If you own a PC or have owned one in the past, you should be well familiar with Microsoft Office since just about every PC on the planet has a version of Microsoft Office installed on it.
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Over the last few years more computer users are turning away from Microsoft Office in favor of using OpenOffice, which is Oracle’s free office and productivity suit.
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If you’ve been thinking about trying OpenOffice because you’re sick of Microsoft and want a change or you’re not excited about paying to upgrade to the latest version of Microsoft Office this article will compare both office programs and help you make a better decision on which software suite is the right one for you.
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Microsoft Office
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The obvious benefits of Microsoft Office are that this productivity suite is almost universally used around the world and it’s one of the most easy to use suites for creating documents, spread sheets, slideshows and so much more.
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Microsoft’s core office program is Word. This word processing program enables anyone to create professional looking documents without having to spend hours editing or spell checking them. With each new version of Office comes a new version of Word and the latest version is packed with powerful tools to help make your documents even better. Word also has an extensive online library of template documents so, for example, if you’re creating a new resume you can easily download the template for it from Microsoft’s website and you’ll have a great resume that will help you get your next job.
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The other major programs that come bundled with Microsoft Office are:
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Powerpoint – This program allows you to create presentations.
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Excel - A program that enables you to create spreadsheets
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Access – This program is excellent for creating databases.
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Outlook – One of the best email and calendar programs on the planet.
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The only downside of Microsoft Office is that it can be a little pricy if you’re not having it bundled with your new computer. A standalone version of Office can cost up to $300.00 and the individual programs can cost $100.00 or more (depending on where you buy them) but since most people have to buy this office productivity suite once every three years, it’s worth it.
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OpenOffice
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This office productivity suite is 100% free, open source and can be found on openoffice.org.
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Since 2002, OpenOffice has been like the new kid on the block and has been slowly snatching up unhappy Microsoft Office users who were hungry for a change.
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With OpenOffice you can do the same things that you can do in Microsoft Office like create documents, databases, spreadsheets, create HTML web pages and so much more.
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When you first download and install OpenOffice you will notice how similar it is to Microsoft Office. This was intentional on Oracle’s part because the more familiar a program is, the more people will be using it.
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The cool thing about this Office Suite is that not only can you create the same types of projects that you can using Microsoft Office, you can also save your files in a Microsoft file format before emailing them to colleagues or friends who might only have Office installed on their computer.
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Open Office does have a few glitches as any program on the market today does but if you’re serious about saving money and want the same functionality as Office, it has everything that you’re looking for.