Best alternative to MS Office

[secrecyguy]

My friend and I are planning to open a business together this summer.

I just wondering what do you recommend for the best alternative to MS Office. I like it to work very similar to MS Office if possilbe. It should also be able to open and save under MS Office format.

The software should be free or cheap. (of course)

It should work on Windows XP.

Thanks for any help.

[rspassey]

OpenOffice - You can save is Windows Office Formats and it is FREE. I only use OpenOffice. There is a 2.0 version, but I prefer the older 1.1.5 version myself.

Get it Here.

Works just as good as MS office, and contains the equivilant of Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

[RayH]

I second OpenOffice. I find no problems with OpenOffice 2.0. It should work just fine for what you want to do. One thing I like is Open Office's ability to save things as PDF.

[scomac]

I would agree with the others. I use OpenOffice.Org also. I can't imagine at this time needing to spend hundreds for Microsoft Office. I think you'll be happy with it and for the price it can't be beat.

I know there is another free office replacement called StarOffice, but I have never used it so I can't really evaluate it.

Scomac

[rspassey]

I could just image how much $$ schools and businesses would save if they used a Linux Distro in place of Windows and OO inplace of Office.

[RayH]

Maybe...MS enters into all kinds of weird contracts. It's pricing isn't the same as you and I pay. But then again, a lot of people are savvy enough to understand.

[secrecyguy]

Originally Posted by scomac I would agree with the others. I use OpenOffice.Org also. I can't imagine at this time needing to spend hundreds for Microsoft Office. I think you'll be happy with it and for the price it can't be beat. I know there is another free office replacement called StarOffice, but I have never used it so I can't really evaluate it. Scomac

I heard about StarOffice too. I also heard WordPerfect Office is starting to make their software work similar to MS Office at a lower price. There might be other software out there too so that's why I am asking this question.

[secrecyguy]

Originally Posted by RayH Maybe...MS enters into all kinds of weird contracts. It's pricing isn't the same as you and I pay. But then again, a lot of people are savvy enough to understand.

That's true. There's full commercial version and a full academic version of their software.

It's a good thing that both versions are almost exactly the same.

Other companies like Autodesk, they make their software differently. I think it's probably because their commercial version cost thousands of dollars.

[secrecyguy]

Thanks for all the replies. I go check out OpenOffice.

I come back again to see if there's any more replies.

[Mull]

I have M/S Excel Gateway 2000 Edition, it's never been used.
Got it at a yard sale for a dollar with all the boods. Would it be better to use Open Office free version. I checked M/S site and it's still updateable.

[Mull]

I have M/S Excel 2000 Gateway edition,never been used. I bought it at a yard sale for a dollar. The seal was never broken. World it be better to use Open Office free or Excel?
Excel 2000 is stilled back by M/S and I can still get updates.

[rspassey]

Plain and simple I like Open Office better than MS Office. But, it is probably just personal preference. So, I cannot advise you (Mull) which would be better to use - try out both and see which you like better.

[Mull]

Thank you for getting back so quick, good idea, some people don't like m/s products just Big Bill has lots of money. Thanks for your honisty.

[thefultonhow]

I refurbish a considerable number of PCs on a limited budget for schools and nonprofits. Each one of them gets Windows 2000 (as a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher, we get licenses at $5 a piece) and OpenOfffice 2.0. You can't beat the price, and it really does everything the poeple who get our computers need it to do.

StarOffice is exactly the same as OpenOffice, but comes with support from Sun. It's essentially the pay version of OpenOffice.

I could just image how much $$ schools and businesses would save if they used a Linux Distro in place of Windows and OO inplace of Office.

I think my school got Office at $6 a license through an educational licensing program for the state of Maryland.

[rspassey]

Originally Posted by thefultonhow I think my school got Office at $6 a license through an educational licensing program for the state of Maryland.

Interesting, thanks for pointing that out, I was under the impression that they had to pay a lot more. If I ever get to run my own company though, office computers will most likely be with a Linux OS and free alternative software (cutting back on expenses like MS and MS Office can save a lot if you are paying actual retail price)

[secrecyguy]

Originally Posted by ryan124712 Interesting, thanks for pointing that out, I was under the impression that they had to pay a lot more. If I ever get to run my own company though, office computers will most likely be with a Linux OS and free alternative software (cutting back on expenses like MS and MS Office can save a lot if you are paying actual retail price)

Well, yes and no... if you know what you are doing, than yes, Linux can save you money. But if you don't know what you are doing, it's best just to use Windows.

I used to major as a computer technician and I never could figure out how to use Linux. Even with all the help I can get from the Internet.

I will leave Linux to the experts and hackers.

[rspassey]

Originally Posted by secrecyguy Well, yes and no... if you know what you are doing, than yes, Linux can save you money. But if you don't know what you are doing, it's best just to use Windows. I used to major as a computer technician and I never could figure out how to use Linux. Even with all the help I can get from the Internet. I will leave Linux to the experts and hackers.

Distros like Ubuntu are becoming more and more user friendly. This is great for those of us with limited Linux experience, and at the same time, there are still less less user friendly distros out there for the experts and hackers to use if they so choose. Due to the dual compatibilty of some software (open office and others) it isn't entirely difficult for one to switch over to linux as they can become familar with the software with Windows first. At least IMO, it kinda makes sense to do it that way.