Free Microsoft Office (Open Office)

I would like to apologize to my audience for not posting the past two days. Unfortunately I have been sick and bed bound. I’m finally feeling a little better and I believe I’m back in the blogging grove. :)

As we all know Microsoft products are very expensive and are out of many people’s price range. The average computer user doesn’t want to pay hundreds of dollars just so they can type a document or create a spread sheet. Unfortunately there are not many cost effective software options when it comes to Microsoft Office. But fortunately there is one VERY cost effective solution. In fact it’s free! The program is called Open Office. It’s available for free at http://openoffice.org .What’s nice about Open Office is that it can open, edit and save Microsoft Office documents. The software package includes six programs Base, Calc, Draw, Impress, Math, and Writer.

- Base is a database program comparable to Access.

- Clac is a spread sheet program that is similar to Excel

- Impress is just like PowerPoint. You can create stunning slides and presentations.

- Draw can be used to create and edit drawings, flow charts and logos.

- Math is used to create and edit scientific formulas and equations.

- Writer is just like Microsoft Word. It’s a well rounded document/text editor.

I highly recommend Open Office especially if you are strapped for money. To be honest students, businesses and everyday users will have all of their needs fulfilled by this software, making Microsoft Office a large waste of money. So if you are considering purchasing the Microsoft Office suite please check out Open Office FIRST and decide if you really need Microsoft’s over priced software. Hopefully this post saves you some money!

As always please feel free to leave comments, questions and any other Microsoft Office alternatives.