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My dad is thinking about buying my mom a netbook so she can go on the internet without his help from her wheelchair (it's a real pain for her to have to roll over to their desktop computer). Anyway, the netbook is a great size for her to use in her lap. It would really allow her to be out there on the internet with her friends from California. However, he doesn't want to spend the extra $100+ on Microsoft Office. So, I was installing a new Java, and there was an ad for this http://www.openoffice.org/. Supposedly, it's a full set of office tools you can use for free. I was just wondering if this would be a good alternative for them. Anybody know?

Thanks.

bjornolf wrote:My dad is thinking about buying my mom a netbook so she can go on the internet without his help from her wheelchair (it's a real pain for her to have to roll over to their desktop computer). Anyway, the netbook is a great size for her to use in her lap. It would really allow her to be out there on the internet with her friends from California. However, he doesn't want to spend the extra $100+ on Microsoft Office. So, I was installing a new Java, and there was an ad for this http://www.openoffice.org/. Supposedly, it's a full set of office tools you can use for free. I was just wondering if this would be a good alternative for them. Anybody know?

Thanks.

I downloaded it on my old desktop computer and played with it a little bit. It worked fine and opens and creates both Word and Excel files, so if you don't have Office, it is a great free alternative. It's a full suite of programs, including a PowerPoint equivalent, so your Dad should be in business! If you want to get MS Office, look for the "2007 Home and Student" version when it is on sale. You don't have to be a student to buy it, and it has a 3-seat license - it is a great way to get your other computers the latest versions of the programs. Periodically the warehouse clubs sell it for about $80. You get Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.

I have heard of it and used it. Frankly, if it weren't for requirements at the office I'd ditch MS Officei n favor of this.

It is an excellent solution for your Mom, since it doesn't sound like she's going to be putting together sophisticated presentations/publications.

It also read MS Office files so she shouldn't have a problem if her friends send her something in word.

I'd say give it a try - the price is right and if she isn't happy with it Office can be installed later.

I use it alot on my computrs, and recommend it to my clients who are cheapskates. It works great, although you have to be careful when savng files that you save it in the correct format so others can read it. You will be able to open and word, excel, powerpoint, and access files and edit them.

Awesome, thanks. Mom definitely won't be putting together complicated presentations. The most she'll do is type the occasional letter. I'm not sure she couldn't get by with Notepad, personally.

We have it installed here at home on our home PC, on which we don't need to do too much with office productivity, and my wife has it on her Mac. We've had some stability issues with it on the Mac. It frequently freezes up on her when she's editing tables. We've uninstalled and reinstalled it several times, as well as updated it with the patches, to no avail. She brings her work home on the Mac sometimes, so we may end up biting the bullet and getting Office for Mac.

FYI, the product was originally called StarOffice and developed by Sun Microsystems. OpenOffice.org forked off of it as a full-fledged free and open source product. Sun continued to develop StarOffice based on the OO.o core. It's got good companies behind it.

Here's a related question about Open Office. I know it works some with pdf files, but can it edit and save a pdf file, ie, save the changes? I have a marketing brochure (for the Powerwerx e3) that I print out and add my contact info to it, but not having the full Acrobat software, Acrobat Reader won't save the edited version, so each time I want to print out more copies, I have to redo the contact information. Will Open Office solve this problem?

OZZIE4DUKE wrote:Here's a related question about Open Office. I know it works some with pdf files, but can it edit and save a pdf file, ie, save the changes? I have a marketing brochure (for the Powerwerx e3) that I print out and add my contact info to it, but not having the full Acrobat software, Acrobat Reader won't save the edited version, so each time I want to print out more copies, I have to redo the contact information. Will Open Office solve this problem?

I don't believe so.

There are a number of free and inexpensive editors, but I don't have experience with them. This one is even workable through your web browser.

Openoffice can also open Corel (Wordperfect, etc.) files so that is a great bonus.

It's pretty good but I'm addicted to PivotTables in Excel '07 so stick to that whenever I can.