to inherent fault of Outlook I on purpose switched to OO and never looked back ever. Sometimes the best things in life are indeed free.

Of course when I pay.........I expect it all including the kitchen sink and therefore as any paying customer, the expectations are high and sometimes, MS fails to deliver.

[nomarjr3]

-{ Quote: "Of course when I pay.........I expect it all including the kitchen sink and therefore as any paying customer, the expectations are high and sometimes, MS fails to deliver." }-

Then I pity you.
:(

You just can't be satisfied in having the best, since MS Office is THE BEST office suite available.

-{ Quote: "OO has all the features and is most secure with far less vulnerabilities and is frequently updated, as an ex MS Office owner and user who got hacked due to inherent fault of Outlook I on purpose switched to OO and never looked back ever. Sometimes the best things in life are indeed free." }-

OO does not (I repeat, DOES NOT) have all the features you can expect from an office suite.
MS Office is the complete package.
It's ease of use, coupled by it's extensive multitude of format-compatibility makes it the industry standard.

OO being 'most secure'(?) is highly questionable.

[Arup]

MS Office is good but its far from the best and best is a relative term certainly. Its slow, usually lots of security holes, there was a time MS .doc format was a harbinger of worms.

OO has far less holes and has all an average office needs including Draw, Database, Writer, Calc as for PIM, there are many other free alternates.

Of course, you don't have the good feeling and vanity of paying $$$ for OO ;)

[nomarjr3]

-{ Quote: "MS Office is good but its far from the best and best is a relative term certainly. Its slow, usually lots of security holes, there was a time MS .doc format was a harbinger of worms.

OO has far less holes and has all an average office needs including Draw, Database, Writer, Calc as for PIM, there are many other free alternates.

Of course, you don't have the good feeling and vanity of paying $$$ for OO ;)" }-
I bet you wouldn't say what you're saying now if OO was paid software.

If OO was paid software, and I had to choose between OO and MSO, I'd still buy MSO, regardless of price.

[jrmhng]

-{ Quote: "I agree. I purchased home/student version of Office. I use those programs every day and will do so for years. It seems to me the $120 (approx) that I paid for it is peanuts. The programs work, are stable, and I know I can exchange files with a gazillion other people who also work in the Office file formats.

Why does everyone love to hate Microsoft?" }-

I'm not a MS hater. I just think the full priced products are too expensive. For a company, it can be justified as it is needed to generate revenue. However as a student who doesn't work full time, $120 is still expensive.

[gerardwil]

I am not an Outlook user,therefore I use Oxygen OO without probs (and free ofcourse).

Gerard

[Nick Rhodes]

-{ Quote: "Unfortunately, I haven't found a single office suite that is more efficient than Microsoft Office 07." }-

Efficient to use or efficient in system resources ?

-{ Quote: "
Microsoft Office 07 is still ahead of the pack (despite what online reviewers say) because of it's ease of use, functionality and compatibility with a multitude of text formats." }-

Office 07 UI attempts to be better but fails and makes it a worse user experience for our non-techy office users.
Not only does it not meet MS's own GUI standards, but ALL the office apps vary, why do most have a Ribbon, but some not (eg visio, outlook), why does tab not work correctly going through the ribbon items?
Why is word MDI but Excel SDI ?

Open Office is compatible with as many STANDARD text formats are Office. It lacks in MS Office compatible file formats, but they are in no way standard (which is different from common).

-{ Quote: "
OpenOffice uses an interface similar to old versions of MSO, which is not as user-friendly as the new MSO interface." }-

OpenOffice might not have as many slick UI features as MSO, but it is far more consistent which out weights inconstancies by far from a user-friendly perspective.
This makes it harder to learn (and train dumb users from personal experience). Because they have actually introduced more differences from the previous versions and is different from the standard way XP/Vista [should] implement UI.

-{ Quote: "
It is very buggy and needs constant updates + it can not handle all text formats." }-

So does Office (XP, 2003 and 2007).

-{ Quote: "Don't be such a thrift-pocket.
You're money won't go to waste, since MS Office is a class leader in office suites." }-

I disagree.
His point was that MOST users won't need anything that MSO offers over OO.
For most users money will go to waste.

-{ Quote: "
BTW, comparing MSO to OO is like comparing Adobe Photoshop to Gimp.
Guess why Adobe Photoshop is the standard in photo-editing software." }-

For most users (not just the people who use photoshop day to day professionally), what does Photoshop offer that gimp does not ?

I have nothing against paying for what you need and gives you better value in the long run, but many people will not benefit.

At home I only fire up OO a few times a month and I've never been stuck with lacking features of OO, so why pay simple because its a "class leader" ?

-{ Quote: "That's the problem with most open source programs.
They tend to be buggy and incompatible." }-

That's the problem with most closed source programs.
They tend to be buggy and incompatible.

I find most open source apps are more compatible with published standards than closed source equivalents.

Bugs - IMHO open and closed have similar proportions of good and bad examples.

-{ Quote: "
Yes, indeed it is good that community people can alter the source code to provide patches and stuff.
But overall, the industry standard programs (most which are closed source) are still better." }-

Overall features they are better for sure. Possible even better value for money if you can utilise those features, but not better for everyone.


-{ Quote: "What would happen if EVERY software becomes open source?
Just think about it.
There'd be no competition whatsoever.
" }-

Why would there be no competition ?

Why does it matter ?


-{ Quote: "
Microsoft didn't become an industry leading company in a day.
They worked their butts out to make programs that are efficient and useful for the average joe. Not much need for technical know-how to use their programs.
And most people are satisfied with them." }-

I would say at the moment that is mostly right.

[Arup]

Lets not forget that MS ripped off the GUI idea from Apple and the core from OS/2. Even the newer Vista is a shameful copy of Mac OSX.

[Arup]

-{ Quote: "I bet you wouldn't say what you're saying now if OO was paid software.

If OO was paid software, and I had to choose between OO and MSO, I'd still buy MSO, regardless of price." }-


Nope.........since I was once a proud owner of the MS full version I would gladly use OO even if I have to pay for it.

[sosaiso]

-{ Quote: "
Office 07 UI attempts to be better but fails and makes it a worse user experience for our non-techy office users." }-

I would have to agree with this statement. The first time I used Office'07, it took me 3x as long to create a simple Excel or Word document than it would in Office'03. I have switched back to the latter since keyboard shortcuts are much more intuitive in the '03 version.

However, many people that I have talked to say that the ribbon makes them much more productive. They agree it needed a learning curve of a couple of months, but they do things much faster pointing and clicking in '07 than they did in '03.

[Nick Rhodes]

-{ Quote: "I bet you wouldn't say what you're saying now if OO was paid software.

If OO was paid software, and I had to choose between OO and MSO, I'd still buy MSO, regardless of price." }-

Are you not aware that there is a paid version that is based on the same code base ?

http://www.sun.com/software/staroffice/index.jsp

[Nick Rhodes]

-{ Quote: "Then I pity you.
:(

You just can't be satisfied in having the best, since MS Office is THE BEST office suite available.

" }-

Why buy a 18 wheeler to go shopping Asda/Walmart in ?

Best saving your money and spend it wisely elsewhere.

[Arup]

-{ Quote: "Why buy a 18 wheeler to go shopping Asda/Walmart in ?

Best saving your money and spend it wisely elsewhere." }-


Indeed, I will spend it on my second quad core and add it to my dual socket board to have 8 cores by next month ;D

[jrmhng]

-{ Quote: "Lets not forget that MS ripped off the GUI idea from Apple and the core from OS/2. Even the newer Vista is a shameful copy of Mac OSX." }-

MS did have the Apple machine and were developing a gui in secret. Apple weren't the ones who invented the GUI either though. Also, Vista is not a ripoff OSX. No need to MS bash in a thread on office alternatives.

[Arup]

-{ Quote: "MS did have the Apple machine and were developing a gui in secret. Apple weren't the ones who invented the GUI either though. Also, Vista is not a ripoff OSX. No need to MS bash in a thread on office alternatives." }-

No one is bashing MS..........let the truth be known. GUI and mouse credit goes to HP actually.

[KookyMan]

-{ Quote: "No one is bashing MS..........let the truth be known. GUI and mouse credit goes to HP actually." }-

Actually doesn't that go to Xerox?

[Chuck57]

-{ Quote: "I would have to agree with this statement. The first time I used Office'07, it took me 3x as long to create a simple Excel or Word document than it would in Office'03. I have switched back to the latter since keyboard shortcuts are much more intuitive in the '03 version.

However, many people that I have talked to say that the ribbon makes them much more productive. They agree it needed a learning curve of a couple of months, but they do things much faster pointing and clicking in '07 than they did in '03." }-

I'll agree with the learning curve in the new MSO. Nothing is where it used to be and, if you don't use a feature regularly, you spend minutes hunting for it again. But, in my case it was a freebie - and their ain't too many of them from MS - so I use it. I'll never learn it, nor will I ever use 75% of the features.

I have OpenOffice 3 beta 2 on my desktop. Probably should check to see if there's a newer version.

[Kerodo]

-{ Quote: "I'm not a MS hater. I just think the full priced products are too expensive. For a company, it can be justified as it is needed to generate revenue. However as a student who doesn't work full time, $120 is still expensive." }-
As a student, you can't go wrong with OO, for all practical purposes, it probably does what you need. I wish they would add an email client like MSO, but perhaps they will in time. I don't think you can expect a free product to compete fully with a paid product. If the free offering was every bit as good and full featured as the paid, then nobody would buy the paid product, and we'd all use the freebie..

I also don't think money is really the issue. For anyone working, $120-200 is not much to pay for MS Office and Outlook. If it's something you use extensively, then that justifies the $$. Perhaps many don't really need the full benefit of the paid MS Office, in which case, OO is quite sufficient, and saves you some $$.

[jrmhng]

-{ Quote: "No one is bashing MS..........let the truth be known. GUI and mouse credit goes to HP actually." }-

1) As per KookyMan, credit for the gui goes to Xerox.
2) Vista's apparent similarity to OSX is an opinion, not "the truth"

-{ Quote: "As a student, you can't go wrong with OO, for all practical purposes, it probably does what you need. I wish they would add an email client like MSO, but perhaps they will in time. I don't think you can expect a free product to compete fully with a paid product. If the free offering was every bit as good and full featured as the paid, then nobody would buy the paid product, and we'd all use the freebie..

I also don't think money is really the issue. For anyone working, $120-200 is not much to pay for MS Office and Outlook. If it's something you use extensively, then that justifies the $$. Perhaps many don't really need the full benefit of the paid MS Office, in which case, OO is quite sufficient, and saves you some $$." }-

I would use OO but this all goes back file format compatibility. I cant use OO just becaues it cant read everyone elses documents properly. Also doc files saved by OO will come out different in MS office.

[Saraceno]

I can't understand why people are even saving their files in the new office format, '.docx'.

Others receiving the file will either need to install a 'compatibility pack' or the program itself. ( There are other programs to convert it. I use the online converter www.zamzar.com )

Anyway, why aren't people, for more simple documents that is, just sending it in rich text format .rtf? :wacko: It loads faster and doesn't have all the private data attached (previous track changes and so on).

[Arup]

Btw........Go Office does docx.

[nomarjr3]

-{ Quote: "I can't understand why people are even saving their files in the new office format, '.docx'." }-
This is what I was trying to point out.
MSO works with almost ALL document formats.
'Docx' is smaller in size than 'doc' and 'rtf' documents.

[nomarjr3]

-{ Quote: "I'll agree with the learning curve in the new MSO. Nothing is where it used to be and, if you don't use a feature regularly, you spend minutes hunting for it again." }-
What learning curve?:what:

The new GUI is a lot easier than the previous GUI, since all the commands are easier to locate with the tabs.
Seriously, do you really use MSO 07?:-\

[Someone]

Hi

-{ Quote: "What learning curve?:what:

The new GUI is a lot easier than the previous GUI, since all the commands are easier to locate with the tabs.
Seriously, do you really use MSO 07?:-\" }-
I've used MSO 07, and it is quite confusing at first. But after a while it is easier to use than 03.

[Someone]

Hi

The reviewer here found Jarte to be very good: http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/word-processor-replacement.htm

[Chuck57]

-{ Quote: "What learning curve?:what:

The new GUI is a lot easier than the previous GUI, since all the commands are easier to locate with the tabs.
Seriously, do you really use MSO 07?:-\" }-


LOL, yes I really have Office 7 Ultimate. I got it mainly for Word and Powerpoint. I did load a couple of other things. I've used Word since DOS, and still have a book with 5 1/4 floppies of Word somewhere in the house.

I'm not saying it isn't a good program, just that I'm still hunting for things that I don't use every day (in Word). So far, I haven't had any reason to use anything but Word, and may never use Excel. I might use Powerpoint a few times a year.

I've got Office Ultimate, like I said earlier,only because I participated in that program MS had some months ago, where they loaded some program and occasionally monitored your computer or Internet habits. I selected Office and got it free at the end of the program. Otherwise, I'd have OpenOffice on this laptop, same as on my desktop machine.

[Nick Rhodes]

-{ Quote: "This is what I was trying to point out.
MSO works with almost ALL document formats.
'Docx' is smaller in size than 'doc' and 'rtf' documents." }-

Size is down to it being compressed (like a zip file).

There is support in open office for docx files.

http://download.novell.com/Download?buildid=GuM6LMM9SR4~

-{ Quote: "The OpenXML Translator provides support for opening and saving Microsoft* OpenXML-formatted word processing documents (.docx), spreadsheet documents (.xslx) and slideshow documents (.pptx) in OpenOffice.org." }-

Many other programs support the OOXML standard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Open_XML#Application_support

[Pedro]

I don't think the "standard" will be applied in Office 07. Only the next version..

[ambient_88]

-{ Quote: "I don't think the "standard" will be applied in Office 07. Only the next version.." }-
Are you talking about the Office Open XML?

[Pedro]

-{ Quote: "In addition, Microsoft has defined a road map for its implementation of the newly ratified International Standard ISO/IEC 29500 (Office Open XML). IS29500, which was approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in March, is already substantially supported in Office 2007, and the company plans to update that support in the next major version release of the Microsoft Office system, code-named “Office 14.”" }-
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/may08/05-21ExpandedFormatsPR.mspx

[sosaiso]

-{ Quote: "
I'm not saying it isn't a good program, just that I'm still hunting for things that I don't use every day (in Word). " }-

I can concur with that. For some reason, I could not find Spell Check for the life of me. Or how to insert a header/footer. The ribbon is definitely confusing/overwhelming when you first use it. At least for myself and most people that I've worked with who use MOS'07.

[Arup]

http://www.jarte.com/

For those looking only for the word feature don't ignore this one. Uses MS's built in Wordpad in enhanced mode with spell check and other necessary features which make it quite fast and light.

[Nick Rhodes]

Perdo, yes...

Microsofts current implementation of OOXML is not the OOXML standard (I assume it is a previous version) that is implemented as .docx files.

I am still trying to work out if the OOXML standard is backward compatible with MS's current implementation of OOXML.

[rolarocka]

Interesting article:
http://www.donationcoder.com/Reviews/Archive/WordProcs/

[Arup]

-{ Quote: "Interesting article:
http://www.donationcoder.com/Reviews/Archive/WordProcs/" }-


Nice write up and the conclusion justifies for those of us who have made the choice and are using Open Office.

[Nick Rhodes]

Yeah, nice article.

"Microsoft Office 2007 documents cannot be read or opened in the Mac version of Office".

Is this still a valid statement ?

[KookyMan]

-{ Quote: "Yeah, nice article.

"Microsoft Office 2007 documents cannot be read or opened in the Mac version of Office".

Is this still a valid statement ?" }-

Has Microsoft Office for Mac 2008 been released? I believe the Mac OS version of Office runs one year behind, and if it hasn't then yes its still valid as the MacOS version is still pre-2007.

[nomarjr3]

-{ Quote: "Has Microsoft Office for Mac 2008 been released? I believe the Mac OS version of Office runs one year behind, and if it hasn't then yes its still valid as the MacOS version is still pre-2007." }-
Why are you guys consistently bashing Microsoft for making these softwares?

Why not bash Apple?

In order to use Mac OS, you have to buy an Apple PC?!
Seriously, WTF??

Why do we need to buy these expensive Apple PCs just to run a Mac OS?
Why not allow Mac OS to be used on a Dell or a Toshiba??
That's absolutely ridiculous!

I don't understand you people.
Most people use Microsoft because of it's user-friendly interface, and you don't need as much technical know-how to operate their OS.
Unlike Linux, Mac, and Solaris. Very very difficult for beginners.

[ambient_88]

-{ Quote: "Why are you guys consistently bashing Microsoft for making these softwares?

Most people use Microsoft because of it's user-friendly interface, and you don't need as much technical know-how to operate their OS.
Unlike Linux, Mac, and Solaris. Very very difficult for beginners." }-
I don't think he is bashing Microsoft. He is simply stating that Office 2008 is not the same as Office 2007. And that is true. Office for Mac has always been behind its Windows counterpart.

About the interface... it really is not hard to use at all. The reason most people think Windows easier is because the interface has not changed significantly since Microsoft introduced the GUI into Windows. I personally think the Mac is easier to navigate because the interface is consistent across the board, unlike Windows which has separate GUIs for each applications.

-{ Quote: "Has Microsoft Office for Mac 2008 been released? " }-
It was released some time ago. In fact, they've already shipped the Service Pack 1.

-{ Quote: ""Microsoft Office 2007 documents cannot be read or opened in the Mac version of Office"." }-
That statement only applies to certain features of Office 2007. For instance, since Office 2008 for Mac does not have support for Visual Basic Applications (VBA), any macros programmed in VBA will not work. Also, among other things, the equations generated in the Windows version will not work in the Mac version.

[nomarjr3]

-{ Quote: "
That statement only applies to certain features of Office 2007. For instance, since Office 2008 for Mac does not have support Visual Basic Applications (VBA), any macros programmed in VBA will not work. Also, among other things, the equations generated in the Windows version will not work in the Mac version." }-
That's not the fault of Microsoft. That has something to do with Apple restricting some privileges for out-sourcing to Microsoft.

[ambient_88]

-{ Quote: "That's not the fault of Microsoft. That has something to do with Apple restricting some privileges for out-sourcing to Microsoft." }-
Actually, Microsoft is partly responsible since they are the developers. They could've implemented VBA for Office 2008, however, it would add additional two years in the development cycle. Had they implemented it, Office 2008 would've been delayed.

[Kerodo]

-{ Quote: "Why are you guys consistently bashing Microsoft for making these softwares?

Why not bash Apple?

I don't understand you people.
" }-
The big guys will probably always be bashed... it's just how it is. Symantec gets bashed as well. Anyone who dominates in one way or another is bashing material for someone else I guess... deserved or not.. It's nothing new, and not worth worrying about either. There are always pro's and con's to both sides. But the big guys attract all the attention as always... :)

[Pedro]

One must understand these are 2 issues. If not, discussion is useless.

We're talking about formats, and being able to use the software we want (which is always a personal preference and subjective), and exchange documents freely.

For that you need real standards, open to anyone who wishes to use them in their program. By open i mean the specifications for the format are known.
It is my opinion that these need to be enforced. But that's for another thread.

The point is, i should be able to use my personal choice of writer/word, and send a document to you and you can actually read it, without any problems.

It's very simple.

[Kerodo]

-{ Quote: "The point is, i should be able to use my personal choice of writer/word, and send a document to you and you can actually read it, without any problems.

It's very simple." }-
Yeah, in todays world, this should really be a given... no argument there....

[ambient_88]

-{ Quote: "
The point is, i should be able to use my personal choice of writer/word, and send a document to you and you can actually read it, without any problems.

It's very simple." }-
That is very true.

[Searching_ _ _]

For an alternative to Word, I prefer an elegant solution.

Word Alternative (http://www.signmedia.com/info/asl.htm)
;D:argh::D

[InfinityAz]

-{ Quote: "Yeah, nice article.

"Microsoft Office 2007 documents cannot be read or opened in the Mac version of Office".

Is this still a valid statement ?" }-

nickr,

Running Office 2007 on my PC and Office 2008 on my Mac. Any documents created in one can be opened on the other.

[Nick Rhodes]

-{ Quote: "Why are you guys consistently bashing Microsoft for making these softwares?" }-

I don't think anyone has actually bashed Microsoft, as far as I can see, most people have made fair critique of MS Office without attacking the company.

-{ Quote: "
Why not bash Apple?

In order to use Mac OS, you have to buy an Apple PC?!
Seriously, WTF??

Why do we need to buy these expensive Apple PCs just to run a Mac OS?
Why not allow Mac OS to be used on a Dell or a Toshiba??
That's absolutely ridiculous!" }-

Because they wanted to create a consumer level product, but that's a completely separate issue to what is being discussed here (word alternatives).

-{ Quote: "
I don't understand you people.
Most people use Microsoft because of it's user-friendly interface, and you don't need as much technical know-how to operate their OS.
" }-

Do you have any statistics to back that claim up ?
How do you even define user-friendliness ?
I speculate most people use Microsoft products because it mostly is the default option and most people do not know/care there is even any alternatives.

-{ Quote: "
Unlike Linux, Mac, and Solaris. Very very difficult for beginners." }-

Why have you started to bash Operating Systems, when this thread is about office suits, of which nearly all run on Windows, Linux, Mac ?

-{ Quote: "Actually, Microsoft is partly responsible since they are the developers. They could've implemented VBA for Office 2008, however, it would add additional two years in the development cycle. Had they implemented it, Office 2008 would've been delayed." }-

Microsoft are completely responsible as it was their choice to implement a proprietary scripting language.
Perfect example of why standards exist.

-{ Quote: "nickr,

Running Office 2007 on my PC and Office 2008 on my Mac. Any documents created in one can be opened on the other." }-

Thanks, I did suspect this would be the case.

[Arup]

Just because the OS is different doesn't mean its difficult.......today's Linux OS like Ubuntu, SuSE etc. are simplicity defined and work right out of the box. Also critical stuff like updates etc. are automatic and guess what, when you need help, there is no shortage of forums, sites etc. to help you out. Our own Mrkvonic provides some excellent help via is site for those looking for it.

[Howard Kaikow]

I posted th following elsewhere a bit over a week ago.

-{ Quote: "There are at least three classes of folkes who could use Open Office, be it in Linux or Windows.

1. Those heavily invested in VBA and specific features of Office not supported by Open Office. This includes most businesses, gummermint agencies, etc., and a whole heck of a lot of users. These folkes are just not gonna use OO.

If OO ever gets to the point where these users can justify migrating to non-Windows, then MSFT is in deep doodoo.

2. Those never having used MSFT Office. Many of these individuals may be able to use OO in Linux/Windows without knowing what they are missing in MSFT Office, but get by nicely.

3. Those using MSFT Office, but never availing themselves of the associated addins, macros, etc.

Personally, I'm tired of shelling out bucks for MSFT Office, but when I seriously investigated things in OO 2.3 a bit over a year ago, I found that:

1. Calc intentionally omits a feature that breaks Excel workbooks used in a reasonable manner. By itself, this is a showstopper.

2. OO BASIC, although it is trying to make migration of VBA easier, just wasn't there in a very important way. Way to expensive to rewrite the code for Calc to accommodate, VBA, if even possible.

I will not have time to investigate OO again before next year.

And even if OO were up to snuff, at least as of a year ago, e.g., I could not find a PDF editor that would handle forms from the USA's IRS. That's also a showstopper. " }-

I've not bothered to investigate OO Writer, as Calc was sufficiently lacking.

Note that many 3rd party apps, such as Acrobat, provide add-ins that work with MSFT Office. Doubt that many offer add-ins that work with the free office apps.

Note that I've been using MSFT Office since 1992 and programming Office since 1993. I jusy could not live without MSFT Office's programming abilities.
As indicate dabove, as of a bit over a year ago, Calc was just not yet there,

Of course, most users could "get by" with OO, but they are giving up a lot by not using MSFT Office. And, in a business environment, or in an environment in which you gotta send workbooks, databases, documents to/from others, MSFT Office is the best choice.

Indeed, in 1992, I chose to use Windows (3.1, ugh!), rather than Unix, ONLY because I had to use MSFT Office professionally.

[Pedro]

That would make a good thread Howard. Just a tiny suggestion next time you try a similar application: Gnumeric :)

However, we're dealing with Word alternatives, and i think we went through most.

[RAD]

Back to the basic question of a cheap alternative to MS Word:
You can get the OEM disk of Microsoft Works from Newegg for about $9. It includes slightly "dumbed-down" versions of Word and a spreadheet compatable with excel. Documents created in Works can be imported/exported seamlessly into the bigger programs, but works lack some of the more advanced features. I have been using them for years to work at home on stuff that I take back to Word or Excel at the office.

Depending on what you really need, Works is a super-cheap and fully office-compatable tool.

[HAN]

-{ Quote: "Just a tiny suggestion next time you try a similar application: Gnumeric " }- I needed an alternative to MS Office for one PC at work. I tried Gnumeric and it corrupted the XLS file when it was saved. :(

I ended up going with the (Ashampoo branded) SoftMaker Office 2008. Ashampoo had a $23 deal going and it worked great with the XLS file.

Relating to this thread... SoftMaker Office 2008 has replacements for Word, Excel and Powerpoint. Except for things like macros, they all seem to work very well with MS Office documents (NOT the XML versions though.) It's a product being actively developed (a plus!) and it supports PDF creation natively. It will also run from a USB flash drive too.

[Howard Kaikow]

-{ Quote: "That would make a good thread Howard. Just a tiny suggestion next time you try a similar application: Gnumeric :)

However, we're dealing with Word alternatives, and i think we went through most." }-


Yes, but the VBA issue applies to all MSFT Office apps, and I suspect that each of the OO apps might have incompatibilities preventing easy, if any, migration from MSFT Office, and omitting "significant: functionality in OO that is in MSFT Office.

The specific issue in Excel of not supporting the user name space fully is just not excusable. Makes me wonder who reviews/approves what gets done in OO.

My current plans are to help in that area, starting with the Windows version of OO.

But not until I finish some Excel related freeware and shareware, probably early next year.