Having said that, I would like to state for the record that Microsoft chaps my hiney! You will notice a graphic and link along the side of my blog for Open Office. This is an open source office suite. To keep it simple, this means it is FREE and the code is open to anybody who knows how to do that sort of thing, so they can tweak it to customize or improve it.
The reason I like Open Office is because it uses open document files. This is Open Document Format. This is an open source file format which makes it possible for ANY office suite to open and save to this file format. What does that mean for you and me? If all word processors would support this format (which most all, sans Microsoft, do), I could create an .odf document in my word processor (whatever one I choose) and you could open it your word processor (whatever one you chose) even if it is different from mine. Not only could you open it, but you could edit and send it back to me with the changes. All of this, and we would not have to have the same word processor. Have you ever received a file from somebody and could not open it because you did not have the software program they created the file with? Open Document Format would solve this problem.
So what's the hold up in seeing this implemented? One word...can you guess? MICROSOFT! They do not want to support Open Document formats because it means could not force as many people to buy their software. Right now, Microsoft Office formats are pretty much the standard. If you want to share documents with others, you must purchase Microsoft. But ODF would change that. Microsoft could keep their own proprietary format AND include ODf, but they have chosen not to.
Microsoft claims that their documents would lose their formatting if they had to use ODF. So they have come up with their own "open" format for documents. Of course, it is competing with Open Document Foundation. In other words, "We agree, everybody should be able to use one format...OURS!". Well, the folks at Open Document Foundation proved this week that Microsoft is full of hot air. They created the ACME 376 Compatibility Kit which makes their case. You can read about it here.
Prior to Office 2007, Open Office could open any Microsoft Office document and save to any Microsoft Office file format. Open Office also saves to Open Document formats that can be opened by other office suites as well. That's why I like Open Office and use it frequently.
But with Office 2007, not only can Open Office (or any other office suite) not open Microsoft Office 2007 files, but even earlier versions of Microsoft Office cannot open them!! A friend sent me a file this week and I spent at least 45 minutes reading on Microsoft's site how to download the patch that would allow me to open this file with my 2003 version of Microsoft Office. It didn't work. I kept getting an error message saying the patch was only for pre-release, Office 2007 files. This patch came directly from the Microsoft web site and still would not work.
I am forced to use Microsoft Office because that is what everybody at my office uses, but this latest stunt by Microsoft has renewed my commitment to using Open Office whenever possible. I am going to load the ACME 376 Compatibility Kit into my copy of Microsoft Office so that I can use Microsoft Office to save documents in ODF, and I am going right now to add an Open Office link to the signature line of all my outgoing e-mails.
I encourage to check Open Office.
- It runs on PC, Mac and Linux machines
- It opens and saves to all Microsoft Office formats (prior to Microsoft Office 2007)
- It opens and saves to Open Document formats that most other office suites use, so others can open, edit and save files you send them even if they don't use Open Office
- It's a full office suite, it is powerful, and it is FREE
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