An Alternative to Microsoft Word

Why consider OpenOffice.org at all? Ignoring the functionality and features for a moment, there are several practical reasons:

- OpenOffice.org is available in over twenty-four languages, and projects for additional languages are announced regularly. In addition, the program runs on the Windows, Linux, and Solaris operating systems. The Mac OS X version now has working pre-releases. This interoperability is far beyond that of most alternatives to MS Word.

- OpenOffice.org is released under the Lesser GNU General Public License. As open source software, it's free for the download from www.openoffice.org.

- Because OpenOffice.org is open source, you can legally install it on as many computers as you want. You can also reinstall it without contacting the project first. Neither is possible with MS Office.

- Because OpenOffice.org is open source, upgrades are also free. You can wait for official releases or upgrade to development releases as they become available, whichever you prefer. You can also choose between the latest official release and a developer's build, which may be less stable, but has the latest features that are being developed.

- Free support is available on the mailing lists. This support is as detailed and as accurate as any you can get from paid technical support. As often as not, you may be answered by a person who helped to write the code for the feature you're asking about.

- You or your company can join the OpenOffice.org project and influence the direction of future development.

- If your company needs a feature that isn't there, your company can sponsor development of the feature. The only restriction is that the finished feature will be available to everyone.

- If your company prefers a traditional relation with a software developer, your company can purchase StarOffice from Sun Microsystems for $75.95 for a single copy, or $50 per copy for 150. StarOffice is an enhanced version of OpenOffice.org, with additional translation filters, fonts and clipart, a manual, and a database (see www.sun.com/software/staroffice/6.0/index.html).
These reasons are obviously compelling to a great many. In the first month after OpenOffice.org was released, the project reported nearly a million downloads. Nobody knows exactly how many copies are circulating now, but a conservative estimate would be that there are at least ten million users in the spring of 2003. Judging from the number of reviews and their tones, the demand for StarOffice is almost as great.
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Even more importantly, in several cases, OOo Writer has workable versions of features that have been crippled for several releases in MS Word.
Consider, for example, the following improvements over MS Word:

- True text frames, instead of text boxes. What's more, styles can be defined for frames. The last time MS Word tried to implement frames, styles couldn't be used inside them.

- The Navigator, a floating palette for moving around a document, not only by page, but by any object from tables to OLE objects and Notes. As a bonus, the Navigator can also be used for a quick outline view of headings. The Navigator is in addition to the Find and Replace tool. On large screens, it can be kept open in one corner for use.
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In fact, if OpenOffice.org continues to be as much in demand as it was in the first month of its release, don't be surprised if you find features that originated in OOo Writer appearing in MS Word. Flaws and all, OpenOffice.org is looking more and more like a milestone in software.
Your word processing may never be the same again.

By: Bruce Byfield http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/magazine/technical/openofficewriter.html