OpenOfficeorg, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Tools

One of the best open source software applications that exist in the market today is the OpenOffice. This tool has been derived from StarOffice which was popular a few years ago which is a good alternative to Microsoft Office. In fact, even today, OpenOffice is still a great alternative to Microsoft Office.

The suite has several components such as the Writer which mimics the Microsoft Word, Calc which is their own version of the Microsoft Excel, Impress which is similar to Microsoft Power Point Presentation, Draw which is similar to Paint, Math which is their own calculator and Base which is similar to MS Access.

What is great about the OpenOffice is that it is a freeware which means that it can be downloaded free. You do not need to spend money in order to use this tool. Installation of the software is also very easy and does not need for you to have a deep technical background. Since the tool is an open source application, it can easily be programmable by developer making it upgradable.

Moreover, Windows users who are used to using Microsoft Office can easily operate the program considering that it has similar controls and even the same template as that of the Microsoft Office. Using this tool is really easy and does not need for you to take on any tutorial as long as you know the basics of Microsoft Office Tools applications. The OpenOffice can be supported by a lot of operating systems (OS) such as Windows, Mac OS X and even Linux. On the other hand, the program also allows you to convert documents into PDF which is something that is not present on MS tools.

The drawbacks to the software are that has a very slow CPU time and memory usage. For this reason, the software has a lag when you are using it. It also is very heavy and occupies a lot of important hard disk in your computer. For people who want to be artsy, the fonts are only limited so you cannot do anything about creating beautiful texts using the OpenOffice. But then again, this is something that you can live with.

True enough, the OpenOffice is really a great alternative to Microsoft Tools. Although it has a disadvantage when it comes to the high memory that it uses up, this drawback is overshadowed with the fact that the tool can support a lot of applications. And for a freeware, it is more than enough.