I used to use it but it constantly kept on crashing on me and was slow, and the spell and grammar checker were quite weak. Now MS Office is giving me stability problems, is OpenOffice worth it or it best to stick to Word?
I've been using OpenOffice for a while both on my laptop and on my UBUNTU Linux install and I can't say that I've noticed that it's unstable or slow in any way.
I think it's a great free alternative to MS Office, especially since it can read and create almost any MS Office file and document..
Just noticed that OpenOffice 2.2 has been released, so you probably should give that one a try and check if they may have fixed the problems that caused the unstability in your previous install? http://www.openoffice.org/
The OpenOffice.org Community announce the release of OpenOffice.org 2.2, the latest version of the leading open-source office suite. With upgrades to its word processor, spreadsheet, presentations, and database software, the free software package provides a real alternative to Microsoft's recently-released Office 2007 product - and an easier upgrade path for existing Microsoft Office users. OpenOffice.org 2.2 also protects users from newly discovered vulnerabilities, where users' PCs could be open to attack if they opened documents from, or accessed web sites set up by, malicious individuals.
In version 2.2, users will immediately notice the improvement in the quality of text display in all parts of OpenOffice.org. The reason for this is that the previously optional support for kerning, a technique to improve the appearance of text written in proportional fonts, has now been enabled by default. OpenOffice.org's unique pdf export function has also been enhanced with the addition of the optional creation of bookmarks feature, and support for user-definable export of form fields.
While OpenOffice.org 2.1 functions well on Microsoft's Windows Vista, version 2.2 makes use of some of the new cosmetic changes available in Vista, the new file dialogues being an example. Apple Mac users will notice a smaller download and a smaller installed size. The Apple Mac Intel version has many stability improvements, and bug fixes ranging from .ppt export to improved UNO connections. Version 2.2 now requires Mac OS X 10.4.x running X11.
My geek guy stubbornly installs OpenOffice every time he upgrades my machine(s). I have only used it a few times; but must admit it's a nice alternative to Office - particularly the devil Word.
Have you folks noticed my pattern yet? I have so many things to learn and investigate that I don't have time to learn or investigate anything.
I recently had to reinstall windows XP on one of my older computers, but after I did so I realized that I didn't have my Office CDs so I could reinstall them as well. I decided to give OpenOffice a try and I have been very happy on how it performs. I would recommend it to anyone.
I used OpenOffice for a while when my brother suggested it. But, there were some things I wanted to do that I just didn't like the way it handled it. So, it was taken off my computer, and I headed back to MSOffice.
I use OpenOffice and MS Office on a daily basis handling hundreds of documents in both applications, and has not encountered any stability problems at all.
What I enjoy the most in OpenOffice is the PDF export of documents which is a very nice routine and no third party virtual PDF printers has to be installed (which may cause severe stability problems if the print fails.).
The only think I dislike with OpenOffice is the Calc application because of the sometimes bad import/export formatting with Excel, but I am slowly getting used to it.
I have been debating whether to get OpenOffice or not. I think I will just give it a try and see how I like it. I need something and I like that it is free.
Tater, it's a good program. I just didn't like the way it did some things, but that's been so long ago that I don't recall what it was that I didn't like. If I had to choose between spending a couple hundred for MSOffice and getting OpenOffice for free, I'd definitely go with OpenOffice. It's very much worth the price you pay!
I'm using open office in the University I study in, since it only has Linux on most computers, so I have no choice.
As an alternative to Office it's not bad at all. Only problem I've encountered is problems when writing in Hebrew(And I guess any other right-to-left language). As you probably don't need to write in Hebrew or Arabic, it would be a great alternative, and hey, it's free!
