Free Software I Like - Office Suite

I couldn't tell you about any more free software that I like without telling you about my absolute favorite. I like this software I would feel comfortable selling it to my friends. But the good news is, it's open source so it's FREE.

The software is called Open Office, and it is an office suite. It has word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation and drawing programs. This is a full-featured program. It is not a for-beginners-only, limited software program. The only thing I have found in the word processor that I cannot do as well as in Microsoft Word is mail merge. Open Office Writer does mail merge, but it is not quite as powerful and Word. I am not quite as advanced in Excel as I am in Word, but I have found nothing lacking in Open Office's spreadsheet. It is quite full-featured. I have not used the presentation program much, but I have used it enough to know it is not quite a full-featured as Power Point.

But here's what I like best about Open Office. First of all, it's free. When I put it on my computer, I don't have to use an illegal copy to install it. Secondly, it reads, opens and even saves to all the Microsoft formats, so if friends send you a Word, Excel or Power Point file, you can open them in Open Office. You can also save to these formats if you need to send a file to a friend who uses Microsoft programs.

Unlike Microsoft, Open Office wants you to be able to share your files with others without using a proprietary format. Open Office supports ODF (Open Document Format). Here is what Wikipedia says about ODF. This is one of the reasons I so strongly support Open Office (notice the new button there on the right of my blog screen?): Microsoft is fighting for their own "standard" format and does not want to accept ODF. Why is that? Because they can't own it and profit from it. With ODF, you can read and share files with friends/associates who use any number of different office suites. I also like the fact that you can create PDF files with the click of a button, also making it easier to share your documents with others.

Almost forgot to mention, it is a cross-platform program. If you are running Mac or Linux, there is a FREE version for you, too.

I just found out tonight that OpenOffice has a new release. I just downloaded it and need to install it before heading to bed. I hope you'll check it out, too. Even if you have a legal copy of Microsoft Office, it's worth your time to check it out.

- Rob