Tip #40 - FREE Microsoft Office Alternatives

100 Computer Tips in 100 Days

Tip #40 - Microsoft Office Alternative - Apache OpenOffice and LibreOffice

Many of my clients do not need all of the power that’s packed into Microsoft Office’s suite of software. If you fall into this category then you should consider downloading and using Apache OpenOffice from www.openoffice.org.  or LibreOffice from www.libreoffice.org. Both programs are offshoots from the original OpenOffice program. Apache OpenOffice is supported by IBM developers and LibreOffice is supported by freelance volunteers. Both are similar to Microsoft Office but they are FREE!

Both programs contain a word processor, a spreadsheet, a presentation application, a drawing application, a formula editor, and a database management application. You can seamlessly open, save, share and edit Microsoft Office files. The latest version of Apache OpenOffice was released in May 2012 and over 30 million copies were downloaded by the end of 2012. Libreoffice also has seen considerable success having been downloaded over 7.5 million times between January 2011 and October 2011.

So if you are one of those people who want to get away from what seems like Microsoft’s monopoly on office-type software, consider downloading and using Apache OpenOffice or LibreOffice.

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Happy computing!

Diane