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OpenOffice 3.0 vs Microsoft Office

Preston Gralla of InfoWorld tests the current beta of OpenOffice 3.0 and asks “Can OpenOffice 3.0 finally replace MS Office?

Grandiose headline notwithstanding, the article is a useful comparison of the two competitors. Gralla ran into instability and bugs that I have not personally encountered in the Mac version I’ve been testing, but is nevertheless quite impressed:

If you’re not working in an enterprise that has standardized on Microsoft Office, you should think twice before paying full freight for Office, and give serious consideration to this free alternative when the final version is released.”

In conclusion, Gralla sums up:

“For most of what you use an office suite for, you’ll find that OpenOffice 3.0 will more than fill your needs. Whether you’re creating documents, spreadsheets, or presentations, the suite offers all the basics and much more. There are excellent formatting tools, mail merge, macros, solid charting tools, and the ability to easily create presentations.

“If you’re thinking of switching to OpenOffice from Microsoft Office, expect practically no learning curve. Many keyboard shortcuts are exactly the same, as are many menus and toolbar choices. You’ll be able to import your existing Office documents, and create them in Office formats as well.”

Gralla recommends OpenOffice to home users, students, and small businesses. In my own estimation, at least 90% of current Microsoft Office users could switch to OpenOffice without significant interruption to their work processes.

One Response to “OpenOffice 3.0 vs Microsoft Office”

  1. mcoffice Says:
    June 15th, 2009 at 3:53 pm

    My Comparison:
    @Ability to open MS Office Files:-
    MS Office and OpenOffice
    @Ability to create and open .pdf files:-
    OpenOffice
    @Comes with a drawing program:-
    OpenOffice
    @Can open email:-
    MS Office
    @Has an easy to use enviroments:-
    OpenOffice
    @Free forever:-
    OpenOffice
    -Result:
    MS Office: 2
    OpenOffice: 5.