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OpenOffice is a free open source software package which includes a full suite of office productivity tools which can be used for word processing, building spreadsheets, creating presentations, drawing graphics, and working on databases. It saves your data on international open standard (ISO) format so you do not have to worry about compatibility with your peers, but it can also save your data using common productivity formats such as .pdf files.

So how does open source work? Open source is a completely open development process which means that any developer than request new features, report bugs, add extensions, or enhance the software. The result is a software package built “by the people for the people”. Since open source software such as OpenOffice can be downloaded and used entirely free from any licensing fees, it may be used by anybody for any purpose. Whether you are a student, a teacher, a small business owner, or a multinational corporation, OpenOffice is free for you. You can install it on as many computers as you like, make as many copies as you like, and give them away to whomever you like. It is software utopia at its finest.

OpenOffice has been in the software sphere for over twenty years which means it has been through a lot of growing pains already and is comparable, if not better, than most of the commercial software packages out there. Its main components are: Writer (for word processing), Calc (for spreadsheets), Impress (for presentations), Draw (for graphics), and Base (for databases).

The Flip Side

As great as OpenOffice sounds, you need to also keep in mind that open source software lacks the depth of support you would find with commercial software. There are OpenOffice community discussion boards, but these can prove to be frustrating if your questions go unanswered. Also, documentation and training is up to the user of OpenOffice, so do not expect learning this package in school or at the office. There simply is not that type of training available for it.

To Sum Up

Bad: Lack of technical support (available through the OpenOffice Community Board), no formal training available, and best suited for someone who is comfortable with computer applications

Good: Free, all in one package, saves to standard formats, and affiliated with Sun Microsystems

That’s the gist of it. So, if you are looking for a free alternative to the commercially available packages, try giving OpenOffice a try.

For more information, visit: http://www.openoffice.org/