OpenOffice.org – The Free and Open Productivity Suite

by Steve Waugh | Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 10:45 pm

CrazyWebFoo Design is an open source propenent all the way. Whenever the opportunity comes along to discuss various software applications or even content management systems, we always give strong consideration to the top open source contenders in each category. It’s on the rarest of occasions that we come down off of our design pedestal to discuss software. Consider this post one of those occasions.

Let me start by saying that, having been a Microsoft drone for the better part of 15 years, I wasn’t exactly looking for change. I was content. This was a long-term relationship that idled along without consternation. However, since I embarked on the freelance path just over a year ago, I’ve come to rely more heavily on the value and generosity of the open source community. During my career I’ve used thousands of open source apps and a few operating systems. Even today I continue to seek out new tools, tips, and trends that help me efficiently manage the tasks at hand.

OpenOffice.org – The Free and Open Productivity Suite is a special kind of tool.

OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose. [source: Why OpenOffice.org (http://why.openoffice.org/)]

What You Get

• Writer (think Microsoft Word)
• Calc (think Excel)
• Impress (presentations)
• Draw (Paint but better)
• Base (Access database style)

Here’s what I can tell you from my perspective. I use at least one of these tools everday. I can assure you that you will not be disappointed. This cost is $0. The software is world-class. You would be making a wise investment, grasshopper. Want to know my favorite part? I can initiate most essential tasks from one, tidy icon in the system tray. Job well done guys!

Links of Interest

• learn more – http://why.openoffice.org/
• download – http://download.openoffice.org/index.html
• need help – http://support.openoffice.org/
• extensions – http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/

Tags: open source, openoffice, productivity, software

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