For many of us out there, Microsoft Office is our go to office productivity suite. We go out and buy the newest Microsoft Office Suite for work, or for school, because to be honest, we need to use Microsoft Word, we need Microsoft Excel, and we need Microsoft Outlook, for one reason or another. How great would it be to just get a, Free Microsoft Office Download. Maybe we don't need to use Microsoft Office, maybe we should look into alternatives. Maybe we need to get a LibreOffice download instead, or maybe OpenOffice
What is LibreOffice? What is OpenOffice?
LibreOffice and OpenOffice are open source alternatives to the standard Office productivity suites on the market. Microsoft Office has been quite a reigning champion of this market for a long time with little competition outside of Corel Office and Apples iWork suite. There will still be a word type program, an excel type program, and even for those database type folks, there is an access like program. To really tie this down, the cost is 100% free (donations accepted).
Free Office Download?
Yes these are free office alternatives, LibreOffice and OpenOffice are open source, and freely available to the public to download.
What does Open Source mean?
This term "Open Source" gets through around quite a bit on this site doesn't it? Open Source is when the source code for the software is freely available to the public, giving developers or programmers the ability to modify and make improvements to the code when they see fit. Unlike Microsoft Office, which is Closed Source, meaning only Microsoft can change the code, add features, so on and so forth. OpenOffice and LibreOffice let you modify.Is Open Source Good?
In short, yes, in long, mostly yes. There is a double edged sword with Open Source software, not only do good guys have access to the source code, but the bad guys do as well. This can act as both a blessing and a curse from time to time, but more often than not, the collective consciousness of a community far outweighs the negatives of a few. Those flaws will get patched quickly so no worries.
Are they better than Microsoft Office?
Better is an objective word when it comes to these forms of software, there is a comfort level learning curve when it comes to any new software, the thing with LibreOffice and OpenOffice, is the layout and design choices are more reminiscent of Microsoft Office 2007. The newer layout of Microsoft Office 2010 and newer haven't been brought in as of yet, but potentially sooner rather than later will that become available.
Microsoft Office 2007 had a phenomenal layout style, simple, user friendly all around just basic. No frills, and this is what our current versions of LibreOffice and OpenOffice look and behave like.
Why use Microsoft office than?
In one word this can be explained, support. As with any commercial software, support is included. With our OpenSource counterparts, support is limited to Google searches, and forums. This may be a deterrent for some, lack of support does sound a bit terrifying, if a product ceases to respond, or stop working properly, it is nice to be able to call someone and have your issue resolved.
This is just my personal opinion when it comes to Microsoft Office, when it comes to using the support, for me personally, the only time I have ever called, was a license key not working. Any other legitimate issue, was either a quick Google search, or a phone a friend type situation, never really got a value from using any form of support beyond product key activation issues.
What about Outlook?
Outlook is the only program that seems to stand on its own when comparing the office productivity suites. Microsoft Office Business includes Microsoft Outlook, where OpenOffice and LibreOffice do not have any email clients included. There are alternatives to Microsoft Outlook, such as Mozilla Thunderbird.
Conclusion
Microsoft Office is still the juggernaut of the Office Productivity Suite arena, and they most likely will be for a long while. If you're looking to slip away from constantly paying for new software, and getting stuck with a pretty expensive bill, just to type a few words, OpenOffice and LibreOffice are great Office alternatives. You wills till have word, excel, access, and database programs at your disposal, but at a cost of zero dollars.
If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, let us know in the comment section below. And as always, be safe my fellow goblins.
Microsoft Office 2007 had a phenomenal layout style, simple, user friendly all around just basic. No frills, and this is what our current versions of LibreOffice and OpenOffice look and behave like.
Why use Microsoft office than?
In one word this can be explained, support. As with any commercial software, support is included. With our OpenSource counterparts, support is limited to Google searches, and forums. This may be a deterrent for some, lack of support does sound a bit terrifying, if a product ceases to respond, or stop working properly, it is nice to be able to call someone and have your issue resolved.
This is just my personal opinion when it comes to Microsoft Office, when it comes to using the support, for me personally, the only time I have ever called, was a license key not working. Any other legitimate issue, was either a quick Google search, or a phone a friend type situation, never really got a value from using any form of support beyond product key activation issues.
What about Outlook?
Outlook is the only program that seems to stand on its own when comparing the office productivity suites. Microsoft Office Business includes Microsoft Outlook, where OpenOffice and LibreOffice do not have any email clients included. There are alternatives to Microsoft Outlook, such as Mozilla Thunderbird.
Conclusion
Microsoft Office is still the juggernaut of the Office Productivity Suite arena, and they most likely will be for a long while. If you're looking to slip away from constantly paying for new software, and getting stuck with a pretty expensive bill, just to type a few words, OpenOffice and LibreOffice are great Office alternatives. You wills till have word, excel, access, and database programs at your disposal, but at a cost of zero dollars.
If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, let us know in the comment section below. And as always, be safe my fellow goblins.
0 comments:
Post a Comment