Happy Spring everyone! Have you noticed a trend lately? If you follow technology the way I do, you may have begun to notice an inclination towards offering “subscription based services”. The most obvious company moving in this direction, of course, is Microsoft, with their Office 365 suite. It offers all of the most current version of the Microsoft Office Suite (currently Office 2016) for a monthly fee. It sounds like a sweet deal. The monthly cost is pittance when compared to purchasing the software outright, plus you’re guaranteed to be using the most up to date version of the software. Add to that the convenience of being able to log onto any computer anywhere and accessing your Office Suite, via the Cloud. What’s not to like, right?
To be honest, from a business standpoint, it is brilliant! Most companies like to cycle computer equipment every few years anyway, and keeping track of all that licensing can be a royal pain, so a Cloud based solution makes perfect sense.
For the home user, however…well? For many people, (myself included), it could wind up being just another bill, and if your ‘service’ gets disconnected what can you do?
On top of that – and maybe it’s the old school side of me – I like having that physical box/disc/flashdrive with a license key that I can transfer from one PC to another as I cycle through equipment. If my PC explodes on Tuesday, I want to build my replacement, load my software, and start working on my new pc on Wednesday. I like being independent.
That being said, I am also stingy. I am a firm believer in not having to pay for something if you don’t need to.
So, for those of you like minded individuals who are looking for a free – yes, that’s right, free - alternative to Microsoft’s Office Suite, I would like to present my fave five free alternative office suites, available for download on the web.
Here they are, in no particular order:
#1 Google Docs
Yeah, it figures, right? Google has their fingers in everything from hot dog stands to driverless cars, so why not this too? Still, as free office software goes, Google Docs is one of the best. The suite includes the same type of software as MS Office, just with slightly different names. Instead of the traditional MSWord/Excel/Powerpoint, Google Docs offers these same tools, under the monikers Docs(Word), Sheets(Excel), and Slides(Powerpoint).
Now, there is a caveat: In order to have access, you are required to sign up for a Google account, but since most people have a google acct already, (Got Gmail? Got GoogleVoice? Etc), then this is not a big deal.
When it comes to compatability across platforms, Google Docs gets about as close as you can come to its MSOffice counterpart, including the ability to collaborate with others via Google Drive cloud storage, (Googles alternative to Microsoft Dropbox), and it hosts a vast library of add-ons to accommodate just about any project.
On top of that, it’s absolutely free! MSOffice or Office365 costs money.
Additionally, Google Docs functions equally well across MAC and PC platforms because it is a web based suite, not an actual software suite requiring download to your hard drive.
Unfortunately, because this is a browser based suite poor internet connections may affect performance.
Aside from that, Google Docs is about as close as you can get, (compatibility wise) to MSOffice, and you can’t argue with the cost!
#2 LibreOffice (www.libreoffice.org)
One of the things that will become immediately apparent if you download any of these suites is how much they take their inspiration from MSOffice. One of the most popular is LibreOffice 5.0, the latest version of the community based free office platform.
This one is an actual office suite that is downloaded to your PC, so it is with you no matter what, and doesn’t rely on an internet connection to function. It is also comfortably familiar in its design, so again, the learning curve is very small when making the transition. Open up any Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document and you’ll see just how close it is to MSOffice.
While there has been consistent improvement over the years, with a dedicated community of developers constantly tweaking and adding features, Libre Office still suffers from an occasional stability issue. (Spreadsheet functions may not always work or macros from MSOffice docs may not load correctly, for example). But these issues are few and far between. On a percent scale, I would say LibreOffice is at around 95% when it comes to cross platform compatibility, with the most consistent issues when dealing with Excel workbooks documents.
Again though, it’s free, and constantly being improved, so what’s not to like? The community is very active and fixes are implemented on a fairly regular basis. For a typical home user, it’s perfect.
#3 Apache OpenOffice 4.1.2 (www.openoffice.org/download/)
Another strong, community based office suite is Open Office. While it’s not as flashy as LibreOffice or Google Docs, OpenOffice still boasts a healthy set of editing tools that make it a credible free alternative to shelling out the cash for MSOffice. Add to this that it is available in 64bit, 32 bit, AND Mac versions, it’s a great alternative to a paid office suite for anyone out there.
Open Office has it’s own style of user interface, but despite the differences in appearance, it is incredibly intuitive so, again, transitioning from Office to OpenOffice is not a great challenge, and (in my opinion) some of the differences make more sense than the way MSOffice is configured.
There are a couple other little tidbits that the new user will discover as they navigate the software, but by and large, it works as advertised. Definitely a strong alternative. And remember – it’s free.
#4 Atlantis Word Processor (www.atlantiswordprocessor.com)
If you’re looking for a stroll, (okay, long hike) down memory lane, then Atlantis will bring back those happy nostalgic days of old MSWord incarnations. There is none of the streamlined fluff that is MSOffice here. This is a word processor, plain and simple.
As a friend once said to me “She may not be the prettiest girl at the dance, but she’ll take you around the dance floor till your shoes wear out.”
The same can be said here. Atlantis is not pretentious, and the time lost in the aesthetics was obviously devoted to function. Atlantis has no problem handling nearly all document formats easily and is well organized in how it displays information, where tools are located, etc. Even the icons are obvious, so there is minimal time spent hunting for the correct tool.
One of the things that brought a smile to my face while running this one through its paces was not anything in how it looked, but rather, that old fashioned ‘typewriter sound’ as I was typing. It just sounded cool for some reason. Yes, Atlantis is simple to look at, and it wasn’t “my” office suite, but it was solid, it’s tools were spot on, and I was smiling none the less. It was just fun to use.
#5 WPSOffice 2016 (www.wps.com)
Remember about ten years ago, when you brought home that new PC with its 60 day trial of MSOffice, and then after 60 days, you were stuck with some screwed up word processor program that was completely incompatible with anything but itself and you absolutely hated it? Yeah, that was WPS!
Well, not anymore.
The kids at WPS wised up a few years back and made their office suite MSOffice compatible, so now what we have is a passable MSOffice emulation.
I use the term emulation for good reason. Of all the options listed here, WPS 2016 does its best to copy the look and feel of newer versions of MSOffice, even offering the big three distinct applications that are titled Writer(Word), Spreadsheets(Excel), and Presentations(PowerPoint), with each program functioning as advertised and doing so very closely to their paid counterpart at Microsoft, including an assortment of prefab templates in all three applications.
As with the other programs here, there are differences in the user interface that will require some getting used to, but overall, WPS holds up against any of the other programs listed here.
With each of these programs, I found things I did and did not like, but those were my personal inclinations, and you’ll note that I did not go into much detail with each of these. I do this for a reason:
All of the above applications bring their own blend of strengths and weaknesses to the table. When you get right down to it, each of these tools would do well in any number of situations, or even function as legitimate alternatives in a small to medium business environment. They each have their own unique flavor, and I leave it to you, the reader, to pick your own personal favorite.
The best thing about all of these suites is the fact that you can take them or leave them. Load em, use em, chuck em, keep em. They’re all solid programs. They aren’t Microsoft Office, but remember, they’re free! That’s the best thing about them!
As with anything else. If you have questions, or are unsure how to proceed, be sure to contact a professional for assistance.
Have a great Spring!
To be honest, from a business standpoint, it is brilliant! Most companies like to cycle computer equipment every few years anyway, and keeping track of all that licensing can be a royal pain, so a Cloud based solution makes perfect sense.
For the home user, however…well? For many people, (myself included), it could wind up being just another bill, and if your ‘service’ gets disconnected what can you do?
On top of that – and maybe it’s the old school side of me – I like having that physical box/disc/flashdrive with a license key that I can transfer from one PC to another as I cycle through equipment. If my PC explodes on Tuesday, I want to build my replacement, load my software, and start working on my new pc on Wednesday. I like being independent.
That being said, I am also stingy. I am a firm believer in not having to pay for something if you don’t need to.
So, for those of you like minded individuals who are looking for a free – yes, that’s right, free - alternative to Microsoft’s Office Suite, I would like to present my fave five free alternative office suites, available for download on the web.
Here they are, in no particular order:
#1 Google Docs
Yeah, it figures, right? Google has their fingers in everything from hot dog stands to driverless cars, so why not this too? Still, as free office software goes, Google Docs is one of the best. The suite includes the same type of software as MS Office, just with slightly different names. Instead of the traditional MSWord/Excel/Powerpoint, Google Docs offers these same tools, under the monikers Docs(Word), Sheets(Excel), and Slides(Powerpoint).
Now, there is a caveat: In order to have access, you are required to sign up for a Google account, but since most people have a google acct already, (Got Gmail? Got GoogleVoice? Etc), then this is not a big deal.
When it comes to compatability across platforms, Google Docs gets about as close as you can come to its MSOffice counterpart, including the ability to collaborate with others via Google Drive cloud storage, (Googles alternative to Microsoft Dropbox), and it hosts a vast library of add-ons to accommodate just about any project.
On top of that, it’s absolutely free! MSOffice or Office365 costs money.
Additionally, Google Docs functions equally well across MAC and PC platforms because it is a web based suite, not an actual software suite requiring download to your hard drive.
Unfortunately, because this is a browser based suite poor internet connections may affect performance.
Aside from that, Google Docs is about as close as you can get, (compatibility wise) to MSOffice, and you can’t argue with the cost!
#2 LibreOffice (www.libreoffice.org)
One of the things that will become immediately apparent if you download any of these suites is how much they take their inspiration from MSOffice. One of the most popular is LibreOffice 5.0, the latest version of the community based free office platform.
This one is an actual office suite that is downloaded to your PC, so it is with you no matter what, and doesn’t rely on an internet connection to function. It is also comfortably familiar in its design, so again, the learning curve is very small when making the transition. Open up any Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document and you’ll see just how close it is to MSOffice.
While there has been consistent improvement over the years, with a dedicated community of developers constantly tweaking and adding features, Libre Office still suffers from an occasional stability issue. (Spreadsheet functions may not always work or macros from MSOffice docs may not load correctly, for example). But these issues are few and far between. On a percent scale, I would say LibreOffice is at around 95% when it comes to cross platform compatibility, with the most consistent issues when dealing with Excel workbooks documents.
Again though, it’s free, and constantly being improved, so what’s not to like? The community is very active and fixes are implemented on a fairly regular basis. For a typical home user, it’s perfect.
#3 Apache OpenOffice 4.1.2 (www.openoffice.org/download/)
Another strong, community based office suite is Open Office. While it’s not as flashy as LibreOffice or Google Docs, OpenOffice still boasts a healthy set of editing tools that make it a credible free alternative to shelling out the cash for MSOffice. Add to this that it is available in 64bit, 32 bit, AND Mac versions, it’s a great alternative to a paid office suite for anyone out there.
Open Office has it’s own style of user interface, but despite the differences in appearance, it is incredibly intuitive so, again, transitioning from Office to OpenOffice is not a great challenge, and (in my opinion) some of the differences make more sense than the way MSOffice is configured.
There are a couple other little tidbits that the new user will discover as they navigate the software, but by and large, it works as advertised. Definitely a strong alternative. And remember – it’s free.
#4 Atlantis Word Processor (www.atlantiswordprocessor.com)
If you’re looking for a stroll, (okay, long hike) down memory lane, then Atlantis will bring back those happy nostalgic days of old MSWord incarnations. There is none of the streamlined fluff that is MSOffice here. This is a word processor, plain and simple.
As a friend once said to me “She may not be the prettiest girl at the dance, but she’ll take you around the dance floor till your shoes wear out.”
The same can be said here. Atlantis is not pretentious, and the time lost in the aesthetics was obviously devoted to function. Atlantis has no problem handling nearly all document formats easily and is well organized in how it displays information, where tools are located, etc. Even the icons are obvious, so there is minimal time spent hunting for the correct tool.
One of the things that brought a smile to my face while running this one through its paces was not anything in how it looked, but rather, that old fashioned ‘typewriter sound’ as I was typing. It just sounded cool for some reason. Yes, Atlantis is simple to look at, and it wasn’t “my” office suite, but it was solid, it’s tools were spot on, and I was smiling none the less. It was just fun to use.
#5 WPSOffice 2016 (www.wps.com)
Remember about ten years ago, when you brought home that new PC with its 60 day trial of MSOffice, and then after 60 days, you were stuck with some screwed up word processor program that was completely incompatible with anything but itself and you absolutely hated it? Yeah, that was WPS!
Well, not anymore.
The kids at WPS wised up a few years back and made their office suite MSOffice compatible, so now what we have is a passable MSOffice emulation.
I use the term emulation for good reason. Of all the options listed here, WPS 2016 does its best to copy the look and feel of newer versions of MSOffice, even offering the big three distinct applications that are titled Writer(Word), Spreadsheets(Excel), and Presentations(PowerPoint), with each program functioning as advertised and doing so very closely to their paid counterpart at Microsoft, including an assortment of prefab templates in all three applications.
As with the other programs here, there are differences in the user interface that will require some getting used to, but overall, WPS holds up against any of the other programs listed here.
With each of these programs, I found things I did and did not like, but those were my personal inclinations, and you’ll note that I did not go into much detail with each of these. I do this for a reason:
All of the above applications bring their own blend of strengths and weaknesses to the table. When you get right down to it, each of these tools would do well in any number of situations, or even function as legitimate alternatives in a small to medium business environment. They each have their own unique flavor, and I leave it to you, the reader, to pick your own personal favorite.
The best thing about all of these suites is the fact that you can take them or leave them. Load em, use em, chuck em, keep em. They’re all solid programs. They aren’t Microsoft Office, but remember, they’re free! That’s the best thing about them!
As with anything else. If you have questions, or are unsure how to proceed, be sure to contact a professional for assistance.
Have a great Spring!