[Bonecrusher123]

hey guys, i was supposed to be getting a free copy of MS Office, but apparently i'm not entitled to this free discount.

so, instead of spending $150 or so i thought i'd look at OpenOffice.

i only need it for writing essays. the most advanced feature i use is probably footnotes and endnotes.

thanks all

[etaf]

i use and also recommend openoffice rather than use MS Office these days.
Also to MS has unbundled outlook and its very expensive to get MSoffice and include outlook, Thunderbird is a very good alternative and also does a good job of migrating outlook on old PC to a new PC, which I have done a few times now for people

For most average users I find writer and calc has enough functionality for their needs

using footnotes and endnotes
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/...s_and_endnotes

[Squashman]

Students get a massive discount on Office and it does come with Outlook.
http://www.microsoft.com/student/off...s/default.aspx

[etaf]

Yep, students can get a good deal here in UK as well http://www.software4students.co.uk/M...FeFc4wodkmZ-Xw

[letchworth]

Originally Posted by Bonecrusher123

hey guys, i was supposed to be getting a free copy of MS Office, but apparently i'm not entitled to this free discount.

so, instead of spending $150 or so i thought i'd look at OpenOffice.

i only need it for writing essays. the most advanced feature i use is probably footnotes and endnotes.

thanks all

I have used Open Office (OOo) for several years. Although I write for a living, my needs are fairly simple: text and spreadsheets.

In all the years I have used OpenOffice, I have found only one document in which it made a major difference. I send documents to others and no one has ever mentioned any problems with the files they received- I don't think they have any idea.

Are there differences? Sure, some things are not in the same place and the space between lines is very slightly different- to the point that once in awhile a page will not have the exact number of lines in one program as the other. Is it worth the $150 you quote for each computer- no way. I am very pleased with Writer and Calc.

Impress (read, "PowerPoint") works just fine- I use it all the time on my PCLinuxOS machines; however, I still keep an old copy of PowerPoint around just because I like the way it handles photos as slide backgrounds better than Impress does, but that is a minor thing (and not one of the functions you list).

OpenOffice can be set up to default to MSOffice file formats for saving- so you don't have to remember to do that each time.

Give it a try, I think you will find it meets all your needs. (By-the-way; all future upgrades in OpenOffice will be free as well- a real bonus when you consider what M$ charges for its upgrades- and the upgrade cycle).
letchworth

[zbd21]

I also only use Open Office.

http://www.openoffice.org/