Alternatives to Microsoft Office

A common problem people are experiencing world-wide is getting files from home to work with systems at school and work that are different. Think about it. There are at least 7 different versions of "office" software out there:

Microsoft Office which has versions 97, 2000, 2003, 2007, and 2008

When you purchase a new PC, they usually put Microsoft Works on it but that isn't the same thing as Microsoft Word.

If you purchase a Mac, you can get iLife with it and it has a text editor, a spreadsheet tool, and a presentation program but they aren't Office unless you buy Office. And even then something made in one version isn't guaranteed to open in another.

If you use Microsoft Office 2007, your files will save as a .docx, xlsx, or pptx file which adds the letter "x" to the end of it unlike the previous versions. This causes the other versions to not read the files correctly and it causes A LOT of confusion!

If you use something other than Microsoft Office 2003 or 2007 at home for your office application, please consider uploading your files into one of these online resources for use at school:

http://docs.google.com - Google Documents would be my first recommendation. Within Google Documents, you can edit and share word processing documents, spreadsheets, and their newest tool lets you create visual presentations similar to Power Point. The best feature of Google Documents is that you can share and work with a large group of people on the same document at the same time. It also allows you to "go back" if you made a revision you no longer want to use. Using Google Documents allows you to manage your documents in one location so you don't have to use a thumb drive or use the home folder system at school.

http://zoho.com/ - My second recommendation would be to look online at Zoho. Zoho is the biggest competitor with Google for the same purpose of creating and managing online documents and presentations. Zoho was faster with making an online presentation tool. Zoho works similar to Google Documents. It allows you to create and manage your files online. No more thumb drives, burning CDs, or dreadful floppy disks!! Plus, like Google it's FREE!

Some people don't like or trust the Internet. So, there are options for you as well.

Purchase Microsoft Office. This is going to cost you a pretty penny and the current version is Office 2007 for the PC and Office 2008 for the Mac. If you buy this, expect your files not to open in every circumstance. Also, expect to spend your time "saving down" - meaning you have to save your file to open in the Office 97-2003 environment.

In short, the Office 2007 files save with a four digit extension instead of the usual 3 digit extension found in other versions. For example, in Word 2003 a file saves as a ".doc" file; in Word 2007 the same file saves as a ".docx" file. This distinction causes issues between the two programs. You can purchase this and run with it. But also know that there is a learning curve associated with the new look of Office 2007.

Or you could download a FREE Office Mimic.

http://openoffice.org - Go here to access a free desktop program that will do virtually the same as Microsoft Office. Did I mention that its free?

or

http://www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/index.jsp - Star Office is similar and is supported by Sun Microsystems. It's free too.