How to save money with free software Part I

The word processor/Office productivity suite war for dominance and control of the marketplace has been over for a long time with Microsoft Office the clear winner. Although I know a lot of people slam Microsoft, I think they've done a relatively good job producing software over the years. Most of their products are highly compatible across a range of hardware and software.

Unfortunately, Microsoft products are not cheap.

The dominance of Microsoft Office coupled with its hefty price tag presents a problem for many people. While Microsoft provides special pricin for OEM and students, it still boast a pretty stiff sticker price. Microsoft is in business to make money after all and I understand this fact. Still, for people with limited income shelling out a few hundred bucks for Microsoft Office can put a serious crimp in the household budget.

To make matters worse; many people who own a legitimate copy lose track of the installation disk or serial number. Invariably, something happens, whether it's a virus or system crash, that requires a reinstallation of the operating system. Reinstalling the operating system means that (in many cases) everything that was on the computer before will be completely erased.

Often, these computers end up in my shop where I have the unhappy task of informing my client that I can reinstall their operating system, but their Office Suite is a goner in less they can come up with the disks and serial number. More often than not, the same " deer in the headlights" expression crosses their face and they either have no idea what I'm talking about or they have no idea where the serial number is.

The client then has little choice but to purchase the software again. Since just about everybody needs to use a word processor and that word processor must create documents that other people can open they're really up a tree.

Here is where a great open source product if it east wheat known as Open Office enters the picture. It is completely free, supports all of the Microsoft Office formats, is easy to use and readily available to download from the Internet. It was created by an online community of software developers and is well documented and supported.

While I prefer Microsoft Office, Open Office a good substitute in a pinch. It offers the same basic functionality and can really save your bacon if you're working with a tight budget. You can download it here and read more about it.

I hope you give it a try and that it works out for you. If you do leave a comment so I know that you're out there. For every five comments that I get I will try to post an article with more free software.