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Are you always rooting for the underdog? In the world of productivity suites, you don't need to pay a lot to get the basic tools for reading, writing and arithmetic. Read the reviews to find out what's in each bundle, from the freebies to the full-featured suites.
It's no secret that Microsoft dominates the productivity suite market, but that doesn't mean it's the only way to go. Corel, Sun Microsystems, Apple, IBM, and others offer alternatives at a fraction of the price of Microsoft Office 2007. Corel WordPerfect Office X3 sports interface improvements and one-click PDF, HTML, and XML publishing. The lesser-known StarOffice 8 provides basic productivity tools and throws in a couple of extras, such as a drawing program. OpenOffice 2 is Sun's free version of StarOffice. And IBM just rolled out a free test version of its Windows- and Linux-compatible Lotus Symphony suite.
If you to take productivity tools wherever you go, then you can pick from online services including Google Spreadsheets -- now with Presentations too -- as well as the free plug-in for Microsoft Office that enables you to save ODF files.
Microsoft Office Standard 2007
If you need to make sleeker-looking documents and presentations, Microsoft Office Standard 2007 is a worthy upgrade. But stick to your current software if you don't feel that it lacks anything.
Corel WordPerfect Office 12.0
WordPerfect 12.0 features a core stable of productivity apps but suffers from its poor handling of Microsoft files.
StarOffice 8
StarOffice 8 is an impressive upgrade of Sun's bargain productivity suite, and a good buy for small and large businesses since it costs a fraction of the price of its main competitor, Microsoft Office 2003.
ThinkFree Office 3
ThinkFree Office 3 is a low-cost alternative to Microsoft Office that lacks advanced tools but offers a free online component that's a handy work in progress for frequent travellers.
Google Spreadsheets
The online Google Spreadsheets is free, easy to use, and handy for collaboration, but stick with Excel for complex spreadsheets.
Apple iWork '08
Apple's new iWork becomes a more well-rounded productivity package by adding Numbers for spreadsheets. Pages and Keynote include some nifty visual enhancements too.
3%
2%
How on earth is Microsoft Office Standard 2007 an "Alternatives to Microsoft Office"?