CDEarth: OpenOffice versus Microsoft Office

What would you say if we offered you a million dollar house for less then $1000? How about a state-of-the-art large-screen TV worth $7000 for about $50? You'd ask what's the catch, decide there's probably something seriously wrong with the house or TV and most certainly walk away from the offer. When it sounds to good to be true, it almost always is.

The key word is "almost". In the software world, products are often sold for over $500 on the name alone when comparable products exist for few dollars - and even free. These cheaper alternatives may have a few less whistles and bells but you'll never notice because you never use them. We've already talked about many such products in earlier posts. Today we talk about Microsoft Office which can cost $700-800 for the complete licensed suite. But there is a free Open Office suite alternative...

OpenOffice Office Suite is fully Microsoft Office compatible. So you can always open any document, spreadsheet, and presentation created by Microsoft Office and you can always save them so it can be opened in Microsoft Office. OpenOffice.org easily creates documents, analyze spreadsheets, produce eye-catching presentations, design dramatic illustrations, and even convert your files into PDFs.

WRITER is a word processor to create documents, reports, newsletters, and brochures. It has everything you would expect from a modern, fully equipped word processor. You can easily integrate images and charts in documents, create everything from business letters to complete books with professional layouts, as well as create and publish Web content.



CALC is a feature-packed spreadsheet. It will calculate, analyze, and visually communicate your data quickly and easily. Use advanced spreadsheet functions and decision-making tools to perform sophisticated data analysis. Use built-in charting tools to generate impressive 2D and 3D charts. Plus, it is fully compatible with Microsoft Excel. So documents created in MS Excel can be opened in CALC and vice-versa.



IMPRESS is a fast, powerful way to create effective multimedia presentations. It is a truly outstanding tool for creating effective multimedia presentations. Your presentations will stand out with 2D and 3D clip art, special effects, animation, and high-impact drawing tools. Plus, it is fully compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint. So documents created in MS PowerPoint can be opened in IMPRESS and vice-versa.



DRAW is an excellent drawing tool that compares to CorelDRAW. It produces everything from simple diagrams to 3D illustrations and special effects. DRAW can even manipulate objects rotating them in two or three dimensions.



But as they say on late-night TV, wait that's not all. There's also BASE, a database software much like Microsoft Access, and MATH, a tool for creating and editing mathematical formulae, similar to Microsoft Equation Editor.

It's worth repeating that all OpenOffice software works seamlessly with Microsoft products. So you can always open any document, spreadsheet, and presentation created by Microsoft Office and you can always save them so it can be opened in Microsoft Office.

CD Earth can help you make more sense of this.