Free Alternatives to MS Office

Free & Low-Cost
Alternatives to
Microsoft Office

Presented by Mary Motz of ProVirtual Solutions (3/2008)

Why Consider Alternatives to Office ?
Ease of access

Ability to collaborate

Open Platform (PC, Mac & Linux Compatibility)

Open Document Standard - (file compatibility)

Cost! MS Office 2007 is $149 - $679 per license.


What is the Open Document Format?
ODF is a cross-platform compatible file format for electronic files
including documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

An OpenDocument file can be opened and edited by any
compatible application

Microsoft Office does not natively support OpenDocument, but
Microsoft's Open XML translator plug-in allows it.

Associated file extensions:
.odt for word processing (text) documents
.ods for spreadsheets
.odp for presentations
.odg for graphics
.odf for formulae, mathematical equations

(Above from Wikipedia's article on OpenDocument )

The Alternatives to Consider:
Google Apps/Docs (hosted)

OpenOffice.org (installed/desktop)

StarOffice 8 (installed/desktop)

ThinkFree (hosted with optional desktop)

Zoho Office (hosted)


Office Suites & Standalone Apps
Spreadsheets

Word Processing

Presentation & Graphics

Database

E-Mail Clients


Product Models: On/Offline
Web-based applications (hosted)

Installed on computer (desktop)

Hybrid: Have both desktop & hosted versions that
work together


1. Google Docs/Google Apps
Hosted; Free with Google Account

Includes Documents, Spreadsheets,
Presentations; Calendar, EMail, Talk, Sites (new!)

Clean & uncluttered; has most things you need - nothing
you don't; appeals to minimalists

Great sharing & collaboration features

Will open MS file formats: DOC, XLS, PPT, etc.

Can be mapped to your domain; example: docs.
yourdomain.com

Google Docs/Apps Highlights
This presentation prepared
with Google Docs

Excels at file sharing &
makes it easy for multiple
authors and collaborators

"Invite" others via email or
contact list to contribute or
view your file

You can also "publish" files
directly to the Internet for
public access


Google Docs/Apps Highlights
GMail & Calendar work with
the Docs applications

You can access all Google
Apps within the same window;
especially neat if
mapped to your
own domain .


Google Docs Dashboard
Docs provides an
overview of all
your files with sharing
settings displayed

Easy to search
contents of files
(of course!)

Upload existing files
from your computer

Easy creation of new
files, too!


Spreadsheets & Documents
Basic & very intuitive to use

Probably not enough if you are an accountant or attorney,
but for everyday use, a great option.


Compatible File Formats
Types of files that you can upload:
Documents (up to 500KB)
HTML files and plain text (.txt).
Microsoft Word (.doc), Rich Text (.rtf), OpenDocument Text (.odt) and
StarOffice (.sxw).
Presentations (up to 10MB from your PC, 2MB from the web, 500KB via email)
Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt, .pps).
Spreadsheets (up to 1MB)
Comma Separated Value (.csv).
Microsoft Excel (.xls) files and OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods).
Upload via the web, from your computer or via email!


Google Apps Mail (GMail)
GMail can be mapped to your own domain, so
you@yourdomain.com is hosted by GMail;
involves change to your domain's MX (mail
exchange) settings.

HUGE mailbox space: presently up to 6.7 GB
per mailbox for the free version; 25 GB for
Apps Premier ($50.00 per mailbox per year) .

Great mobile access, especially for
Blackberry.

Accessible via both POP and IMAP protocols

Google Apps Mail now features colored
message labels for message organization

Can use any mail client (Outlook, etc.) for
computer access.


For more information...
Google Apps Home Page: http://www.google.com/a/

Google Docs Home Page: http://www.google.com/docs/

Wikipedia's article on Google Apps: http://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Google_Apps

Wikipedia's article on Google Docs: http://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Google_docs

Wikipedia's Comparison of Office Suites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_office_suites


One more Googly-thing:
Google Sites (New!)
Brand new from Google! Released on February 28th, 2008

Allows you to create collaborative & "wiki" websites easily

Control access - make it accessible to colleagues only or to the public

Page templates allow easy pages for file storage, announcements, lists
(links & to-dos), dashboard with widgets, custom HTML

Offers a nice selection of design themes, too!

More info here: http://sites.google.com/


2. OpenOffice.org
Free; installed on your computer,
basis for StarOffice

Includes 6 applications

Full-featured; has most functions that MS Office has &
has a similar interface - no big learning curve.

OpenDocument standard; will work with most MS file
formats: DOC, XLS, PPT, etc.


OpenOffice Apps
OpenOffice Includes:

Writer (word processing)
Calc (spreadsheet)
Impress (presentation)
Draw (graphics & charting)
Base (database)


OpenOffice Screenshots:
Writer & Calc:


Impress & Draw Screenshots:


Base Screenshot:


OpenOffice
OpenOffice is a great choice for those who:

Need robust office suite functionality not available with
a hosted solution like Google Docs/Apps.

Need the speed of working on your own computer

Don't need advanced web-based collaborative features

Don't want to spend hundreds on an office suite for a
laptop or small business


OpenOffice - Add-Ons
Built & supported by a community

Originally developed with Sun Microsystems as a way to
circumvent Microsoft's domination of file formats

Support is available - staffed by developers and
volunteers

Free access to resources and extensions


OpenOffice - Links/Resources
OpenOffice Official Website:
http://www.openoffice.org/

OpenOffice Extensions:
http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/

Wikipedia Article on OpenOffice.org:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Openoffice



3. StarOffice 8
Low-cost ($69.95) installed office suite developed by
Sun Microsystems

Not available for MACs yet

Very similar to OpenOffice.org - has same applications:
Writer, Calc, Impress, Base, Draw - plus enterprise tools

Full-featured; has most functions that MS Office has &
has a similar interface - no big learning curve.

Open Document standard; will work with most MS file
formats: DOC, XLS, PPT, etc.


StarOffice 8 - More Information
StarOffice 8 Official Site:
http://www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/index.jsp

Wikipedia article about StarOffice 8:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarOffice



4. ThinkFree
Free; hosted solution with optional
installed software; new version to launch on April 7, 2008

Three Options: ThinkFree Online, ThinkFree Docs & ThinkFree
Desktop

ThinkFree Online: most similar to Google Docs: Word Processing,
Spreadsheets and Presentations

ThinkFree Docs: Online storage for files - intended for public
sharing & "portfolios"

ThinkFree Desktop: $49.95 - claims best MS compatibility.
Includes Write, Show and Calc applications


ThinkFree - More Info:
ThinkFree Official Site:
http://www.thinkfree.com

Wikipedia's Article on ThinkFree:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinkfree


5. Zoho Office
Features a
large list of
free & fee-
based
hosted office
applications:

Zoho Office - Of Interest
Some of these
fee-based
"software as-a
service "
applications are
worth a second
look...

Zoho Office - More Information
Zoho Office - Website:
http://www.zoho.com/

Wikipedia's Article about Zoho Office:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoho_Office


Other Resources
Palm Desktop: Free desktop PIM:
http://www.palm.com/us/software/desktop/

Mozilla Thunderbird - E-Mail Client:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/

Wikipedia's List of Online Spreadsheets:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_online_spreadsheets


Thanks for Attending!


Free Alternatives to MS Office

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Empfohlen

Empfohlen (20)

Free Alternatives to MS Office